ONS Research Funding Grant

The purpose of the grant is to help fund academic research into economic measurement. We are keen to encourage and support scholars in the early stages of their career, so applications are invited from postdoctoral academics working in UK universities.

Applications for funding of up to £5,000 are welcomed to enable research that covers the following areas:

• measuring the labour share of income, including consistency through time
• measuring accounting prices, in line with Dasgupta's review of the Economics of Biodiversity
• evaluating the productivity story in different industries following revisions introduced in Blue Book 2021 (including double deflation)

It is our role to provide the UK with economic data and statistics, and we recognise that the economy and the needs of our users are continually changing. We would like to increase our engagement with academic and research institutions through the promotion of a wider use of the economic statistics we produce.

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• grants are available for advanced research at postdoctoral or equivalent level, in the fields of economics, humanities and the social sciences; postgraduate students are not eligible to apply
• applicants must be ordinarily resident in the UK
• any work for which support is requested must not have commenced before the grant is confirmed; grants will not be made retrospectively

Funds may be sought to cover the direct expenses incurred in planning, conducting, and developing the research, including:

• project planning and development costs (cost of travel for discussion in the UK and overseas, and initial workshops with potential partners)
• research assistance (based in the UK or abroad)
• workshops or conferences to advance the programme of research (principally the costs of travel and maintenance for main participants)
• consumables
• specialist software

The successful applicant for the 2022/23 ONS Research Fund is Jen-Chung Mei who is a Postdoc Research Associate at The Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge. The title of this research project is 'Structural change and drivers of productivity growth in sub-sectors of UK manufacturing'.

If you would like further details on the ONS research funding, please send an email to Nathan Birch or Emily Harris at economic.engagement@ons.gov.uk.