Partner Description

The School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research (SSPSSR) at the University of Kent is one of the largest departments of its type in the UK. It is made up of three main groups of teaching staff: the Social Policy and Sociology group (which includes criminology), the Tizard Centre (for the study of learning disability and community care) and the European Centre for the Study of Migration and Social Care (for the study of migration, social care and mental health). Teaching takes place across a number of sites, including Canterbury, Medway, and Brussels. Affiliated Research units include the Centre for Health Service Studies; and the Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU).

The School has a strong research culture, embracing the staff at these centres and those situated within the Department. The schools research quality impacts on teaching in two ways: Teaching is by academics who are leaders in their fields and the School has more resources to put on its wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. In recent years, SSPSSR has deliberately sought to strengthen the theoretical, applied and policy relevant components of its research portfolio. Inter alia, this has included recruiting leading academics in the comparative study of social policy, the European and gender dimensions of social policy, and third sector or civil society studies.
https://www.kent.ac.uk/sspssr/

Role in Third Sector Impact

• Main responsibility: Research on internal and external barriers to third sector development.
• Additional responsibility: Conceptualisation of the third sector; conceptual integration of findings; final report; stakeholder engagement; dissemination of results.