PolicyWorld AUTUMN 2009 NEWSLETTER OF THE SOCIAL POLICY ASSOCIATION sPeCial issue: Peter townsenD 1928-2009 SPA News Editors - Social Policy and Society: The Social Policy Pete Dwyer Association (SPA) Nottingham Trent University is a professional sPa eXeCutiVe [email protected] association open for membership Sharon Wright to academics and ContaCt Details University of Stirling practitioners working [email protected] in social policy, and to others with an interest in UK and JUC SPC Representative: international social policy. The association 2009 - 2010 Jim Goddard hosts an annual conference and funds University of Bradford smaller seminar events, as well as producing [email protected] journals and other publications. In addition, Chair: Caroline Glendinning the Association’s executive committee University of York SWAP Representative: represents the interests of the membership in [email protected] Rebecca Johnson communication with other professional and University of Southampton academic bodies. The annual SPA awards Vice Chair: Nicola Yeates [email protected] are presented at the conference, including The Open University a lifetime achievement award and best [email protected] Website Manager: Steve McKay newcomer award. There is also a thriving University of Birmingham SPA postgraduate network with a dedicated Honorary Secretary: Tess Ridge [email protected] annual postgraduate conference and regular University of Bath seminars. More information is available at [email protected] ESRC: Catherine Palmer www.social-policy.com. Durham University Honorary Treasurer: Rana Jawad [email protected] University of Warwick [email protected] Conference Organisers 2010/11: [email protected] Hugh Bochel ADVERTISING IN POLICY WORLD University of Lincoln Do you need to reach social policy academics, Press and Policy World Editor: [email protected] practitioners and post-graduate students? Chris Blunkell Policy World is published three times a year [email protected] Mailbase Manager: Simon Prideaux for the 700 members of the Social Policy University of Leeds Association, and is an obvious choice to Membership Secretary: [email protected] publicise forthcoming conferences, new Karen Rowlingson publications and more. You will see that our rates, which assume the supply of artwork, CONTENTS University of Birmingham Teaching and Learning and Email: [email protected] Recruitment Convenor: are more than competitive. 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Health Policy Group: Awards Offi cer: Majella Kilkey Stephen Peckham EDITOR: University of Hull [email protected] CHRIS BLUNKELL [email protected] Telephone: 01227 772747 Environment and Welfare Group: Mobile: 07941 831341, Editors - Journal of Social Policy: Tony Fitzpatrick Email: [email protected] Tania Burchardt tony.fi [email protected], London School of economics Michael Cahill PRINT DESIGNER: [email protected] [email protected] NICK HUNT The Lavenham Press, 47 Water St., Hartley Dean Service User group Lavenham, Suffolk CO10 9RN London School of Economics Guy Daley, Rachel Harding Telephone: 01787 247 436 [email protected] Neil Steelwell Email: [email protected] 2 PolicyWorld AUTUMN 2009 www.social-policy.com SPA News swaP CONTENTS 18 news CHair’s introDuCtion sPa ConferenCe anD 4 sPa news 20 awarDs rePort in triBute to international/small Grants 8 Peter townsenD 22 rePort PostGraDuate news anD refereeinG for 16 ConferenCe rePort 23 aCaDemiC Journals EDITORIAL Welcome to the Autumn 2009 issue of Policy World – and my fi rst as editor. During the short time I have been in post, I have been struck by the passion members have for academic endeavour in the area of social policy, and your insistence that it should contribute to a world that takes better care of those who cannot always take care of themselves. This shines through in the time and attention devoted to the tribute to Peter Townsend that dominates these pages, and I hope Nick (Policy World designer) and I have served that investment well. I hope you enjoy this issue, and I look forward to meeting more of you before too long. Chris Blunkell Editor www.social-policy.com PolicyWorld AUTUMN 2009 3 SPA News groups are a good way of developing links CHair’s introDuCtion among members with similar research Caroline GlenDinninG interests – who knows, they could eventually lead to collaborations on papers or research researCH bids. But they depend entirely on you – the members - to initiate and organise. eXCellenCe Perhaps refl ecting the demography of UK social science, we have been deeply framework saddened by the recent deaths of two leading social policy academics. Professor Peter Townsend had been a source of great Consultation inspiration to many of us, at all stages of our careers. His commitment to using rigorous research in the quest for social justice was an Hot on the heels of the last Research example we could try to emulate but never Assessment Exercise (RAE) comes news equal. We were privileged to have been of HEFCE’s next major assessment of able to give Peter a Lifetime Achievement research quality to inform the allocation Award at our 2008 Annual Conference. of research funding. The Research Much of this issue of Policy World is devoted Excellence Framework (REF) will involve to remembering Peter’s many achievements submissions in 2012 for assessment and celebrating the impact that he had on in 2013. so many of us and on social policy across Welcome to the Autumn 2009 issue of the world. Thanks to Adrian Sinfi eld and A well-attended meeting at the SPA Policy World. And welcome, too, to our Nicola Yeates for editing this tribute. Annual Conference in Edinburgh in new Policy World editor, Chris Blunkell. July heard of the developing REF plans Chris is a writer and editor with years of When Peter died, SPA wrote expressing from Professor Peter Taylor-Gooby. After experience working with government, our sadness and thanks for his work. The Chairing the 2008 RAE Social Policy and academia and other organisations that acknowledgment we received from his Administration and Social are relevant to the SPA and its members. widow Jean included the words she spoke at Work subpanel, Chris has taken over the editor’s role his funeral: Peter has been from Kate Merriam, to whom we are very a member of grateful for her creativity and hard work in “… I knew that I was the love of his life, as one of HEFCE’s relaunching Policy World a couple of years he was of mine, but I also knew that I only expert advisory ago. had half of him. I knew I had to share him. I groups developing shared him with older people who were not guidelines for the As announced at the AGM in Edinburgh in treated with dignity and respect. I shared him new REF - now July, this year the SPA Executive Committee with disabled people treated as second class published for will have several new priorities on top of the citizens. I shared him with people whose consultation (www. more routine activities of ensuring all our life chances and expectations were blighted hefce.ac.uk/pubs/ members’ services run smoothly. We will by poverty. I shared him with his students hefce/2009/09_38/). be redesigning the SPA website; looking at and colleagues, and knew that the sponge how to increase our media and wider public pudding and custard at LSE was a high point Contrary to earlier rumours that profi le, including developing closer links with of the week. And I shared him with millions major changes to the previous RAE policy-makers and others in local, regional of children all over the world, who will never methodology would be proposed, the REF and national government; and extending our know his name but owe him so much.” may in the end have more similiarities membership base. We will also continue to than differences. It will not rely primarily extend our links with social policy academics Sadly, Dennis Marsden, one of the many on citation indices - HEFCE has in other countries and generally increase the social scientists whose career was profoundly concluded that these “are not suffi ciently international profi le of the SPA. shaped by Peter, has also recently died. mature to be used formulaically as Dennis was one of Peter’s former colleagues a sole indicator or to replace expert One new development this year has been in the (then) new Department of Sociology at review”. Instead, peer review of selected the establishment of the Welfare Service the University of Essex in the 1960s and 70s. outputs will continue to form the basis Users Special Interest Group within SPA As Alan Walker wrote in the Guardian, Peter of assessment, with outputs assessed (see page 5 for a report of the Group’s and Dennis shared a great deal in those against criteria of ‘rigour, originality and fi rst meeting at the Edinburgh conference).