The social sciences play an essential role in harnessing the many opportunities and mitigating the numerous and varied challenges we face in our contemporary human world. This report explores this by outlining eight principles about the UK’s social science sector.

This report draws together the insights of over 100 leading social scientists on policy-applicable insights from social science research and practice across eight themes relevant to the UK Government’s missions and broader policy agenda.

This report emphasises the vitally important yet underdeveloped role of the social sciences in the UK’s current research, development and innovation system. Drawing on data which highlights the ways in which social scientists contribute to a diverse ecosystem of talent and impact, it sets out some distinctive flavours of the UK’s social sciences, and how they are transforming UK research into a recipe that is genuinely world-leading and future-focused.

This report brings together 24 case studies showcasing what university-based social scientists are doing to make local areas, businesses and public services better, and improve social and economic outcomes.

Professor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve shares with us the top findings from the recently released 2026 World Happiness Report. He is Professor of Economics and Behavioural Science at Silver Campaign Supporter the University of Oxford and Director of the Wellbeing Research Centre.

What is the link between social science and entrepreneurship? Professor Eleanor Shaw OBE FAcSS, an academic specialising in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Silver Campaign Supporter the University of Strathclyde delves into the social science dimension of entrepreneurship.

Professor Tim Lenton, from Gold Campaign Supporter the University of Exeter, discusses his research into positive tipping points that can accelerate climate action and how we can all contribute to creating a ripple of positive change.

Today nearly 85% of the population live in cities in the UK, and yet cities are often not designed to the benefit of everyone who lives in them.  Professor of Sociology and Social Gerontology Tine Buffel FAcSS, from Gold Campaign Supporter University of Manchester, and architect and urban researcher Dr Julia King to discuss how we can reimagine urban spaces that are truly inclusive so that people of all ages can participate fully in public, work and social life.

Nobel Prize-winning economist Professor Philippe Aghion, based at Silver Campaign Supporter LSE, explores the components needed to make creative destruction viable, examples of where these are being done well and how AI could accelerate the process.

Professor Andy Tatem FAcSS talks to us about WorldPop, the research programme he heads that is based in the School of Geography and Environmental Science, at Campaign Gold Supporter University of Southampton. The team at WorldPop uses satellite imagery and mobile phone data to map population distributions in areas of the Global South and this data is used by governments for resource allocation and policy-making.

Professor Stephani Hatch FAcSS, from Silver Campaign Supporter King’s College London, shares insights into her research on the discrimination faced by NHS staff members from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds, including how we can use technology to make workplaces in healthcare more inclusive.

Professor Bobby Duffy FAcSS, of Silver Campaign Supporter King’s College London, and Carey Oppenheim exploring what it means to be grown up today by examining the challenges facing young people and what can be done to enable all generations to prosper.

In this episode, Professor Alex Stevens, from Gold Supporter Institution the University of Sheffield, highlights the scale and drivers of drug use in Britain, and how research evidence can support drug policy.

Professor Carissa Véliz from Silver Campaign Supporter the University of Oxford discusses the possibilities and threats of today’s digital world, including the importance of privacy and the ethics of AI prediction.

In this We Society podcast, Professor Linda Bauld FAcSS, from Silver Campaign Supporter University of Edinburgh, joins us to reflect on Britain’s response to the Covid pandemic.

Professor Lee Elliot-Major FAcSS, Professor of Social Mobility at Gold Campaign Supporter the University of Exeter, joins host Will Hutton to discuss the decline of social mobility in the UK and the need for a broader understanding of systemic barriers.

Professor Lord Richard Layard FAcSS, renowned economist at Silver Campaign Supporter LSE and Peer, discusses the social science of wellbeing and how it contributes, not only to individual happiness, but also to wider society.

Since 2021, six local authorities have declared themselves effectively bankrupt, with many others facing similar pressures. In this episode of the We Society podcast, Professor Andy Pike FAcSS, of Gold Campaign Supporter Newcastle University, joins Will Hutton to discuss the potential solutions for local authorities facing bankruptcy.

Dr Ella Cockbain is Associate Professor at Silver Campaign Supporter UCL’s Department of Security and Crime Science, where she leads the research group on human trafficking and exploitation. In this episode of the We Society podcast, she joins Will Hutton for a wide-ranging discussion about these complex issues.

Professor Gary Younge FAcSS, a longstanding journalist and Professor of Sociology at Gold Campaign Supporter the University of Manchester, joins Will Hutton to talk about identity politics, America, and his latest academic career in the social sciences.

Professor Kate Pickett OBE FAcSS, author of The Spirit Level and Professor of Epidemiology at Silver Campaign Supporter the University of York, talks to Will Hutton about how unequal societies harms us all, her latest research projects in Bradford and how the UK could truly ‘level’ up.

In this episode, Professor Anna Lawson FAcSS, from Bronze Campaign Supporter the University of Leeds, and Dr Shani Dhanda discuss how to embrace the social model of disability in order to enfranchise everyone.

Professor Mike Berners-Lee is an author and a Professor at the Institute for Social Futures at Silver Campaign Supporter Lancaster University. He joins Will Hutton to discuss how there has to be a global shift in our values for us to have a chance of reversing climate change.

Professor Ann Phoenix FAcSS is a psychologist whose work at Silver Campaign Supporter UCL focuses on psychosocial processes and social identities. She joins host Will Hutton to discuss the relevance of intersectionality, and how some young single mothers thrive while others flounder.

In this episode of the We Society podcast Professor Neil Adger FAcSS, Professor of Human Geography at Gold Campaign Supporter the University of Exeter, discusses his research from the Somerset levels to Chittagong in Bangladesh to explore why some communities are more climate resilient than others.