South East ESRC Doctoral Training Centre DTG 2011

This grant funds a network of universities to train the next generation of social scientists through doctoral studentships. The problem is straightforward: the UK needs a steady pipeline of researchers equipped to study complex social and economic issues—from inequality to public health to digital transformation. Without coordinated funding for PhD training, individual universities would struggle to provide the breadth of expertise, supervision, and collaborative opportunities that high-quality doctoral education requires. This grant fills that gap by supporting a consortium of research organisations, with the lead institution managing the programme. If this succeeds, the UK will have a cohort of trained researchers who go on to work in academia, government, think tanks, and industry. Their work quietly shapes how public services are designed, how businesses understand consumer behaviour, and how policymakers evaluate what works. The impact is not immediate or flashy—it is structural, building the human infrastructure that underpins evidence-based decision-making across society. This is primarily a training and capacity-building investment, not a single research project with a defined output. Its value lies in the cumulative effect of dozens of PhD projects over several years, each contributing to a deeper understanding of the social world.