Government Social Research
On 6 March 2006, the Government Social Research Unit (GSRU) transferred from the Cabinet Office to HM Treasury into the Ground Floor at 1 Horseguards Road - at the other end of Whitehall from our present location in Admiralty Arch. The move was announced by the Prime Minister in November 2005, as part of machinery of government changes, to help strengthen links between government analysts.
I am keen that our move to the Treasury provides us with a fresh impetus to pursue our goal of promoting analysis at the heart of policy. In particular, our new location will enable us to work more closely with the central management unit for economists, and to encourage a greater contribution from government social research to the Spending Review Process.
The move comes hot on the tail of a particular busy period for GSRU. I have just given evidence at the Select Committee on Science and Technology on the use of social science enquiry in policy making. We have held successful conferences for the GSR Heads of Profession followed by one for 50 new recruits. On continuing professional development, we are finalising preparations for the GSR in-service Fast Stream and next entry to the GSR MSc programme. The new recruitment protocol has now been road-tested and is helping GSR meet its recruitment needs across the service. We continue to develop training courses, such as a new Ethics programme with leading academic Roger Jowell to help embed our professional guidance. We have also published new guidance on procurement in conjunction with the Office of Government Commerce. And the GSR and Policy Hub websites continue to grow in terms of content and reach.
I hope you find these new opportunities and resources helpful. If you have any queries on any aspect of the work of GSRU or on government social research more generally, do please get in touch with me or one of my team. And I hope we will get the opportunity to welcome you to our new offices soon!