School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Research policy

The following text is extracted from the School Plan which idenfities key research policies for the school.

We have a School-wide programme of research seminars and staff are engaged with colleagues from other schools and universities in research networks involving outputs such as conferences, seminar series and joint applications for external research funding.
The aims and activities of our research centres have been reviewed and a new impetus has been achieved in the activities of, for example, the Raphael Samuel Centre. We have merged MCubed with the new SRIF supported Matrix East and established a new research centre in Refugee Studies. We have contributed to the development of the London East Research Institute and its regeneration and outreach activities that involve collaboration with, for example, Eastside Community Archive, the Museum of London and the bodies associated with the development of the 2012 Olympics bid.

Our main concerns are to:

• expand our base of academic staff who have or are close to achieving international recognition for research
• sustain a high level of research activity amongst staff in a large school whose intellectual engagement is broadly defined in RAE terms
• secure increased external funding for research and knowledge transfer activities.

We are addressing these concerns by, for example:

• developing our research networks nationally and internationally;
• encouraging staff to develop their research careers through seeking internal promotion opportunities;
• recruiting new academic staff with considerable research potential;
• continuing to review and improve the activities of our research centres;
• creating a critical mass of postgraduate/doctoral students;
• increasing external applications for research funding
• improving our approaches to our ‘domestic’ research seminars/conferences;
• developing research themes around the research pillars identified in our university’s research strategy.

RAE funding is being used in a strategic way to facilitate the achievement of these objectives. The distribution of RAE funding is indicated below:

• Sabbaticals – one semester for each successful applicant (approximately 10 per annum);
• Studentships – aimed at expanding our doctoral student numbers and facilitate timely completion;
• Research Centres – financial support models vary with the focus of the activity, for example Matrix East (SRIF fund); Rix Centre (external charitable funding); Refugee Studies (external grant/contract income). Research Centres normally receive ‘seed corn’ support for activities;
• Research active staff time, providing hourly paid funding to cover teaching to facilitate research time for RAE active staff consistent with the academic staff workload allocation model;
• Professors/Readers fractional costs and potential contribution of RAE to support recruitment of internationally recognised research staff.

UEL HOMESEARCH UEL