Social Policy Association

September 16 2011

In the UK, former Chief Government Researcher Sue Duncan has been named President of the Social Policy Association (SPA), replacing Financial Times Public Policy Editor Nicholas Timmins. The SPA promotes the study of social policy and the role of such research in policy making, practice and wider public debates. The majority of the association’s members are teachers and researchers in social policy and applied social science within UK higher education, complemented by a growing number of members from other European, Asian and Australasian countries. Duncan takes on the role with a 30-year background in the public sector. She was the first ever Chief Government Researcher, and held roles with the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury, as well as in social policy departments such as the Department for Work and Pensions, and Communities and Local Government. She currently works as an independent consultant in social research and professional practice, and is Visiting Professor at the universities of Bristol and Lincoln, and an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences. Professor Caroline Glendinning, Chair of the SPA, comments: ‘Sue’s experience of conducting and commissioning research at the heart of government will be of immense value to the association, and we are looking forward to working closely with her over the next three years.’ Web site: www.social-policy.com . Printer-friendly version of this article. Email this article to a friend. Register for News emails