The Social Policy Association (SPA) is the United Kingdom's

professional association A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) is a group that usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in ...

for teachers, researchers, students and practitioners of

social policy Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize social policy and public policy to be two separate, competing approaches for the same public interest (similar to MD a ...

. It works to promote the discipline, encourage public awareness of social policy research, liaise with relevant public bodies and higher education institutions, and facilitate the impact of research on public debates and social policy. Founded in 1967 as the Social Administration Association, the SPA adopted its current name in 1987, reflecting the changing nature of the discipline and profession. It produces three

academic journals An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the dissemination, scr ...

: '' Journal of Social Policy'', '' Social Policy and Society'', and '' Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy'' published by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

. The SPA is a

membership organisation A membership organization is any organization that allows people or entities to subscribe, and often requires them to pay a membership free or "subscription". Membership organizations typically have a particular purpose, which involves connecting p ...

and membership is open to anyone with an interest in the social policy field. Members pay an annual fee, with the cost varying according to income bands and their country of residence. Benefits include subscriptions to the SPA's journals, discounted registration for its

conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

and the ability to apply for

grants Grant or Grants may refer to: People * Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters ** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the U ...

. Members are also eligible for nomination to the society's awards, which have been given out annually since 2006. The SPA is a member learned society of the

Academy of Social Sciences The Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS) is a representative body for social sciences in the United Kingdom. The academy promotes social science through its sponsorship of the Campaign for Social Science, its links with Government on a variety of m ...

. It is one of the UK Government's approved professional organisations and learned societies for tax purposes.

History

Social administration Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize social policy and public policy to be two separate, competing approaches for the same public interest (similar to MD an ...

as a discipline emerged in Britain in the mid twentieth century and expanded alongside the growth of the

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the State (polity), state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal oppor ...

, especially in the period after the Second World War. In universities, it was initially a vocational subject focused on training

social workers Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

, and also became a form of a training for people employed in

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

. Among its early proponents were

Richard Titmuss Richard Morris Titmuss (16 October 1907 – 6 April 1973) was a British social researcher and teacher. He founded the academic discipline of social administration (now largely known in universities as social policy) and held the founding chair ...

and

Brian Abel-Smith Brian Abel-Smith (6 November 1926 – 4 April 1996) was a British economist and expert adviser and one of the most influential figures of the twentieth century in shaping health and social welfare. In Britain, his research for the Guillebaud ...

. The expansion of higher education in the 1960s allowed for the profession and the discipline to grow. Pete Alcock, ''Social Policy in Britain: Themes and Issues'' (Basingstoke:

Macmillan Press Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains offi ...

, 1996), pp. 9–10. In 1967, the Social Administration Association was founded as a

. It launched its own

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of personal secretive thoughts and as open book to personal therapy or used to feel connected to onesel ...

, '' Journal of Social Policy'', in 1972. Across the 1970s, scholars argued that social administration needed to incorporate more theory, move away from studying the details of administration, and bring in concepts from other disciplines like sociology. It became less vocationally-orientated and more academic;Exley (2019), pp. 51–52. the diplomas previously awarded were gradually replaced by full degrees; and some universities abandoned vocational teaching altogether. Increasingly, to recognise the more academic focus, university departments began to incorporate

, rather than administration, in their names. It became common for academics appointed to

professorships Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...

of social administration to request the chair be renamed "Professor of Social Policy".Smith (1988), pp. 375–379. In 1987, the Social Administration Association changed its name to the Social Policy Association. It was criticised by Howard Glennerster (the professor of social administration at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

) for playing down the value of examining bureaucratic welfare administration, but

Gilbert Smith Gilbert Oswald Smith (25 November 1872 – 6 December 1943
), familiarly known as G. O. Smith or simply as G. O. ...

(the professor of social administration at the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

) defended the decision and the state of the discipline.

Aims and objectives

As of 2021, the SPA aims to promote social policy as an academic subject by supporting research and teaching; it also works to increase public awareness of the discipline and help research have an impact on social policy and public debates. To this end, it consults with higher education providers and research institutions, and liaises with the Economic and Social Research Council. For members, it aims to provide a forum for discussion and a means of keeping up-to-date with changes in the discipline abroad and in the UK."About"
''Social Policy Association''. Retrieved 15 June 2021.

Membership

Membership is open to people from any country. Individual members pay an annual fee of £40–125, depending on their annual income (or £10 for people in countries classified by the SPA as belonging to the global "economic south"). Public-sector and third-sector organisations may apply for institutional membership, charged at £100 annually (or discounted to £50 for those in the "economic south"). Membership benefits include subscriptions to the SPA's three academic journals and its ''Social Policy Review'', as well as discounted registration for the SPA's conferences, discounts for some other academic journals in the field, the ability to apply for grants, and eligibility for nominations to the society's awards. Most of the SPA's members are teachers and researchers in the field, usually based in UK universities. There is a growing number of members from outside the UK.

Chairs and Presidents

David Donnison David Vernon Donnison (19 January 1926 – 28 April 2018) was a British academic and social scientist, who was Professor of Social Administration at the London School of Economics from 1961 to 1969, and Professor of Town and Regional Planning (19 ...

was the first chair of the association, The current SPA Chair is Prof. Karen Rowlingson and the current SPA President is Baroness Ruth Lister.

Publications

The SPA publishes the following peer-reviewed academic journals published by

''Journal of Social Policy''''Social Policy and Society''
an
''Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy''
The SPA has a long-standing relationship wit
Policy Press
including three-book series
''Social Policy Review''''Understanding Welfare''
and
''Research in Comparative and Global Social Policy''

Awards

The SPA makes awards which recognise academics and teachers operating in the field of social policy, and those who have social policy academic work to increase public awareness of social policy.

Special or International Recognition Awards

The Association gives out its Special Recognition Award (SPA) on an annual basis to people who are due to retire within a year or who have already retired from the academic profession and who has either "made a sustained contribution to research in the field of social policy", "made a sustained contribution to teaching and learning of the subject ...", "had a sustained impact on political process/discourse ...", or "achieved esteem measured in terms of journal editing/establishing, promotion of social policy within other social sciences, membership of research councils or similar bodies.""2016 SPA Award Winners"
''Social Policy Association'', 21 February 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2018. The Special Recognition Award was last given out in 2017 but since 2016 the Association has also made an International Special Recognition Award to recognise scholars outside the United Kingdom. This continues to be awarded as of 2019. * 2019: Nick Ellison (International Recognition Award)"SPA Previous Award Winners (2006–2019)"
''Social Policy Association''. Retrieved 15 June 2021. * 2018: Tess Ridge (International Recognition Award) and Aditya Chakrabortty (Public Recognition Award) * 2017: Pete Alcock (Special Recognition Award) and

Wolfgang Streeck Wolfgang Streeck (; born 27 October 1946) is a German economic sociologist and emeritus director of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne. Early life Streeck was born "just outside Münster", the son of refugees – e ...

(International Special Recognition Award) * 2016: John Clarke and Gillian Parker. The International Special Recognition Award has given out for the first time, to Kathryn Edin. * 2015: Lesley Doyal; Rudolf Klein;

Robert Pinker Robert Arthur Pinker (27 May 1931 – 2 February 2021) was a British sociologist and press regulator. Early life and family Robert Arthur Pinker was born on 27 May 1931, the son of Dora Elizabeth Pinker and Joseph Pinker. In 1955, he married ...

. * 2014: Gary Craig; Caroline Glendinning; John Veit-Wilson. * 2013: Peter Taylor-Gooby;

Ian Gough Ian Gough (born 10 November 1976) is a former Wales international rugby union rugby player. His usual position was lock forward. He made his debut for the Wales national rugby union team against South Africa in 1998, and was a regular thereafter, ...

; Bob Deacon. * 2012: Alan Deacon;

David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...

; Fiona Williams; Nicholas Deakin.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Before 2012, the SPA made Lifetime Achievement Awards to academics. The first of these was awarded in 2006 to Adrian Sinfield.Hélène Mulholland
"Adrian Sinfield : A wealth of experience in poverty"
''The Guardian'', 25 July 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2018. The last award was handed out in 2011. * 2011: Jane Lewis. * 2010: Jan Pahl and Ruth Lister (University of Loughborough). * 2009: Michael Hill. * 2008:

; Peter Townsend. * 2007: Jonathan Bradshaw; Hilary Land;

Alan Walker Alan Olav Walker (born 24 August 1997) is a Norwegian DJ and record producer. His songs "Faded (Alan Walker song), Faded", "Sing Me to Sleep", "Alone (Alan Walker song), Alone", "All Falls Down (Alan Walker song), All Falls Down" (with Noah Cy ...

. * 2006: Adrian Sinfield.

Outstanding Contribution from a Non-Academic Award/Best Non-Academic Award

This was last awarded in 2015. * 2015: Rev. Paul Nicolson (awarded as Best Non-Academic Award). * 2014:

Anna Coote Anna Coote is an English writer, editor, policy analyst and policy advocate who is Principal Fellow at the New Economics Foundation. She has been a lifelong political activist in support of civil rights, women’s rights, social justice and susta ...

(New Economics Foundation); Carey Oppenheim (Early Intervention Foundation) (awarded as Best Non-Academic Award). * 2012:

Richard Best, Baron Best Richard Stuart Best, Baron Best, (born 22 June 1945) is an independent Crossbench Member of the House of Lords with a special interest in housing issues. Biography The son of Walter Best DL and Frances Chignell, Best was educated at Shrewsbur ...

, OBE. * 2011: Simon Duffy; Dexter Whitfield. * 2010: Karl Wilding and the Research Team at the

National Council for Voluntary Organisations The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is the umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in England. It is a registered charity (no. 225922). It works to support the voluntary and community sector and to create an en ...

. * 2009: Patricia Hollis. * 2008:

Katherine Rake Katherine Rake is director of Lucent, a consultancy supporting organisations with a social purpose to see clearly, make connections and inspire change. She was previously chief executive of HealthWatch England, the Family and Parenting Institute ...

References

{{reflist Social policy Professional associations based in the United Kingdom

External links

The Poverty Research and Advocacy Network (PRAN)