Enterprise and impact
Social enterprise
Responding innovatively to market demands, as they emerge, is a key strategy of the Department of Criminology and Sociology and its research centre, the Sociology and Criminology Department Research Centre (CResCID).
The department's research is informed by participatory and action research approaches that involve key stakeholders, including policy makers, practitioners, service users and community members, at key stages of the research projects that we undertake. This enables us to develop strong relationships with many different people and organisations in order to explore social enterprise activities.
Impact
The criminology and sociology department has been successful in undertaking research that has had policy and practice impact. Our academics promote and support projects that respond to contemporary social problems.
Academic staff have developed collaborations and strong relationships with international, national, and local agencies. Our partners include governmental departments, policing and criminal justice institutions, social work, homelessness, social care and health agencies, community groups and voluntary sector organisations.
The Sociology and Criminology Department Research Centre (CResCID), has regular and ongoing engagement with policy, practitioner, community and research partners to ensure that research has impact around issues of communities, identities and difference.
Departmental staff have a strong track record of engaging with wide-ranging stake-holders through the use of online and social media, conference and workshop activities, discussions and debates, publications, and participating in advisory boards and other networks.
Our research projects often involve steering groups that inform the aims, research questions and methods that we use, alongside the impact activities that we undertake in order to disseminate our findings to as wide a group of individuals, professionals, organisations and networks as possible.
Our research has been funded by the European Social Research Council, the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the European Commission (including COST, European Cooperation in Science and Technology), the National Lottery Commission, the Home Office, Spurgeon's, the Royal United Services Institute, amongst others.
In addition, many of academic staff themselves have professional practice backgrounds from which they draw in order to produce research products that are relevant. These include social housing, homelessness, probation, and legal practice.
