Department of Social Policy and Intervention

Department of Social Policy and Intervention

Established	1914
Academic staff	40
Postgraduates	35 CSP, 30 EBSIPE
Doctoral students	55
Location	Oxford , England
Head of Department	Rebecca Surrender
Affiliations	University of Oxford

The Department of Social Policy and Intervention aka Barnett House is a leading interdisciplinary centre for research and teaching in social policy and the systematic evaluation of social intervention at the University of Oxford. It hosts three main research clusters; the Oxford Institute of Social Policy (OISP), the Centre for Evidence-Based Social Intervention and the Oxford Centre for Population Research (OXPOP). Additionally the interdepartmental Centre for AIDS Interdisciplinary Research at Oxford (CAIRO) is hosted within the department.

Notable former heads of department have included Leonard Barnes, A. H. Halsey, Stein Ringen and Martin Seeleib-Kaiser.

Research

The department was ranked first among all social policy departments in the Research Excellence Framework 2014, which assess the research performance of institutions of higher education in the UK, with 79% of its research classified as world-leading. The department is a centre of excellence in research in social policy, the development and systematic evaluation of social interventions, and population studies. Whilst the majority of work is focused on OECD countries, faculty members also address important social policy issues in developing countries. The academic backgrounds of members of staff in the department include anthropology, demography, economics, health services research, political science, psychology, social policy, social work and sociology. The substantive focus of research in the department covers a wide range of policy areas including; Family Policy, Health Policy, Education Policy and Social Policy, Housing Policy, Poverty and Social Exclusion, Welfare and Work, Demographic and Population based problems and a wide range of social and psycho-social interventions. Whilst the majority of work is focused on OECD countries, faculty members also address important social policy issues in developing countries.

Teaching

The department offers teaching on two core graduate study tracts; Comparative Social Policy (MSc and MPhil) and Evidence Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation (MSc and MPhil). Research courses are offered in Social Policy and Social Intervention (DPhil). Additionally the department provides teaching on the undergraduate Politics, Philosophy and Economics course.