The Live Research Projects is a living resource, regularly updated, listing active research projects in administrative justice. Where possible, we include a brief explanation of what the research is about and a link to further information.

Our latest update is November 2017, and we have a new easy-to-use format for the register.

Scroll down this page for information on using and helping us to develop the register.

Background

One of UKAJI’s key aims is to develop a researcher network, giving researchers the opportunity to engage with funders, practitioners and policy-makers and with a cross-disciplinary community of researchers undertaking empirical research.

We define administrative justice broadly, as “the interaction between people and the state, from rule-making to decision-making to challenge to resolution”. This covers a wide range of areas, including, for example, immigration and asylum, social security and welfare benefits, housing and education. It also covers topics such as decision-making, public services, complaints handling; themes of fairness and access to justice; and mechanisms such as courts, tribunals, ombuds and mediation.

As part of UKAJI’s work, we want to disseminate information about current research projects related to administrative justice that are being undertaken in the UK at the moment. These may be funded by research councils or other bodies, or are being undertaken without specific financial support. Many of these projects are at universities, but we are aware of research being done in other settings and by independent researchers and practitioners. The focus of this particular initiative is on work-in-progress; we appreciate that projects may not yet have findings or clear conclusions.

How to find Live Research Projects

To search, type whatever you are looking for into the ‘Search’ box. For example, if you are looking for all research by a given author, type their name or part of it.  Or, typing ‘Irel’ will select all the entries that relate to Ireland, whether as subject-matter, or location of the research, or source of funding. To find active research projects on a particular topic, type in a keyword or words, such as ‘tribunals’ or ‘social security’ or ‘judicial review’. The search is instant, carried out as you type.

Why participate?

Being involved in the network and having a summary of your research published can help you:

• make it known what work you are involved in
• link up with other researchers with similar interests
• seek advice or input on your research while it’s in progress
• know what other work is being done
• inform funders and commissioning bodies about what research is currently in progress
• increase the potential impact of your work

Wider benefits to the administrative justice community

We hope that this initiative, as well as helping to develop a supportive network of researchers, will have wider benefits to those involved in administrative justice, including:

• developing a network of experts working on administrative justice
• expanding the understanding of what administrative justice is and what areas it covers
• creating a knowledge base
• developing joint projects
• sharing expertise and make research available and accessible to a wider audience (for example, practitioners, government departments, funders).

The profiles

Within the listings are several projects with a UKAJI profile, containing more information about the research provided by the researcher. The ‘live’ projects that we profile cover a range of themes and areas and illustrate the diversity of this field.

You can see the list of profiles, with links, at the Profiles page.

An organic resource

The listing of live research projects is an organic resource, and we are well aware that work is going on that we haven’t included. We update the register every six months, and we add to it and build it up as a resource. As projects are finished, and published, we will move them to the database of published research that we are compiling. In the meantime, we decided to keep all projects listed, even if they have now been completed, to give a feel for what research is currently being conducted.

Ways you can help

We are seeking help from researchers and others with an interest in administrative justice. You can help by:

• Telling us about your research

We encourage any of you who are involved in current research to get in touch so we can include your project in the next version. If you would like your research included, please complete Live research profile template and email it, along with a photo of yourself, to mdoyle@essex.ac.uk. Or simply get in touch and let us know what you’re working on!

• Giving us feedback

Also, this initiative is a conversation, not an end product. We welcome your feedback and suggestions as to how to improve the format and presentation of the register and profiles to help make them useful to other researchers, to funders, and to practitioners and policy makers. Please use the comment section on this blog post, or send any comments to mdoyle@essex.ac.uk.