Who We Are
Public policy - a government’s role in improving welfare, security and prosperity for the nation - is becoming increasingly scrutinised in the years since covid and ensuing socio-economic challenges caused by Brexit and the cost-of-living crisis.
The Public Policy and Practice Research Institute at Swansea University unites researchers for interdisciplinary projects, and is led by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in collaboration with departments outside the Faculty. We aim to explore the challenges within contemporary public policy development by offering inter-disciplinary solutions to these challenges, creating an open dialogue between academics.
What We Do
By uniting academics across subject areas, our Institute facilitates discussions between experts approaching public policy from multiple perspectives. This collaborative approach supports inter-disciplinary research bids, allowing academics to connect with others whose knowledge and expertise could add value to their proposed research area.
Our members have diverse interests which reflect our main research themes, and we plan to develop these research foci over time.
Our research focuses on the following themes:
How you can take part
We welcome interest from academics with an interest in public policy at all career stages and from any subject area. Please get in touch with Institute Director, Dr Steve Garner s.j.garner@swansea.ac.uk for more information on membership, ideas for research bids, requests for PGR support, and event requests.
About the Director: Dr Steve Garner is an Associate Professor in Sociology, in the Department of Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy. Dr Garner is a widely-published sociologist interested in the intersection of racism, class and nationalism. He has worked as a driver, translator, a language teacher and in the Irish public sector, as well as at a number of universities - in France, Ireland, England, Wales and the USA.
