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Investing in adolescent girls can reduce child marriage and improve education in Nigeria

16 January 2026
New evidence shows that ending the practice of child marriage in Nigeria is both achievable and cost effective, and could boost economic and social development.
A male teacher sitting at a desk, talking to a mother and child who are sat opposite him with their backs to the camera.

Reducing school exclusions: what school-based interventions can - and can't - achieve

14 January 2026
Study identifies four factors shaping success of school-based measures in UK.
A runner wearing a smartwatch tracking their fitness statistics. They are holding their smartphone next to their wrist, looking at more detail on a fitness app.

Do we fully understand the potential challenges posed by self-surveillance technologies?

08 December 2025
New research examines how people understand and respond to Quantified Self (QS) technologies such as fitness trackers.
A man's hand holds out a handheld shotgun, aiming at nothing

Impact of gun violence extends beyond data dominating news and debate

25 November 2025
Research examines short-term, long-term, and cumulative impacts of exposure to gun violence.
Professor Frank Vandenbroucke is wearing a light suit and round glasses. He is leaning against a light wall.

Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium delivers DSPI's flagship lecture

13 November 2025
Professor Frank Vandenbroucke, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs and Public Health for Belgium, addressed the concept of pragmatism in political action at DSPI's annual Sidney Ball Memorial Lecture. 
george and teresa smith award winners: Leah Ennis, Nandini Kapoor, and Vivian Gu

George and Teresa Smith Awards winners 2024-25

11 November 2025
Awards acknowledge academic achievement on Comparative Social Policy and the Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation (EBSIPE) courses at DSPI.
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DSPI researchers receive awards for outstanding contributions to child and adolescent mental health

10 November 2025
Professor Frances Gardner CMG was awarded the ACAMH President's Medal for Lifetime Contribution to Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Dr Gabriela Pavarini received the ACAMH Digital Innovation Award for Research on Digital Impact.
Dr Bedük has short dark hair. He is wearing a light blue shirt and grey jumper.

Job loss costs UK families three times as much as Europeans

27 October 2025
Research led by Dr Selçuk Bedük shows that UK families' efforts to fill income gap fall short due to weak labour market and meagre benefits.
Mona Ibrahim has long curly dark hair. She is smiling broadly, standing in front of a bouquet of flowers and an 'Impact Awards' banner

DSPI researcher highly commended for work on conflict-sensitive recovery in Sudan

06 October 2025
Collaboration of wide range of individuals and organisations is key to effective social assistance.
Maria has long black hair and is smiling at the camera. She is wearing a multi-coloured jacket over a black top.

New research finds behavioural factors directly affect engagement with digital health tool

06 October 2025
Research exploring how users engage with ParentText, a chatbot-led public health programme.
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Professor Zachary Parolin wins prestigious David N. Kershaw Award

01 October 2025
Professor Parolin is recognised for his public policy contributions toward reducing poverty and expanding economic opportunity.
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Fran Bennett joins Social Security Advisory Committee

25 September 2025
During her five-year term, Fran will take part in the Committee's functions of advising on social security and related matters.
Zach Parolin has short brown hair. He is wearing a blue shirt and dark blazer, standing against a dark background. He is facing the camera and smiling.

Professor Zach Parolin to lead research on economic inequality at DSPI

15 September 2025
Professor Parolin will be teaching, advancing research, and bringing fresh perspectives to public policy at the department.
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Research outlines 15 policy guidelines to help tackle child poverty

08 September 2025
Policy recommendations to help families deal with difficult and sometimes unexpected circumstances that threaten their resilience.
Four young adult students sat in a row at a desk, holding pens and looking at textbooks.

Global study reveals how expanding education is changing generational opportunity

21 August 2025
A new study by Dr Mobarak Hossain and Martina Beretta explores patterns of educational mobility across both high-income and low- and middle-income countries.
Red writing 'Protagonistas' in various graphic fonts on a yellow background

Interactive storytelling chatbot for adolescents in Brazil to boost youth participation and school mental health

05 August 2025
The Protagonists project assesses the effectiveness of a digital intervention to equip young people in Brazil with skills to provide mental health and wellbeing (MHWB) support.
Four people smiling outdoors in front of greenery, standing side by side smiling at the camera.

How AI is reshaping how we understand parent-child interactions

10 July 2025
Hosted by DSPI, the GPI webinar bought together researchers to explore how scalable, ethical and accurate AI tools are in understanding parent-child interactions.
Neftalem Emanuel is wearing a blue jumper and light blue shirt. He has dark hair and a short beard.

Barnett Prize winner 2025: Neftalem Emanuel

08 July 2025
Neftalem Emanuel awarded the Barnett Prize 2025 for his outstanding contribution to evidence-based social intervention and policy evaluation.
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Event recap: Symposium for Early Researchers in Social Policy & Intervention

02 July 2025
Over 80 students and faculty members gathered at St. Hilda's College for the annual Symposium for Early Researchers in Social Policy & Intervention (SERSPI).
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New research proves two freely available tools can be used to assess mental health and depression in multiple countries

26 June 2025
Study shows DASS and CABI are effective tools for low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).
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Even when researchers play by the rules, how stable are their findings? New study shows how and why even honest research findings can flip and what to do about it

24 June 2025
New research addresses a fundamental challenge in empirical social science: the extent to which published findings depend on modelling decisions.