New fellowship for civil servants launched

The Open Innovation Team (OIT) is piloting a new fellowship with the ESRC Research Centre on Micro-Social Change (MiSoC), hosted at the University of Essex.

The fellowship is aimed at SEO-G6 policy officials and analysts, who will be mentored by experienced academics. It’s a part-time programme where officials can access support using quantitative social science data and analysis to answer a specific policy question. Fellows propose a question they would like to research, and they receive guidance and mentorship from world-leading quantitative social scientists.

Proposals need to be focused on one of MiSoc’s areas of interest, which include ‘education and skills’, ‘families and well-being’, ‘ethnicity and migration’ and the ‘labour market and institutions’.

Our current fellows come from a range of government teams:

Head of Ethnicity Analysis and Briefing, Race Disparity Unit, Cabinet Office

This fellowship will form part of a programme to respond to the policy paper, Inclusive Britain, drafted in response to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities. The research will look at migration patterns to the UK over the past 50 years.

Head of Tax, Department of International Trade

This fellowship aims to understand patterns and trends regarding the backgrounds of non-UK nationals with PhDs, and their value to the economy, to further inform tax policy.

Health Economist, UK Health Security Agency

This fellowship will aim to quantify the impacts of poor mental and physical health arising from the current cost of living crisis, and will consider possible policy responses.

If you’re an official interested in taking part in a fellowship, please contact us via fellowship@openinnovation.gov.uk and we will be in touch with next steps once the pilot has concluded in Spring 2023.