Social Inclusion, Gender and Equality

Our analysis helps policymakers improve their understanding of pressing social issues, so they can design better social safety nets and policy interventions.

Research, commentary, and events

Commentary
Domestic Violence Support Staff Need More Help
15 Mar 2021

During the first wave of COVID-19 lockdowns, European Union states had a 60 percent increase in emergency calls about intimate-partner violence. Amid a protracted second wave that has led to further lockdowns, it may not be too late to provide the funding and legislative changes necessary to ensure domestic violence service providers can offer crucial support.
Project
Examining COVID-19 and intimate partner violence
08 Mar 2021

Researchers identified 27 practices that—to varying degrees—have ensured the continuity, accessibility and sustainability of support to women victims during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Project
Examining child participation in EU political and democratic life
22 Feb 2021

An examination of how children participate in decision-making processes across the EU — including at the member state and local level — highlights both challenges and opportunities for improvement. The most successful schemes to promote children’s participation are inclusive, impactful and child-led, but societal views and attitudes can present barriers.
Journal Article
Developments in Child and Family Policy in the EU in 2019
01 Dec 2020

This third annual trend report outlines and summarises new policy developments in the area of child and family policy in the 27 EU member states and the UK during 2019. The report provides information on key trends that took place in relation to the provision of early childhood education and care, family leave and actions to improve work-life balance, social and income support for families, and children's right to participation.
Commentary
How Better Support Can Be Provided to Ex–Service Personnel in the Criminal Justice System
30 Nov 2020

Former armed forces personnel make up the UK's largest group of male prisoners by occupation. What can police and government do to provide targeted support in the criminal justice system to those from a military background?
Project
Incentivising parents to return to the labour market after parental leave
25 Nov 2020

Employers in the EU have a wide range of options to incentivise parents of young children to return to work. Government policies addressing the unequal distribution of unpaid (care) work and reducing the gender pay gap would also help increase the employment of mothers.
Project
Ideas to stimulate and sustain innovation in adult social care provision
23 Oct 2020

The demand for adult social care in the UK is rising and will continue to rise, but the supply of such care is struggling to keep up. Innovation in social care can enable more and better care to be delivered more cost-effectively.
Commentary
Learning from Existing Novel Approaches to Solving the Adult Social Care Crisis Is Better Than Reinventing the Wheel
14 Oct 2020

The growing gap in the UK between the need for social care for older people and the provision of support arises not only from a crisis of funding, but also from a failure to learn from what is already being done well. Closing the gap might be achieved by learning from creative approaches already being tried and then implementing them.
Journal Article
Identifying innovations in adult social care and social work
17 Sep 2020

Researchers identified 158 innovations for potential evaluation and held a workshop with 23 stakeholders to prioritise a shortlist of top innovations to evaluate in adult social care and social work.
Commentary
Long-Term Furloughs During COVID-19 Hold Risks for Employee Health and Well-Being
15 Jun 2020

Governments around the world have offered furlough schemes to try to delay employers from making any restructuring decisions during the pandemic. The aims of such programs are laudable. But they may come with unintended consequences.
Project
Equal pay for equal work and the gender pay gap
06 Mar 2020

The European Parliament is exploring legislation around pay-transparency measures. Such measures have a clear potential to address unjustified or discriminatory wage gaps, but certain disadvantages need to be considered in implementing them.
Project
Exploring NHS and Social Care Funding Options
07 Oct 2019

Research on different health and social care funding models assessed the popularity of different funding approaches among the UK public. Previous research examined other countries' funding schemes and found there is no single, commonly preferred solution to achieving sustainable revenues.
Commentary
Health Funding—Finally Something We Can Agree On
21 Feb 2019

At a time when it has become common to think of the UK as a divided society, there are important questions of policy on which a great many people agree. How to fund the ever-growing needs of the NHS and social care is one such area of agreement.
Commentary
Tax Funding of Health and Social Care Internationally: Does Hypothecation Help?
10 Jul 2018

The case for raising much more money to pay for health care and social care in the United Kingdom over the next few years is strong. Earmarking taxes for public funding of health care or social care is worth consideration.
Commentary
Tackling EU Child Poverty Through a Child Guarantee
21 May 2018

Nearly 26.4 percent of children across the EU are experiencing, or are at risk of experiencing, poverty or social exclusion. The proposed Child Guarantee initiative might help address this issue. But it could also be worthwhile to encourage member states to look at funding mechanisms that are already in place.
Commentary
New Options for Funding the NHS and Social Care in the UK: What Can We Learn from International Experiences?
05 Oct 2017

International experiences show the complexity of policy choices around funding health and social care. What models are most feasible and appropriate to fund the UK's health and social care systems, both among policymakers and the public?
Project
Assessing the Effectiveness of Conditional Cash Transfers as a Development Mechanism
02 Nov 2016

Conditional cash transfer programmes (CCTs) are seen as particularly effective in low- and middle-income countries, but relatively little is known about the interface between the supply of services and programme administration and specific human development outcomes. RAND Europe assessed the effectiveness of CCTs through a two-year grant from UK Economic Social Research Council and Department for International Development.
Commentary
Does Social Spending Hold the Key to Better Health?
24 May 2016

Many governments are cutting spending on social welfare programs, such as unemployment benefits, while protecting health care spending. This could actually be negatively affecting population health.
Commentary
Does Increased Social Spending Lead to Better Population Health?
11 May 2016

Research adds further weight to existing evidence that bolstering expenditure on social programmes might give governments and people a better return on their investments in terms of population health.
Project
Better Health Outcomes Are Related to Social Expenditure
11 May 2016

Research shows that, across OECD countries, higher levels of social spending are strongly associated with better health, and the association is particularly strong for public social spending. Additionally, the association between social spending and better health strengthens over time.