Sheffield - ESRC Standard Research Transition Standard Quota DTG

This grant does not fund a specific research project. Instead, it provides a framework for training the next generation of social scientists through the Economic and Social Research Council’s Doctoral Training Partnerships. The problem it addresses is a structural one: how to ensure a steady pipeline of highly skilled researchers equipped to tackle complex social and economic questions. Without coordinated funding for postgraduate training, the UK risks losing its capacity to produce experts in fields such as education, public policy, and economic analysis. If successful, this funding stream will sustain a network of universities that train doctoral students across the social sciences. The impact is indirect but foundational: better-trained researchers produce more rigorous evidence, which in turn informs decisions on everything from school curricula to welfare reform. This is not curiosity-driven science in the traditional sense, but it is the infrastructure that makes such science possible. Similar training partnerships have historically underpinned advances in quantitative social research and policy evaluation, quietly shaping how governments and organisations understand society.