Annual Report

Introduction

In 2009/10 NatCen continued to do what it does best: delivering projects across the spectrum of social policy, building understanding of the lives of people across the UK and sharing the findings with decision-makers and opinion-formers. A particular highlight was the presentation to the last Prime Minister Gordon Brown on the public's perceptions of fairness in society. You'll see other examples throughout the report, including our hard-hitting report on racial discrimination within employment recruitment, and the positive outcomes we uncovered in our evaluation of Family Intervention Projects.

A key part of NatCen's mission is to share our methodological expertise with the wider research community, and our active participation in the ESRC funded Survey Resources Network is making a real difference here.

But of course times are difficult. There is continued pressure on our finances as a result of the pension deficit, and the public spending cuts will undoubtedly result in changes to research funding. 2011 will be a critical year for NatCen: building on NatCen's reputation for quality and rigour, the focus will also be on ensuring that our product offering is creative and innovative and that it best meets our clients' and partners' future needs.

As Trustees we have also taken steps to consolidate our skills and expertise, and were delighted to welcome three new Trustees in September 2010: Ken Caldwell, Professor Paul Wiles and Alison Wright. We have also appointed two further Trustees to join from September 2011: Dr Jennifer Dixon and Professor Ian Diamond.

Professor Dame Janet Finch

Chair of Trustees

November 2010