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Research

Research Centres and Facilities

Centre for Housing Research (CHR)

The Centre for Housing Research was established in 1990 to engage in policy relevant research both independently and in conjunction with public and voluntary housing agencies. The main research activities of the Centre focus on the role of housing associations and local authorities in the provision of social housing and supported housing. The CHR is now one of the foremost depositories for data on social housing in England and Scotland. The Centre also has a track record in research on homelessness, housing affordability, residential mobility and migration and their impact on neighbourhoods and local communities. The CHR presently employs 34 staff and conducts research in Europe, England and Scotland.

For further details, visit the Centre for Housing Research (CHR) website.

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Centre for Interaction Data Estimation and Research (CIDER)

The Centre for Interaction Data Estimation and Research is one of the support centres for the UK Census data and is funded as part of the ESRC Census of Population Programme.  It has the specific remit of providing access to and supporting the use of spatial interaction data sets produced from UK Censuses of Population. Census interaction data are data that relate to flows of people between places, such as commuting and migration data. The centre is jointly run through the Universities of Leeds and St Andrews. 

For further details, visit the Centre for Interaction Data Estimation and Research (CIDER) website.

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Centre for Population Change (CPC)

This five-year ESRC-funded centre has recently been established to conduct research that will improve our understanding of the key drivers and implications of population

change within the United Kingdom. The centre is Directed by Prof. Jane Falkingham and is a collaboration between the University of Southampton and a consortium of Scottish institutions, the coordination of which rests with Prof. Boyle.  A strong partnership with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) gives this centre a strong policy focus.

The Centre will carry out research in the four thematic areas of:

  • Dynamics of fertility and family formation
  • Household change and living arrangements across the life course
  • The demographic and socio-economic implications of national and transnational migration
  • Modelling population growth and enhancing the evidence base for policy

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Longitudinal Studies Centre - Scotland (LSCS)

Launched in 2001, the LSCS has secured funds from the Scottish Higher Education Council, the Chief Scientist's Office, the Economic and Social Research Council and the Scottish Executive and is the first research centre in Scotland specifically designed to undertake and support longitudinal studies. The major task of the centre is the establishment of the Scottish Longitudinal Study (SLS) where the census, vital events and health records of a large 5.3% anonymous sample of the Scottish population are linked together. The strategic demographic, socio-economic and health research undertaken by this centre, particularly through the support and use of the SLS, will be directly relevant to the Scottish economy, academic endeavour and the nation's health. The Centre is directed by Professor Paul Boyle.

For further details, visit the Longitudinal Studies Centre - Scotland (LSCS) website.

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Social Dimensions of Health Institute (SDHI)

Launched in 2003, the SDHI is joint initiative of the Universities of Dundee and St Andrews. It facilitates and conducts inter-disciplinary health research with a remit to address the social, economic and cultural factors underpinning the health of the public, health inequalities, access disparities and the abiding presence of preventable disease. As well as collaborating with various health researchers in Scotland, it works closely with local health boards and is particularly interested in how service design interacts with client need. Brian Williams, University of Dundee, is the Director of the Institute. Professor Paul Boyle was Founding Director of the Centre.

For further details, visit the Social Dimensions of Health Institute (SDHI) website.

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St Andrews Sustainability Institute (SASI)

There are many signs that we are living in a way that will cause problems for ourselves, future generations and the many other species we share our home with.

People are slowly realising that humankind must act soon, so that everyone (including those not yet born) can have the chance of a life with increasing rather than decreasing choices. The term used to describe this future is sustainability‚ and the pathway towards it is sustainable development‚.

SASI is a group of people at St Andrews University working towards a sustainable future for everyone.

Our mission is to facilitate research, teaching, knowledge transfer and debate in order to enable the transformational change required to integrate sustainable thinking and actions into the foundations of everyday life.

For further details, visit the St Andrews Sustainability Institute (SASI) website

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Facility for Earth and Environmental Analysis (FEEA)

Research on environmental change is underpinned by the Facility for Earth and Environmental Analysis (FEEA), which incorporates an outstanding range of laboratory facilities and field equipment. These facilities permit determination of the chemical composition and structure of a wide array of synthetic and natural materials and supports geological, geophysical, geomorphological, sedimentological, glaciological, hydrological and environmental field investigations. Custom-built laboratories house environmental magnetism and luminescence (OSL, TL, CL) equipment as well as an electron microprobe, scanning electron microscope, gas source mass spectrometer, X-ray diffractometer and X-ray fluorescence spectrometer for mineralogical, chemical and stable-isotope analysis. The capacity of the FEEA will be extended in 2006 through construction of dedicated clean laboratories and the installation of an inductively coupled plasma spectrometer (ICP-MS) that will enable high-throughput trace element analysis of water, sediment, soil, rock and organic samples. Environmental research in the School is supported by an impressive array of field sampling and monitoring equipment, computing facilities, laboratories, support staff, research vehicles and vessels.

For further details,visit the Facility for Earth and Environmental Analysis (FEEA) website.

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Further Information

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