One of Britain’s standout characteristics is the number of world-class universities: we have several top-50 institutions and the Eurozone has none. The brainpower – academics and their students – is a massive national asset. But one that’s not really reflected in our public debate.
Whereas American academics are shaping their debate, and often ours, British academics are seldom heard from. This in part a defect in the funding system that incentivises academics to have ‘impact’ in academic papers but not real-world debate (as opposed to the US, whose universities have far closer links to real-world companies and their research divisions).
In the UK, the national debate about the great social, economic and public health puzzles is often driven by think-tank reports whose laughably scant resources seldom allow them to go beyond superficial data-skimming (the US think tanks have far more resources, and make a far bigger impact). The result of all of this is that a great many UK policy conundrums are being looked at with reference to out-of-date studies and analysis often forged 15 or 30 years ago. Universities are heaving with the brainpower needed to help – but those brains are too often diverted into abstract problems or obscure academic journals.
The role of journalists, of course, is to shine a light on problems. While we can do this via our own work, or working with think tanks, I’d also like for us to showcase work of those in universities – especially those whose work goes against the grain, and so may struggle to have it published in an academic journal.
Why has Britain managed to combine mass joblessness with a worker shortage? What have the world’s studies taught us about lockdown? What has ten years of school reform taught us about free school performance?
Why is Britain the only country in Europe to have no populists in parliament or with any significant support in the opinion polls? Is the surge in mental health caseload simply down to the loss of stigma, or is the actual problem getting worse? Why has the weekly number signing on to sickness benefit doubled since pre-pandemic?
Does marriage give better outcomes for children than cohabitation? What explains the recent surge in academic attainment of British Pakistanis? How many undocumented migrants are there in Britain? Can hospital data be used to tell us who is suffering from knife crime, and the extent to which postcode is a factor?
Why are so few over-50s coming back to work in Britain, but doing so in droves in France? Does UCAS data let us see if the privately-educated are discriminated against in Oxbridge admissions?
All of these are potential subjects for a dissertation: the new open-data era means so much more is available now then ten years ago.
So this is an appeal. I’d love to hear more from those working in British universities whose research provides a new piece to a puzzle and meaningfully contributes to the understanding of a contemporary social or economic issue.
Don’t worry about the writing so much: I envisage relatively short pieces that focus and showpiece new research. If you have a decent thesis that has been published but you think deserves more attention, or if you have something upcoming that you think would interest readers of The Spectator online, do write and let me know: theeditor@spectator.co.uk
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