The ESRC currently has an annual budget of around 65 million from the British Government. We don't have our own 'in-house' researchers, we distribute our funds to academics at universities and other institutes around the UK, enabling us to draw on the skills of the nation's top researchers. In fact, each year we fund nearly 1,000 researchers throughout Britain.
Research is funded through open competitions and grants awarded on the basis of academic excellence.
To ensure that our work addresses the key long-term concerns of policymakers, businesses and other users of our research, nine priority research themes have been identified in consultation with these groups, as well as with the academic community. Each of the ESRC's centres employs a team of researchers. The programmes are composed of individual projects at different institutions and co-ordinated by a director.