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Institutional Context
Summary
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) was established in 1895 as ‘a community of people and ideas, founded to know the causes of things, for the betterment of society’. We continue to pursue this founding vision through our delivery of high-quality research, teaching and knowledge exchange underpinned by distinctive social science expertise.
Based in Westminster, central London, the School’s community is diverse and international, and we take pride in the global use of our research. LSE has traditionally strong connections with the major legal, financial, cultural, and political institutions surrounding it. Our 2030 Strategy commits us to broadening and deepening our societal impact; connecting interests through issue-oriented research, making evidence-based interventions and promoting engagement with wider society.
Institutional context
LSE is a single-faculty, social science and humanities (SSH) institution. Research and teaching span the breadth of SSH disciplines, with activity structured across 23 departments, three interdisciplinary institutes and 18 research centres.
Knowledge exchange is central to our founding vision. Since its inception, the School has duly worked to advance knowledge in SSH disciplines to inform public policy and economic decision-making, enhance social welfare and convene creative intellectual debate and public engagement.
LSE’s central London location and international community and outlook are fundamental to its identity. We leverage our location in the heart of London to facilitate close and productive contact between staff and students and the major neighbouring legal, financial and political institutions, as well as with our local communities. Our own community is diverse, with some 68% of students and 48% of staff coming from overseas, and we are proud of the widespread geographical diffusion of our research-based knowledge exchange and impact. The international nature of our work is evidenced by a KPMG audit of LSE research, which found that 359 projects have been conducted by LSE staff across 91 countries over the last five years, while downloads of LSE research have been recorded in over 100 countries.
The School’s knowledge exchange activities are characterised by their basis in excellent social science research with diverse local, national and international foci. We invest in a broad disciplinary base and vibrant research environment to support this. For seven consecutive years LSE has ranked second in the world (and top in Europe) for Social Science and Management in the QS World University Rankings.
LSE staff and students engage in myriad knowledge exchange activities. These range from formal engagement delivered with or through central support services (e.g. commissioned or contracted work delivered through LSE Consulting) to more ad hoc projects run at departmental or project levels. Central coordination and support is provided by the Knowledge Exchange and Impact Integrated Service.
Our 2030 strategy articulates the School’s aim to be the world’s leading SSH institution with the greatest global impact, committed to using excellent social science research to actively shape the world’s political, economic and social debate. To that end, the School will support continued improvements in the quality and efficacy of its knowledge exchange, including to maximise its ‘reach’ and ‘significance’ beyond academia. We have well-established strengths in UK and international public policy, but LSE research also frequently underpins humanitarian, development, health, legal and social justice impacts, as well as finding applications in private sector organisations, in efforts to promote financial growth and stability, and in work to tackle climate change. Over the coming years, knowledge exchange at LSE will both build on our existing strengths and cultivate new relationships, particularly with the private sector. We will achieve this while promoting both inclusion and diversity in our KEI by involving the broadest appropriate cross-section of the community of staff and students at LSE, as well as of our many partners elsewhere.
For further information, please send queries to k.booluck@lse.ac.uk
Local Growth and Regeneration
Summary of approach
LSE is proudly London-based. The city is strategically important to us as our home, and as the home of many of our graduates, partners, and research users. Our location at the heart of the capital is reflected in the importance of London to LSE’s strategic approach to knowledge exchange, including local growth and regeneration (LG&R). Through research, consultancy, advocacy, joint project work and events, we engage proactively with policy-makers, communities, and private sector partners in London to understand their needs and to determine which of their priorities our social science evidence base can best serve. The primary mechanism for our contribution to LG&R is via the impact of LSE research on the scrutiny, formulation, and implementation of public policy.
Aspect 1: Strategy
LSE’s strategic approach to LG&R includes engaging directly with businesses, notably in London’s financial and business services sector. However, the primary mechanism for our LG&R contribution is via our impacts on public policy. Targeted KE activities supporting LG&R may be grouped under three headings:
1. Understanding ‘what works’ to tackle social and economic inequalities and promote local growth through effective public policy
We invest in specialised research expertise in areas including housing, city planning, and social inclusion to support the development of evidence-based policy promoting growth in London (and beyond). This research is concentrated particularly in LSE London, LSE Housing and Communities and the Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE). Much of it is commissioned by and/or jointly conducted with and for civil society and policy groups, and co-production of research with policy-makers and practitioners is an important part of our approach. LSE London and LSE Housing and Communities work with end-users including think tanks (e.g. Centre for London, Centre for Cities, Future of London), local authority institutions (e.g. Mayor of London, Greater London Authority [GLA], MHCLG, London Councils and Boroughs), professional organisations (e.g. RICS, RTPI, TCPA, Academy of Urbanism), and London housing associations and social housing residents.
2. Acting as an ‘anchor’ institution bringing together local actors from academia, policy, industry, and communities
We leverage LG&R benefits by investing in links with local government, including the GLA, Transport for London, London Boroughs and Councils, and the London Metropolitan Police. We support strong relationships with the UK Civil Service, particularly through teaching in the School of Public Policy (see Aspect 2). We engage widely and regularly with local policy-makers and planners, notably within Westminster City Council and at City Hall, where our Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) is conducting work on future infrastructure funding. We target strategic networking events such as party conferences, The London Conference, and Local Government Association Annual Conference and Exhibition. We also convene discussions with stakeholders from the community, business, local and central government on policies which may improve opportunities and outcomes for Londoners.
3. Investing in skills supporting enterprise, innovation, and entrepreneurship in London
Since 2016/17, LSE has made substantial strategic investments in developing entrepreneurial skills in staff, students and alumni, who contribute to innovative local – as well as national and international – businesses, start-ups, and social enterprises (see below).
Our commitment to supporting LG&R aligns with our strategic interest in promoting sustainable global growth. The LSE 2030 Strategy prioritises ‘Research for the world’, including ‘convening the world in and from London’. Our engagement with Westminster supports growth and regeneration, not just in London, but in other UK - and international - cities and regions. The What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth (WWG) directed by Prof Henry Overman (a partnership between LSE, the Centre for Cities, and Arup) focuses on promoting local growth beyond London. The International Growth Centre (IGC), based at LSE and run in partnership with the University of Oxford, promotes sustainable growth in developing countries by providing demand-led policy advice based on frontier research, primarily in Africa and South-East Asia.
Given London’s interconnectedness with other UK and international towns and cities, and LSE’s international make-up, we consider the work of both centres strategically relevant and have invested in them accordingly.
Aspect 2: Activity
Understanding ‘what works’ for public policy
LSE research supports the development of evidence-based policy promoting growth in London. The impacts of this are maximised through investment from our KEI Fund. Since 2016/17, this has provided £300,000 for projects directly engaging local policy-makers with LSE research on myriad aspects of housing, planning, and development in London.
Policy-relevant research linked to LG&R has included work on inequalities, including spatial inequalities within London and between the capital and other UK cities, links between poverty and inequality, and public attitudes towards inequality in London. Research in CASE on homelessness and debt is ongoing. The Department of Sociology’s Configuring Light programme, designed and run with municipalities, lighting professionals, developers and design practitioners, explores how lighting reinforces inequalities within cities, especially London.
CEP maintains a strong, research-based relationship with the London Metropolitan Police. Recent input to policing policy has helped London’s Firearms Commander to understand the spatial and temporal demand for Armed Response Vehicles, to improve efficiency in their deployment, location, and shift patterns. CEP has also worked with the Met on changes to knife crime, drug markets and gang activity in London, and on police productivity, particularly response times in detecting crime, while current work includes research on domestic abuse during COVID-19 lockdown and on the impact of COVID-related changes in employment - and associated increases in poverty - on patterns of crime.
LSE supports research centres and groups with a strong focus on housing and planning in London - primarily LSE London, LSE Cities, and LSE Housing and Communities. All contribute significantly to efforts to effectively respond to London’s housing crisis, including via work on house prices, alternative housing models, the future of social housing, and the UK’s most comprehensive inquiry into the impact on London house prices of foreign investment. The School has also funded LSE London research on the impact of COVID-19 on the availability of temporary housing in London.
Additionally, LSE has conducted widely-cited analysis of the predicted effects of Brexit on local authority areas and primary urban areas. Outputs included rigorous analyses of the effects of Brexit on the City of London and papers for policy and industry audiences on the local economic effects of Brexit, including on London. The WWG has also published influential papers on the likely effects of Brexit.
The Care Policy and Evaluation Centre has responded to the COVID-19 crisis with research underpinning efforts to prevent and manage outbreaks in residential care homes, working directly with London boroughs to protect care home residents.
LSE further contributes to growth through research-based education programmes for professionals working on London-related issues. These include a short course and Executive MSc delivered by LSE Cities, which was awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2017 for ‘Shaping urban leaders and cities of the future’. Our School of Public Policy offers an Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) and an Executive Master of Public Policy (EMPP), to train future leaders of the UK Civil Service. Some 35-40% of EMPA students and 90% of EMPP students live and/or work in London.
Acting as an ‘anchor’ institution
Since 2016/17, the KEI Fund has invested £166,000 in ‘anchoring’ activities connecting local policy-makers, professionals, academics, housing and community members, emergency management professionals, and members of the public. This includes investment in LSE Housing and Communities’ ‘Citizen Think Tanks’, and in research by Dr Flora Cornish exploring community-led recovery in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster. The Public Affairs team also worked with LSE London to address the impact of COVID-19 on homelessness in London, bringing together council leaders, landlord groups, housing associations, lettings agencies, and charities.
In 2018, LSE appointed Professor Tony Travers as its ‘London Tsar’ to provide leadership and enhance connectivity with those working to address the city’s challenges. Travers and colleagues work with local institutions, organisations, and agencies, bringing research-based contributions to support decisions and ensuring that LSE research responds to the priorities of local partners and research users. Examples include: a ‘Transport Symposium’ convened at LSE in December 2018; Travers’ membership of the Tower Hamlets Brexit Commission; and his role as Chair of the Waltham Forest Growth Commission, recommendations from which underpinned the borough’s Economic Growth Strategy (2016-20). Travers is also the only academic on the West End Partnership Board.
Investing in enterprise, innovation, and entrepreneurship
Since 2017, LSE has invested over £1million in LSE Generate, which provides training and support for enterprise and entrepreneurship. A further £1.7m was used to co-found Zinc, a start-up generator and accelerator founded to build and scale new ways to tackle the toughest social issues in the developed world.
Generate works with local social enterprises and community partners to give Londoners an understanding of how to establish a business, and the skillsets and mindsets required to be successful. In 2020, Generate established (with Camden Council) a coworking and community space in Kentish Town. This provides a venue for formerly-homeless people to explore retraining opportunities, a Tech for Good coding school for schoolchildren, a food start-up market for students to beta-test their businesses, and cinema and arts clubs to showcase creative talent.
Zinc has supported science-rich start-ups working to improve mental health, tackle the impact of automation and globalisation, and improve the quality of later life.
During the same period, the School has attracted £137.9m of funding for the IGC and £5.9m for the WWG to support targeted growth and development in areas beyond our immediate locale.
Aspect 3: Results
LSE research and KE delivers LG&R impacts for users and beneficiaries from local community groups to new start-ups and national policy-makers. Impacts are monitored centrally by the Knowledge Exchange and Impact Integrated Service (KEIIS). KEIIS communicates outcomes and shares best practice within LSE and promotes the impacts of LSE research externally, including via high-profile media engagement. Examples of the impacts of activities described above include:
Tackling inequalities in housing, planning, and development in London: LSE’s ‘Defining, measuring and implementing density standards in London’ report underpinned the Mayor of London’s 2016 Density Review and persuaded the Mayor’s office to scrap its proposed density matrix. Prof Anne Power’s work on estate regeneration and housing services led to her appointment as an advisor to the Government’s Regeneration Strategy, which included LSE’s Rayners Lane estate regeneration report as a case study. In the aftermath of the Grenfell fire, LSE Housing worked closely with residents and staff from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to produce ‘Ten Lessons from Grenfell’, much of the content of which was subsequently adopted by government, helping to shape the Hackitt Review of building regulations and reform policy on high-rise blocks. Findings of Cornish’s community-based research were presented in a series of visual timelines and at knowledge exchange events for disaster professionals. The co-founding of an ‘After the Disaster Network’ has facilitated continued engagement and further disaster-response capacity-building.
CASE work on homelessness has delivered outputs for local authorities, housing associations, and charities in London and the UK. It has enhanced policy-makers’, practitioners’ and public understanding of the effects of spending policies on wealth distribution, poverty, inequality and social mobility in London and more widely.
Sociological research by Suzi Hall on the role of high streets, commissioned by the Mayor of London, has informed policy discussion about social value, diversity and inclusion, and what ‘good growth’ could mean for London’s high streets. Hall’s work has had important impacts on GLA’s approach to high streets, contributing to policy formulation and investment decisions, including substantial changes to the London Plan and the GLA’s Good Growth Fund investment programme.
Returns on investment in skills supporting enterprise, innovation, and entrepreneurship. In 2020, LSE Generate launched its first accelerator. Thirteen teams have hired 35 employees and contractors, launching 12 market-viable products and raising over £650k in equity and non-equity funding. Since launching in 2017, Zinc has built 46 ventures and created 167 jobs from its three missions, with 56% of ventures having survived and 24 raising funding of £17.4m. In September 2020, Zinc’s ventures were valued at £69m.
Beyond London: The WWG has had profound impact on local and regional policy development and implementation. These result from policy reviews in 11 different areas and 14 toolkits supporting effective, evidence-based policy design, as well as from major projects on the impact of Brexit on regional economies, designing local industrial strategies, policy in disadvantaged areas, and the economic recovery from COVID-19. The approach prescribed by the UK Government for devolution areas draws directly on methods proposed by the WWG.
The IGC’s country programmes and engagement with key government priorities have helped to increase foreign direct investment and establish determinants of industrial growth. The IGC has also developed a methodology to assess management practices that is now used in over 30,000 plants across the US and has been adopted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
For further information, please send queries to k.booluck@lse.ac.uk
Public & Community Engagement
Summary of approach
Public and community engagement (PC&E) is in the DNA of LSE, a university established and dedicated to discovering the ‘causes of things for the betterment of society’. We recognise the value of inclusivity. Not all the answers exist in the narrow strata of academia and much can be gained by connecting our work to the world around us. We want to share our research, but we also want to involve the public in its development. We want to be accessible, informative and interactive. At a time when so much public debate contains more heat than light, this is a moment when LSE can draw on its distinguished and distinctive history to engage with that debate and shape a better future.
Aspect 1: Strategy
LSE’s 2030 Strategy ‘Research for the World’ priority aims to ‘convene the world in and from London’. To that end, we leverage our global network to engage thought-leaders and world leaders in influential debates on critical issues, demonstrating the value and impact of social science research. Participants include specific communities, notably local, regional, national and international policy-makers, businesses and civil society groups, and other research institutions. Discussions also involve a broader public audience including (though not limited to) students and staff at LSE and at other UK and international universities; our national and international community of alumni; and our research partners.
Our P&CE builds especially on our renowned public lecture programme (200 events and >40,000 attendees annually); wide-ranging blog platform (77 blogs with 100,000 articles and 10.7million views annually); significant social media following (1.47 million followers across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram); and wealth of digital content, including research films and podcasts (14.8 million downloads annually). Through these channels we engage an international audience with social science research, not just from LSE, but around the world.
P&CE is at the heart of our KEI Strategy. Over £5million of our HEIF funding has supported the Communications Division (particularly its media, social media, film and audio and public affairs functions) and blog suite. P&CE is overseen at senior level by the Director of Communications, reporting to the Senior Management Team; LSE Director Minouche Shafik is a champion for public engagement.
Through a central KEI Fund, LSE also seed-funds and supports more innovative and targeted approaches, encouraging researchers to build engagement with relevant communities into their research plans and supporting them in doing so. We are committed to developing engagement skills across our research community so that effective engagement happens throughout the School. All Departments and Research Centres have access to professional support and can use central public engagement channels. This ensures engagement with a broad range of social science research by a diverse range of communities, contributing to richer research whilst also delivering benefits –within and for our communities.
Individual project successes, combined with new partnerships on initiatives to promote the value of social science (including SHAPE, ASPECT and CIVICA), will shape our future engagement strategy. A particular focus will be business and local communities, including local government, both in the UK and internationally.
Aspect 2: Support
Our KEI Integrated Service leads the provision of practical support for P&CE, providing training, guidance and bespoke advice. Researchers can access support from the Communications Division (events, media engagement, social media, public affairs, film and audio, design, digital), Research and Innovation (funding, impact, consulting, commercialisation, entrepreneurship), Widening Participation (schools engagement), LSE Library (open access and publishing), and Philanthropy and Global Engagement (alumni and corporate engagement).
These service areas also offer points of contact for external communities seeking opportunities to engage with our research. There are, in addition, opportunities for P&CE members to be part of our engagement planning and delivery. We have >100 external members on the advisory boards for our research centres including representatives from the private and public sectors.
The KEI Integrated Service has for several years run “lunch and learn” training sessions for researchers and support staff, with topics including social media; broadcast media; promotion of publications; policy engagement; community engagement; and website design. In 2020/21, we have continued running training sessions online, including one tailored to remote working.
Communications staff also work within our 46 Departments and Research Centres, accessing central and peer support through a Communications Network (Microsoft Teams group and training platform with 217 members), Events Planning Network (also Teams, with 125 members) and a KEI Forum (termly meetings).
In terms of financial support, since 2016/17 we have provided £4.1million from our HEIF funding to support researchers’ KEI activities, including P&CE. This is awarded via a competitive bid fund to which members of staff can apply for up to £100k of project support. PhD students can apply for smaller grants of up to £2k. Since 2018, we have also allocated £10k annually to Departments to seed-fund KEI activities, with a focus on P&CE. The KEI Integrated Service supports all projects.
P&CE is recognised in the School’s promotions criteria as part of KEI more broadly. The work of researchers in this area is celebrated at an annual Research Showcase - an exhibition and reception for the LSE community.
Aspect 3: Activity
Our two-tiered approach to P&CE (outlined above) includes both central initiatives focussed on strategic priorities, and individual, project-led engagement supported by the KEI Fund and KEI Integrated Service.
In our public lecture programme, these approaches combine. We convene events around themes or audiences, as well as supporting events organised by Departments or Research Centres, responding flexibly to their engagement goals.
Each year LSE hosts ~200 free-to-attend public events, with >40,000 attendees and >13million podcast downloads. During the COVID crisis, our programme has moved online, with 60 events and >50,000 views from April-July 2020.
The events programme also includes our annual research Festival. A series of imaginative and innovative activities, again free and open to anyone, the Festival is designed to stimulate thought and debate and engage a wide public audience with LSE research. Over the last three years, 14,800 people have attended 107 events during the week-long Festival including talks, debates, film screenings, interactive tours, research sprints for school students and activities for primary-school aged children. Festival event podcasts have been downloaded >2 million times.
We value the events programme not only for its promotion of LSE research and expertise, but also for the important networks it allows staff to build with potential research users. It also gives a platform for social science researchers across the world, supporting our strategic ambition to promote the public benefit of the social sciences more broadly. An average of 160 non-LSE contributors participate in our events each year. Our extensive blog series, which provides a free-of-charge global platform (similar to ‘The Conversation’), also hosts hundreds of non-LSE contributors.
Other central initiatives include roundtable discussions on key research topics for policy-makers, private and public sector stakeholders organised by our Public Affairs team; and film and podcast series (LSE Thinks and LSE IQ) focussing on issue-raising or issue-responding research.
The central KEI fund has supported 86 projects since 2016/17. Select highlights include:
Housing Academy Plus
Organised with the National Housing Federation and Chartered Institute of Housing, a programme of think tanks (>40 events with >2,000 attendees) for social housing practitioners, policymakers, frontline staff and residents on the wider social, economic and environmental aspects of providing low cost rented homes. An independent impact assessment showed demonstrable benefits to residents and increased community volunteering activities with, on average, 15 additional volunteers per project, each contributing an annual cash value of £8,844.
Lessons for the design of high-density housing
This project sought to understand the experience of residents in different types of high-density housing to inform best practice for London’s future development. A key output was a database of high-density housing schemes in London for use by residents and practitioners, and a series of walks around case study developments openly accessible on Google Maps. The project has an active network of 600 residents and experts.
Drug policy reform in Ireland
This research-based project aimed to overcome entrenched stigmas about drug policy reform by meaningfully engaging the police, public and key stakeholders in policy and civil society in debates about decriminalisation. Activities and outputs included posters, factsheets and short films alongside a series of town hall style meetings across Ireland designed to change the rhetoric within the media and broader public. The Working Group set up to consider the issue of drug decriminalisation received the highest ever submission rate for a Health Ministry public consultation and many drug users have attested to subsequent benefits.
The Science of Spending
A live science residency by LSE academic Heather Kappes at London’s Science Museum, exploring attitudes to spending through a computer game for those aged 8 and up. >2,000 children and adults took part and >100 people signed up to receive the results of the study, including parents and teachers interested in using the game in their teaching.
By funding such activities and providing central support to ensure their engagement plans are effective and deliverable, we facilitate engagement of the broadest possible range of publics with the broadest possible range of social science research.
Aspect 4: Results and learning
We monitor attendance at our events programme and seek feedback through regular surveys, as well as via social media. We developed a ticketing system using Salesforce to capture information about audience demographics and monitor podcast downloads. Internally, the programme is overseen by an Events Board, comprising key stakeholders from across the School and chaired by the Deputy COO.
The annual Festival is overseen by a Steering Group, chaired by the Pro-Director for Research, to ensure it meets its objectives. In addition to collecting data about attendance, podcast/video downloads and audience demographics, we use a feedback survey to understand what audiences have learnt from the events, whether event formats made the information sufficiently accessible and what they would like to see in future. Each year, we use previous feedback to help shape the current programme. In 2020, 95% of those providing feedback felt inspired by the Festival and 86% said that they had a better understanding of LSE research.
We use analytics to track engagement with content shared via our social media platforms and website. This allows us both to design effective campaigns and give up-to-date advice on how to use digital and social media platforms effectively in our training sessions. Our film and audio team track engagement with their content both quantitively (through analytics) and qualitatively via a feedback form.
The engagement objectives and indicators of success for projects supported by the KEI Fund are developed in the application stages, with the support of the KEI Integrated Service. As part of this process, applicants are required to identify how their project aligns with wider School strategy. Successful applicants submit a progress report at the halfway stage of their project. This asks them to review objectives and reflect on what has (or hasn’t) worked and on how they have modified their project based on feedback from partners, participants or beneficiaries. The final report asks for a review of achievements, including a self-assessed score of the extent to which objectives have been met. Grant holders are asked to document any unexpected outcomes and share advice for others involved in KEI projects. We use successful KEI projects as case studies to inspire other researchers, whilst taking on board lessons learned where engagement objectives weren’t met.
Aspect 5: Acting on results
All 86 projects funded by the KEI Strategy Group over the last 4 years were required to submit a detailed report, including lessons learned, for review by the Group. These are evaluated and lessons captured and used to inform training for academics and support staff; enhance the design and delivery of future projects; and inform decisions on future bids (including what not to fund). They also feed into strategy development on the principle of continuous improvement.
Executive summaries of LSE Festival reports are, in addition, shared with the LSE community. Updates about our public lecture programme, including the Festival, are included in the Director’s regular reports to LSE’s Council of Governors.
As we approach the end of a HEIF period, we are reviewing our current engagement strategy, which has involved consultation with key stakeholders across LSE. To inform this work, the KEI Integrated Service has been mapping barriers and incentives for P&CE in discussion with researchers and research support staff. We are currently reviewing the evaluation data from projects over the last five years to feed into our strategy review.
For further information, please send queries to k.booluck@lse.ac.uk