Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research

The Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research (I-SPHERE) was established with a mission – to use world-class research to help drive change for people affected by extreme disadvantage.

I-SPHERE is among the UK’s top social and housing policy research centres. In our joint submission with the University of Edinburgh we were ranked first in Scotland and second in the UK on the comprehensive Research Power indicator in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework. This indicator reflects size, scope and quality of research.

I-SPHERE members have a robust track record of externally funded research, including multiple research council grants and long-term commissions from a wide range of charities and government departments throughout the UK and beyond.

We specialise in research into:

• Complex needs and adverse childhood experiences
• Homelessness and housing exclusion
• Housing policy, law and rights
• Housing needs, affordability and access
• Poverty, including food and fuel poverty, and destitution
• Welfare systems, welfare reform and welfare conditionality

Through our research we aim to:

• Drive forward policy/legislative change to improve the lives of society’s most vulnerable
• Help governments/charities target funds effectively
• Set the parameters of local/national/global academic and policy debate on extreme disadvantage

Find out more at www.i-sphere.hw.ac.uk