Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP) awarded ESRC transition funding under new model

Posted on 6 Feb 2018 in

The Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP) at the London School of Economics & Political Science and University of Leeds, has been awarded a further five years of funding by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

CCCEP, which brings together some of the world’s leading researchers on climate change economics and policy, is one of only 8 research centres awarded transition funding as part of a new funding model designed to secure the long-term sustainability of social science research excellence in the UK.

Professor Simon Dietz, Co-Director of CCCEP, said:

“I am delighted that ESRC will support CCCEP for a further five years. Transition funding will enable us to maximise the impact of our existing research and to continue contributing to the key issues of the day, including implementing the Paris Agreement internationally, and delivering low-carbon growth in the UK.”

The new ESRC ‘transition funding’ policy marks a step-change in the way the ESRC supports its centres after a grant comes to an end. CCCEP transition funding will be co-funded by the ESRC and CCCEP’s host institutions LSE and the University of Leeds.

Dame Minouche Shafik, Director of LSE, said:

“We welcome this on-going support which will help to set our leading research centres on a more sustainable footing, while further strengthening the School’s already close partnership with the ESRC. These centres are an excellent example of how social sciences can help tackle the world’s most pressing challenges – with outstanding research which directly informs policy makers.”

Executive Chair of ESRC and Executive Chair Designate of UK Research and Innovation, Professor Jennifer Rubin, said:

“We are delighted that these eight centres have secured the backing of their research organisations for co-funding with ESRC. This will sustain them over a longer period, and help set them on a path to continue beyond their ESRC centres funding.

“This model for funding social science research centres in the UK also establishes a new relationship between ESRC and research organisations. It recognises the strategic and financial benefits brought by these centres of excellence and their potential for making a contribution nationally and internationally.”

The ESRC’s new centres’ transition funding policy follows a review into how the research council could continue to foster and sustain the excellence and impact of its centres over the long term, without reducing investment elsewhere.

Notes for editors:  

  1. CCCEP has been funded since its foundation in 2008 by the ESRC. The first phase of funding extended from 2008 until 2013. At the end of the first phase, the ESRC undertook a mid-term review of the Centre, and subsequently awarded it a second phase of funding for the period between 2013 and 2018. The transition funding awarded to CCCEP is for the period 2018-2023.
  1. Further information is available in the Transition Review Application Guidance and Centres Transition Funding FAQs (both available at http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding/guidance-for-large- investments/esrc-centres-and-institutes/).