X Close

Economics & Public Policy Extra

Home

The latest Library news and information for economists and political scientists

Menu

Archive for the 'News' Category

British Library Newspaper Moves

By Kieron L Jones, on 18 October 2013

In 2013-14 the British Library will move the national newspaper collection from its current home in Colindale, north London, to a purpose-built Newspaper Storage Building (NSB) in Boston Spa, West Yorkshire.  Click here for further information

Data.gov.uk consultation: Your input can inform Open Data plans

By Kieron L Jones, on 9 September 2013

As part of the UK government’s commitment to improve transparency of their data, an inventory of unpublished datasets is now available online so interested users can see what data the government holds.

The Cabinet Office is inviting all data users to browse the collection and provide input that will help inform the National Information Infrastructure as set out in the Government Response to the Shakespeare Review. The infrastructure will make explicit the main data held by government departments. It will also outline the principles of how government determines what data will be released, when and under what terms. 

As part of this work, they’re asking for input on the datasets of most interest to data users in all sectors (academia, business, journalists, think tanks, etc.).

Overall, the consultation is intended to achieve two goals:

  • to prioritise government datasets for public release based on potential use
  • to identify which datasets could have the broadest and most significant impact within the UK.

The consultation is open to all data users; the only requirement is that you register with data.gov.uk. Responses will be published on data.gov.uk so that other users can have visibility of the emerging debate. Early input is appreciated: the Cabinet Office Transparency Team, Departments, Open Data User Group and the Public Sector Transparency Board will start assessing and prioritising data releases and assembling the National Information Infrastructure from 16 September 2013.

RELATED LINKS
Details on consultation: http://data.gov.uk/blog/government-data-get-involved-0   
Data.gov.uk inventory of unpublished datasets: http://data.gov.uk/data/search?q=&unpublished=true&page=1

Funding opportunity: ESRC Secondary Data Analysis Initative

By Kieron L Jones, on 5 September 2013

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is seeking proposals for Phase 2 of the Secondary Data Analysis Initiative.

The purpose of the Secondary Data Analysis Initiative is to deliver high quality and high impact policy- and practitioner-relevant research through the deeper exploitation of the major data resources created by the ESRC and other agencies, including the UK Data Service.

They are inviting innovative and creative proposals for small-scale projects of up to £200,000 for a maximum duration of 18 months. This Phase 2 call also offers the opportunity to apply for self-managed clusters of several projects giving a larger network of linked grants.

Proposals must include non-academic partners to ensure the co-production of knowledge and to directly address the wider impact aims of the initiative. Proposals that draw on international datasets and/or with an international comparative focus are also encouraged.

The core assessment criteria are:

  • originality and potential contribution to knowledge
  • potential for policy and practitioner impact
  • research design and methods, including innovation and creativity
  • value for money
  • outputs, dissemination and impact.

ESRC expects to fund 20-25 projects under this second phase. Further phases are likely to be commissioned over the coming years.

 Deadline for proposals is 26 November 2013. The full call specification, FAQs and guidance notes are available on the ESRC website: http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/funding-opportunities/26605/secondary-data-analysis-initiative-phase-2november.aspx

Royal Society internships

By Kieron L Jones, on 1 August 2013

Two paid policy internships are available at the Royal Society.

One internship will focus on policy for science, innovation and economic growth on a six month fixed term contract, ideally between October 2013 and March 2014.

One internship will focus on policy for higher education on a four month fixed term contract, ideally between late September 2013 and late January 2014.

The Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science, is looking for two policy interns to join our team. We expect both interns to be involved in a wide variety of projects and activities such as organising events, gathering and analysing oral and written evidence, drafting papers and engaging with stakeholders. We are looking for proactive all-rounders with particularly strong communication skills, and a willingness to undertake a range of diverse tasks is essential.

One intern will be mainly involved with our policy work around science, innovation and economic growth following on from our recent statement ‘Fuelling prosperity’ and groundbreaking report ‘Securing the scientific century’. For this post a strong interest in international science and innovation systems, economics and/or public policy is desirable.

The other will mainly work on two pieces of higher education policy work on the funding and training landscape for PhD students in the UK, and codes of conduct for PhDs and postdoctorate researchers. For this post a keen interest in UK higher education policy is desirable, particularly around Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.

There will be one application and interview process for both posts. Candidates are invited to indicate which internship they prefer and we will endeavour to take this into account during selection.

For further information about the Royal Society’s policy work go to: http://royalsociety.org/policy/

Interviews for both posts will take place the week beginning 9 September.

For any questions, please contact the Royal Society’s HR department at: humanresources@royalsociety.org

Latest Application By: 16-Aug-2013

Location: 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG

Please apply on the Royal Society’s website: https://recruit.royalsociety.org/AccessSelect.rEcruit/Recruitment/Vacancies.aspx

Friday 19th July

By Kieron L Jones, on 12 July 2013

Owing to the annual staff conference, the Main Library will be closed all day on Friday 19th July.

The Science Library will be open for reference only 08:45-00:00.  Self-service machines will be available on the ground floor for Science users and on the 2nd floor for Cruciform users.

Spending review

By Kieron L Jones, on 28 June 2013

Chancellor George Osborne announced details of the 2015-16 Spending Round on 26 June 2013.

On Thursday 27 June, the day after the Spending Round, the Institute for Fiscal Studies held a lunchtime briefing at The Building Centre, Store Street, London. The presentation provided an opportunity to hear a considered view of the Chancellor’s announcements from Institute staff.

Presentations from the briefing can be downloaded here

Access to History & SPP reading room collections

By Kieron L Jones, on 26 June 2013

“There is filming planned in the Main Library next week. There will be set up on Wed 3rd July which should not affect access to material. On Thurs 4th July there will be set up and filming taking place in the History corridor and Dutch. This will mean we have to close the doors at the beginning of the history corridor onwards for the day. A book fetching service will be available.  Fri 5th July will be breakdown which will not restrict access in the History corridor and further filming in Dutch. Sat 6th July there is further filming in Dutch. Fri and Sat only Dutch/Celtic will be closed off.”

Planned industrial action at The BL – Thu 16 May and Fri 17 May

By Kieron L Jones, on 14 May 2013

http://www.bl.uk/notices/industrialactionmay.html

British Library Labs Competition Live

By Kieron L Jones, on 7 May 2013

British Library Labs Competition Live

Calling all researchers and developers!

Propose an innovative and transformative project that answers a research question using the British Library’s digital collections / data and if your idea is chosen, the Labs team will work with you to make it happen and you could win a prize of up to £3,000.

From the digitisation of thousands of books, newspapers and manuscripts, the collecting of UK websites, bird sounds or location data for our maps, over the last two decades we’ve been faithfully amassing a vast and wide-ranging digital collection for the nation. What remains elusive however is understanding what researchers need in place in order to unlock the potential for new discoveries within these fascinating and diverse digital collections. The Labs competition is designed to attract scholars, explorers and trailblazers to the Library who see the potential for new and innovative research lurking within these immense digital collections. Through soliciting innovative and transformative projects utilising this content you will be giving us a steer as to the types of platforms, arrangements, services and tools needed to surface it. We’ll even throw the Library’s resources behind you to make your idea a reality.

To find out more, visit the competition pages http://labs.bl.uk/Competition+2013 (deadline for submission of ideas is the 26 June 2013), sign up to the wiki,  express your interest and participate in one of the related events, virtually (17 May 2013, 1500 GMT), hack event in London on the 28 and 29 May, 2013 or one of our roadshow events.

Changes to ESDS & ESRC Census Programme

By Kieron L Jones, on 22 March 2013

“As you may know, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has funded a new national service that will consolidate and incorporate four established data services and websites:

  • Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS)
  • Census.ac.uk
  • Secure Data Service (SDS)
  • Survey Question Bank (SQB)

This week the new UK Data Service launched its website, which will affect how you find and access data and related resources. Most notably:

  • The ESDS website will remain during the transition, however content there will not be maintained and could become out of date.
  • These remaining websites will have automatic redirects to the new UK Data Service website, however those redirects may not exactly match the pages you currently use.
  • Survey Question Bank (SQB)

We encourage you to visit the UK Data Service website and get acquainted with what you can find there. Here are the main links you should be aware of. All links are live as of Friday 22 March 2013:

Homepage http://ukdataservice.ac.uk
Data Catalogue (now called Discover) http://discover.ukdataservice.ac.uk
Major studies (now called Key Data) http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/get-data/key-data
How to access http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/get-data/how-to-access
Secure access (formerly Secure Data Service) http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/get-data/secure-access
Manage data http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/manage-data
Deposit data http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/deposit-data
Cite data http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/use-data/citing-data
Census Support http://census.ukdataservice.ac.uk
FAQ http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/help/faq
Help (Get in touch) http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/help/get-in-touch

We appreciate your patience as we transition services to the UK Data Service. We also encourage you to read the FAQs for answers to specific questions and concerns that will affect regular users. As always, get in touch if you need personal support.”