News and Blog

WISERD Civil Society Programme at the International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR) Conference, Amsterdam

WISERD will have a strong presence at the International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR) Conference (10-13 July) hosted by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Philanthropic Studies Department. Founded in 1992, the ISTR is the major international association promoting research and education in the fields of civil society, philanthropy, and the non-profit sector. It is committed to building…

Organ transplants: knowing more about where donors live could save lives

In 2017-18, a record number of people (1,575 in total) in the UK donated their organs after death, resulting in more than 5,000 life-saving or life-improving transplants. These figures, released by NHS Blood and Transplant, show numbers of deceased donors continue to rise in the UK. The 2017-18 figure was an 11% increase on the…

UK Government Revises National Statistics on Trade Union Membership in Response to WISERD Research

Rhys Davies reveals how official figures have under-estimated the presence of trade unions within UK workplaces over many years. This morning, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published its latest estimates for trade union membership in the UK based upon data from the Labour Force Survey.  Today’s figures reveal that 6.2 million…

Ageing, intergenerational relations, and barriers to social participation

In ageing societies, promoting active ageing and intergenerational solidarity has been a key aim of policy at national as well as European level. Governments have promoted these policies as a response to concerns over the social exclusion of older people; critics have suggested that such policies merely serve to ease the economic and financial burden…

How does disability affect life satisfaction?

Disability, that is, the presence of a long-term limiting health condition, is associated with substantial economic disadvantage, as illustrated by the low rates of employment and high rates of poverty among disabled people. Yet becoming disabled during the life course, which is experienced by more than 80% of disabled people of working age, can potentially…

Tracking progress on the government’s disability and employment commitments

WISERD’s Professor Melanie Jones blogs for The Conversation with Professor Victoria Wass, Cardiff University. Disability affects the lives of millions of people in the UK. With about one in six working-age people currently reporting some kind of disability, around 70% are either working, looking for work or want to work. Good quality work is important…