Research projects

Find out about some of the ongoing research projects at the School. These may be core funded or externally funded, and range from extensive, long term collaborations requiring fieldwork and data analysis to more individual areas of work.

Past projects

Research project
Training for Productivity: An Experimental Evaluation of Civil Service Reform in Ghana

Improving the Ghanaian Civil Service’s productivity by designing, implementing, and evaluating novel individual and group-based training methods for bureaucrats.

Research project
Building Integrity

Investigating integrity in public institutions

Research project
The history of UK public spending control 1993-2015

Investigating how, and how well, spending control worked.

Research project
Commission on State Fragility, Growth and Development

The Commission on State Fragility, Growth and Development addresses fragile and conflict situations globally – where countries are failing, or are at risk of failing, with respect to political auth

Research project
Making UK Trade Work for Development Post-Brexit

This project will bring together: leading academics on trade and development; leading UK businesses that import from developing countries; NGOs working in fairtrade and ethical sourcing, and govern

Research project
Establishing State Legitimacy and Effectiveness in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Societies

Exploring the role of norms, values, and narratives in establishing state legitimacy and the effective functioning of state organisations.

Research project
Empowering the Poor: The Behavioural and Social Foundations of Poverty Reduction, and Evolving the Role of Multilateral Responses

Analysis on how to incorporate behavioural science in the design of poverty reduction interventions.

Research project
Thin Political Markets and on the Organisation of Capitalism in Society

Examining the phenomenon of 'thin political markets'.

Research project
Women’s Empowerment, Social Norms, and Violence Against Women and Girls

This project seeks to understand which groups of individuals should be targeted by interventions that seek to reduce rates of early and forced marriage – including through keeping girls in school –