Social Science Research
Making lives better through research and sharing of knowledge.
Multidisciplinary community of researchers
The social science group is a multidisciplinary community of researchers. Our research largely focuses on issues around food, environment, agriculture, rural communities and enterprises.
We host the award-winning Centre for Rural Economy and the £3.7 million National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise. Our expertise can be divided across the following themes:
Centre for Rural Economy
The Centre for Rural Economy (CRE) is a world-leading group of academics specialising in interdisciplinary social science and applied policy research.
National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise
We lead the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise. The Centre aims to foster innovation and enterprise across rural economies. We share knowledge gained to inform policy and support services for rural enterprise.
Rural Studies
Find out more about our Rural Studies Research and our pioneering policy work with UK government
Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Environment
We focus on the societal aspects of agriculture, food and the environment, addressing the whole food chain, from the farm-gate to people’s food choices.