About the Policy Studies Institute

Policy Studies Institute (PSI) is one of Britain's leading research institutes, conducting research to promote economic well-being and improve quality of life. PSI enjoys a reputation for the rigorous and impartial evaluation of policy in the UK and Europe, and the publication and dissemination of research findings is central to our ethos.

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Latest news

How can we make work reduce poverty?

The Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) scheme was a demonstration project for a new policy to help lone parents and long-term unemployed people improve their labour-market position. As a PSI research project, led by Genevieve Knight (right) has demonstrated, ERA has provided some important policy lessons on how to reduce poverty.

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PSI leads new half-million pound smart-grid research project

PSI has been awarded a grant of over £500,000 from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) to support research into smart grids.

Researchers at Brunel University, Cardiff University, University of Exeter and the University of Nottingham are all contributing to this leading-edge project, which brings together some of the UK’s leading researchers in energy policy, behavioural psychology, energy-networks engineering, and energy regulation and economics.

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New PSI research project Working after state-pension age Eurofound has commissioned PSI to conduct a UK study of paid employment after state pensionable age, to include an investigation of: employment trends; individual and job characteristics; employer good practice; and government policy. Research is being conducted by several European countries in tandem, these will be amalgamated into a single Europe-wide report. Read on...

Latest evaluation of Flexible New Deal published

The latest research report in PSI's work on evaluating the Flexible New Deal (FND) explores service delivery, customer experience and outcomes. It presents findings from a national survey of Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) customers at the 12- to 24-month point of claim, comparing support received under FND with equivalent support provided under the former JSA and New Deal regimes.

The research found that younger customers (aged 18 to 24) were less likely to be in paid work two years after making their claim than those in non-FND areas, though there was no difference in employment rates for those aged over 24.

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