The retreat of the state and the future of social science

Abstract

Amidst deep cuts to public spending, the UK Coalition government announced in 2010 that it would be substantially reducing its subsidy of social science within higher education. As part of the same deficit reduction strategy, the government is cutting funding to local authorities, disproportionately hitting urban councils in the most deprived areas of the country. Just as evidence is needed on the impact of cuts on local communities, social science is in need of a renewed public agenda to legitimate its activities. This article argues that the retreat of the state creates an opportunity, and an imperative, for social science to adopt an embedded approach to research, which addresses publicly important questions, involves the public in the research process and engages the public with its findings. The article offers critical reflections on conducting and facilitating embedded research and how this approach to social science may help to secure the future of the discipline.