New centre at the University of York promotes research partnerships
Posted on 29 April 2005
The £4.2 million Alcuin Research Resource Centre (ARRC) serves more than 300 academics from the University's departments of Economics and Related Studies, Social Policy and Social Work, Health Sciences and Politics as well as six research units.
Financed principally by a £4 million grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) under its Joint Infrastructure Fund, it is one of only two such centres in the country. The building will be officially opened by ESRC chief executive Ian Diamond on Wednesday 4 May 2005.
Following the opening ceremony, the centre will host a conference featuring presentations by representatives of each of its participating departments and units.
ARRC is the result of increasing collaboration between departments in the University led by Professor Tony Culyer, a former head of the Department of Economics and Related Studies. The late Professor Sally Baldwin, who was director of the Social Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University for 15 years, also played an important role in its genesis.
The generous support of the ESRC is recognition that the University of York is one of the biggest and most successful centres for social science in the UK
Professor Brian Cantor
It builds on the University's work in social sciences which has already had a major impact on public policy in finance, health, social care and overseas development.
ARRC offers a range of facilities to researchers including a library, information and records management service, focus group and interview rooms with CCTV and audio recording equipment, as well as telephone interview rooms. The centre has a data collection and training suite with 32 PCs which has a major use as an experimental economics laboratory. It will also offer a data analysis laboratory as well as data management and dissemination services.
The Centre, which has been in use since April 2004, has an auditorium seating 125 people and a seminar room and is already in great demand as a conference venue.
The University's Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Cantor said: "The generous support of the ESRC is recognition that the University of York is one of the biggest and most successful centres for social science in the UK. ARRC represents a unique opportunity for the University to promote novel research partnerships."
Professor Sue Mendus, who chairs the ARRC Stakeholders Committee, added: "The ARRC building provides superb facilities for research in social sciences. It brings together researchers and teachers across a range of related disciplines and will enhance yet further York's outstanding reputation for research in these areas.
"We plan to develop ARRC as a place in which research and practice in social science can inform one another in a mutually beneficial way."
Research units based in ARRC are Centre for Health Economics, Centre for Housing Policy, Social Policy Research Unit, Social Work Research and Development Unit, Centre for Research on Child Development and Wellbeing, Centre for Reviews and Dissemination and the Yorkshire and Humber Public Health Observatory.
Notes to editors:
- To arrange photographs of the facilities in ARRC, please contact Nicola Coates on 01904 432029.