About Us

UCL's Collaborative Social Science Domain fosters collaboration across the various social sciences within UCL, and between the social sciences and the natural and applied sciences, and the humanities

“A great strength of being a social scientist is the transferability of both skills and knowledge. However this can mean working in an environment where few (or possibly no-one) shares your disciplinary background.  The Domain has created an invaluable home for UCL’s disparate, but highly dispersed, social scientists regardless of departmental or faculty affiliation.

Professor Fiona Stevenson, CSSD Steering Group founder member (2016), Professor of Medical Sociology, Institute of Epidemiology & Health, Population Health Sciences, LMS

Since our foundation in 2016, UCL's Collaborative Social Science Domain (CSSD) has taken a broad and inclusive definition of the social sciences.  We focus on understanding and addressing major national and international societal Grand Challenges through collaborative research that includes the social sciences and the disciplines across the disciplinary spectrum.   

At a time when research impact is seen as being increasingly important, insights from social science research are integral to addressing research questions relating to issues such as societal cohesion, conflict, poverty, and well-being, as well as issues that start from questions initiated in for example, engineering, computing, medicine, the natural and physical sciences.  Working collaboratively across the disciples can generate new understandings with significant implications for knowledge creation, policy and practice.  It offers a rich resource for engaging government departments, policy makers and practitioners about ways of improving social and economic outcomes for, and well-being of, individuals, groups and society. 

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Leadership and governance
The Domain is chaired by Professor Carey Jewitt (Professor of Learning and Technology, Knowledge Lab, Culture, Communication & Media, Institute of Education, UCL).  The Chair is supported by a Steering Group composed of researchers from across UCL.   Steering Group members oversee the Domain’s activities and champion its mission across departments, faculties and networks.   The Domain has a Strategic Coordinator (Michael Reade) who is a member of the SLASH/IOE Research Facilitation and Coordination Team.

Demand management processes
Sometimes external funders limit the number of applications that an institution can submit for a particular funding call.  This requires applications to undergo an internal review and approval process before submission.  The Domain has managed a number of internal demand management processes for ESRC Research Centres/Large Grants.
“The competition for ambitious, large scale research funding is intense.  The Domain's demand management process ensures that UCL identifies the strongest proposals for the most prestigious funding schemes. 
Dame Hazel Genn, Professor of Socio-Legal Studies, Laws

Launch Report
The Domain was officially launched at an event on 12 December 2017 after 18 months of activity.  Read our Launch Report.

Previous chair
Professor Alison Fuller, IOE, UCL, chaired the Domain from spring 2016 to October 2020.