The demand from employers for employees with skills and confidence in using quantitative methods (QM) is high and growing. The internet, advances in computing power and the growing 'data deluge' have made it more important than ever to ensure that all social science undergraduates receive the best teaching possible to develop these skills. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), in partnership with Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the British Academy, are delighted to announce twenty new and innovative projects that aim to develop skills in this area.
The twenty projects include a range of activities including the development of online and interactive teaching resources, videos, and podcasts using the best available technology in innovative ways. The use of technology, the web and computing power have not only revolutionised the amount and quality of data available, but have made analysis simpler and faster. By exploring how to use these tools with students and sharing experiences of best practice through a programme of seminars and workshops student understanding of the value and need for QM should increase. As well as raising student interests, undergraduate skills in this area will improve, resulting in more post graduate students developing more advanced methods. As graduates with quantitative skills are increasingly sought by employers across all sectors - academia, government, charities and business – this will also help fill that gap.
The aims of the projects are to facilitate QM curriculum development, to further embed QM into the undergraduate timetable, and to expand the number and quality of QM teachers in universities. The awards form part of a wider initiative to build capacity in quantitative methods in the social sciences at undergraduate level, and contribute to the development of science, technology, engineering and maths skills across the social sciences. These projects involve sixty-seven people across twenty-seven universities and learned societies:
Notes for editors:
1. Quantitative methods categorise and measure phenomena. Early achievements of social scientists using QM included understanding the causes of poverty better through a new technique – the social survey – and determining how accurate. Social Science by Numbers: Careers with quantitative methods descriptions and analyses of populations that were far too big to measure could be obtained through taking smaller, manageable random samples.
2. The Quantitative Methods Initiative aims to:
3. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is the UK's largest organisation for funding research on economic and social issues. It supports independent, high quality research which has an impact on business, the public sector and the third sector. The ESRC's total budget for 2011/12 is £203 million. At any one time the ESRC supports over 4,000 researchers and postgraduate students in academic institutions and independent research institutes. More at www.esrc.ac.uk
4. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) promotes and funds high-quality, cost-effective teaching and research to meet the diverse needs of students, the economy and society. Our responsibilities are to develop policies, distribute funds, safeguard quality and assure the proper stewardship of public money. We work closely with universities, colleges and other partners to achieve excellence and impact in education and research, and to provide opportunities for all those who have the ability to benefit from higher education. For the academic year 2011-12, HEFCE will distribute £6,507 million of public money to 130 universities and higher education colleges, and 124 directly funded further education colleges. www.hefce.ac.uk
5. The British Academy, established by Royal Charter in 1902, is the national body that champions and supports the humanities and social sciences. It aims to inspire, recognise and support excellence and high achievement across the UK and internationally. Through its new Languages and Quantitative Skills Programme, the Academy is seeking to build capacity and strengthen skills in languages and quantitative skills. For more information, please visit www.britac.ac.uk