Research expertise
The Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) draws on the expertise of staff with national and international reputations to engage with current policy agendas in the Centre's core areas
Housing
The housing team in CRESR is one of the largest groups of specialist housing researchers in the UK. It has gained an unrivalled reputation for high quality policy oriented evaluations and reports. The team's expertise covers a broad spectrum of contemporary housing issues from housing market analysis to housing policy development and service delivery, from the housing circumstances of different social and ethnic groups to housing's role in creating more mixed communities.
Major projects by the housing team have included studies of mixed tenure, community cohesion, hidden homelessness, a leading role in the national evaluation of Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders, private rented housing in low demand areas, tenant participation and housing's role in neighbourhood and urban renewal.
Individuals requiring further information about the services that the housing team can provide should contact David Robinson.
Social and economic regeneration
The social and economic regeneration team in CRESR brings together research policy and evaluation expertise in neighbourhood renewal, urban and regional policy, planning, economic development and the voluntary and community sector.
Our work here has been underpinned by a long standing interest in examining the causes of social and economic disadvantage. Major research programmes have been undertaken to assess the impact of policies designed to combat the social exclusion of individuals and areas. This includes leading the national evaluation of the governments 'flagship' regeneration programme, New Deal for Communities.
The team has specific expertise in undertaking large-scale and complex evaluations, research into neighbourhood deprivation and neighbourhood renewal, measurement and analysis of the voluntary and community sector and the study of local and regional governance. CRESR is also leading the evaluation of the Office of the Third Sector (Cabinet Office) Futurebuilders programme. It has also contributed to several Structural Fund programme evaluations, and to EU-wide studies on innovation and new sectors for the European Commission and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.
The team works closely with the housing and labour markets teams in CRESR, for example the evaluation of local labour market initiatives.
If you require further information about the work of the Social and Economic Regeneration Team please contact Peter Wells.
Labour markets
The particular expertise of CRESR's labour market team lies in the evaluation of labour market pilot programmes, the investigation of problems faced by specific disadvantaged groups in the labour market, studies of changing labour market geography, and estimations and analysis of labour market detachment. We have substantial experience in undertaking major national evaluations, including the New Deal Innovation Fund, Working Neighbourhoods Pilot and the New Deal for Communities. We are also well versed in analysing complex quantitative and qualitiative data, and in translating research findings into robust policy recommendations.
The team has recently undertaken contracts for various UK Government Departments (including the Department for Work and Pensions, Jobcentre Plus, Department of Trade and Industry, Small Business Service, Office of the Deputy Prime Prime Minister), the Scottish Parliament, the European Commission, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.
Individuals requiring further information about the services that the labour market team can provide should contact Del Roy Fletcher.
Data analysis and statistical modelling
Any research project is only as good as the quality of its data collection and analysis. CRESR has developed wide ranging expertise through its data analysis team ranging from large scale secondary data collection for non-standard geographical areas to multivariate statistical techniques and from survey design and implementation to spatial analysis with GIS.
Members of the data analysis team have played a pivotal role in several major programmes of research in CRESR, notably the national evaluation of the New Deal for Communities, area economic appraisals for European Structural Fund programmes, modelling housing market change at sub regional level, national surveys of economically inactive and employed men and women, labour market accounts for a variety of areas and developing alternative measures of hidden unemployment for small areas. The high quality specialist expertise is woven into policy commentary and evaluation, to help reinforce the messages emerging from a wide variety of both primary and secondary data sources.
Individuals requiring further information about the services that the data analysis team can provide should contact Tony Gore.
