ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP)

The UK Research Councils are funding a network of doctoral training partnerships to produce the next generation of social scientists. This grant establishes the Wales Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP), a consortium of universities that will recruit and train PhD students across the social sciences. The problem it addresses is straightforward: advanced research skills in areas like economics, sociology, education, and public policy require sustained, structured investment. Without coordinated training programmes, the UK risks a shortage of experts who can analyse complex social issues—from regional economic decline to educational inequality. If the DTP succeeds, it will produce dozens of highly trained researchers over multiple cohorts. These individuals will go on to work in universities, government departments, think tanks, and charities, where their work can inform policy decisions on housing, health, transport, and skills. The impact is indirect but systemic: better evidence for how society works, and more people equipped to generate that evidence. This is primarily a training infrastructure grant rather than a specific research project. Its value lies in building the human capital that makes future discoveries possible—much as earlier investments in doctoral training have fed into everything from welfare reform evaluations to census methodology improvements.