The social sciences are recognised for their role in evaluating policy and offering practice-based interventions about ‘what works’. However, they are less often justified in terms of their value to the private sector. Sharon Witherspoon outlines the finding of a report into eight case studies of UK businesses. The report covers a range of different sectors and finds that social scientists are in demand by businesses for what they know and the way that they approach knowledge and facts. Recommendations are offered for how higher education policy can better capitalise on this

Witherspoon, Sharon

English

LSE Research Online

Businesses	know	the	value	of	social	sciences.	HigherEducation	policy	needs	to	catch	upThe	social	sciences	are	recognised	for	their	role	in	evaluating	policy	and	offering	practice-based	interventions	about‘what	works’.	However,	they	are	less	often	justified	in	terms	of	their	value	to	the	private	sector.	SharonWitherspoon	outlines	the	finding	of	a	report	into	eight	case	studies	of	UK	businesses.		The	report	covers	a	rangeof	different	sectors	and	finds	that	social	scientists	are	in	demand	by	businesses	for	what	they	know	and	the	waythat	they	approach	knowledge	and	facts.		Recommendations	are	offered	for	how	higher	education	policy	can	bettercapitalise	on	this.This	blog	is	based	on	a	report,	Vital	Business:	the	Essential	Role	of	Social	Sciences	in	the	UK	Private	Sectorcarried	out	by	the	Campaign	for	Social	Science,	in	partnership	with	SAGE	Publishing.		This	post	is	the	second	in	a	series	exploring	the	role	of	SHAPE	subjects	in	the	post-pandemic	landscapeSHAPE:	Social	Sciences,	Humanities	and	Arts	for	People	and	the	Economy		Why	the	social	sciences?	Most	of	us	are	used	to	seeing	evidence	about,	and	justifications	for,	social	science	research	in	choosing,	makingand	evaluating	social	and	economic	policy,	and	for	practice-based	interventions	about	‘what	works’	(and	whatdoesn’t).		Social	science	has	a	long	history	of	policy	engagement,	and	one	that	has	been	given	renewed	visibility	inthe	context	of	COVID-19,	both	in	the	UK	and	internationally.But	we	are	on	the	back	foot	if	we	do	not	also	understand	and	–	on	the	basis	of	robust	evidence	–	make	the	casethat	the	social	sciences	are	important	to	private	sector	businesses	too.		It	is	vital	that	academics	and	policy-makersalike	understand	this.	Impact of Social Sciences Blog: Businesses know the value of social sciences. Higher Education policy needs to catch up Page 1 of 4		Date originally posted: 2020-09-15Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2020/09/15/businesses-know-the-value-of-social-sciences-higher-education-policy-needs-to-catch-up/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/Of	course,	many	of	us	already	knew	that	evidence	about	graduate	destinations	shows	that	the	average	post-graduation	salaries	of	social	science	graduates	are	very	similar	to	those	of	STEM	graduates,	with	much	variation	bydisciplines	within	both	areas.		A	previous	Campaign	for	Social	Science	report,	Positive	Prospects,	went	throughthe	evidence	in	some	detail,	and	was	backed	up	by	longer-term	analysis	by	the	Institute	of	Fiscal	Studies.	Vital	Business	ReportIn	Vital	Business,	we	looked	at	the	issue	in	a	different	way.		This	report	is	based	on	eight	case	studies	of	UKbusinesses.		It	covers	a	range	of	different	sectors,	including	businesses	that	are	often	thought	of	as	science-based.	The	findings	challenge	some	of	the	common	myths	about	the	usefulness	of	social	science	knowledge	and	skills	inemployment.We	conducted	intensive	interviews	in	each	of	the	companies.	We	aimed	to	get	a	detailed	account	of	the	many	waysthat	social	science	knowledge	and	skills	(and	employees	who	were	graduates	with	social	science	degrees)	weredeployed.The	report	shows	that	social	sciences	are	both	widely-used	and	valued	by	businesses:	in	leadership	roles;	inrunning	the	business	day-to-day	(including	finance,	HR	and	so	on);	to	understand	consumers	and	markets	andregulations;	in	strategic	planning	and	risk	analysis;	and	even	in	R&D,	including	often	working	jointly	with	STEMscientists.The	content	of	what	these	employees	know	matters	to	their	employers.For	instance,	an	interviewee	from	Cisco,	a	large	multinational	specialising	in	digital	technologies,	told	us:‘There	is	a	huge	benefit	to	having	people	with	social	science	skills.	We	have	to	think	about	the	implications	that	ourtechnology	will	have	and	explain	them	…	–	from	realising	the	benefits	through	to	managing	the	challenges….	Thisrequires	input	from	an	array	of	social	scientists	specialising	in	business,	communications,	economics,	HR,	law,marketing,	operations	and	politics	to	make	our	technology	compelling….	To	be	successful,	technology	needs	socialscience	input.’Impact of Social Sciences Blog: Businesses know the value of social sciences. Higher Education policy needs to catch up Page 2 of 4		Date originally posted: 2020-09-15Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2020/09/15/businesses-know-the-value-of-social-sciences-higher-education-policy-needs-to-catch-up/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/And	Ashley	Parry	Jones,	Director	of	Planning	at	global	engineering	consultancy	WSP,	said:‘As	an	engineering	consultancy,	WSP	has	many	projects	that	will	be	more	engineering-led,	but	social	scientists	playan	essential	role	…[to]	ensure	solutions	are	applicable	in	a	real-world	situation.	They	provide	a	different	voice	and	adifferent	way	of	thinking.	Engineers	work	to	establish	technical	standards.	Whereas	social	scientists	are	optimizers–	it’s	not	about	perfection,	but	about	an	optimal	decision	that	satisfies	multiple	parameters	at	once.	That	is	a	verydifferent	type	of	conversation,	and	I	think	that	is	a	really	useful	challenge	that	social	scientists	provide.’Whether	the	business	was	a	services-based	company	(like	Ipsos	MORI	or	business	services	firm	Deloitte	orreinsurance	brokerage	Willis	Towers	Watson)	or	a	manufacturer	(like	Diageo)	or	an	energy	company	(like	Shell),some	common	lessons	stood	out.A	particular	contribution	of	social	scientists	with	number	and	data	skills	was	that	they	could	not	only	usedata,	but	that	they	could	question	data	intelligentlyIn	looking	to	the	future	–	and	most	of	these	we	spoke	to	took	a	long	view,	even	as	COVID-19	raged	around	them	–almost	all	of	them	predicted	more	and	deeper	cross-disciplinary	working.	This	was	true	even	in	science-basedbusinesses.But	what	some	may	find	more	surprising	is	that	though	their	general	ability	to	analyse	evidence,	or	their	wider‘softer’	skills	(curiosity,	ability	to	communicate)	were	valued,	the	substantive	knowledge	and	methodological	skills	ofsocial	science	graduates	were	too.	Political	science	graduates	and	geographers	were,	for	example,	oftenmentioned	as	particularly	important	to	analysing	risks,	including	geopolitical	risk,	and	in	strategic	planning.	Graduates	from	economics,	demography,	geography,	psychology,	and	sociology	were	often	mentioned	in	relationto	understanding	marketing,	behaviour	in	different	circumstances,	the	impact	of	regulatory	regimes,	and	so	on.		Thecontent	of	what	these	employees	know	matters	to	their	employers.	Implications	of	the	findings1.Social	sciences	and	HE	policyFirst,	higher	education	policy	should	recognise	that	for	businesses	to	succeed	they	need	employees	with	diverseskills	and	disciplinary	backgrounds.	We	encourage	policy	makers	not	to	take	an	over-simple	view	that	only	STEMsubjects	matter	to	business	success.		What	matters	to	business	is	having	the	right	skills	across	the	range	of	theirwork.		It	is	not	‘either/	or’	but	‘both/	and’.		It	will	be	worth	bearing	this	in	mind	when	the	government	responds	to	theAugar	Review.2.Social	sciences	and	data	skillsSecond,	the	evidence	suggests	that	number	and	data	skills	among	social	science	graduates	are	particularly	valued.This	is	partly	because	it	helps	them	communicate	better	with		colleagues	and	is	increasingly	part	of	businessmanagement.		But	a	particular	contribution	of	social	scientists	with	number	and	data	skills	was	that	they	could	notonly	use	data,	but	that	they	could	question	data	intelligently	(What	were	the	sources?		How	reliable	is	it?		How	canwe	piece	together	the	most	accurate	possible	picture	from	partial	evidence?		How	can	we	explain	the	findings	toothers?)	Number	and	data	skills	are	useful	across	all	social	science	disciplines.3.Branding	the	social	sciencesFinally,	we	believe	that	UK	social	science	has	a	‘brand’	problem.		It	was	striking	that	in	many	cases	our	approachesto	the	companies	started	with	their	questions	about	what	the	social	sciences	are.		We	had	to	start	by	explaining	thewide	range	of	disciplines	it	covers	(business-related	subjects,	law,	economics,	demography,	geography,	politicalscience,	psychology,	sociology	and	others).	So	while	this	work	is	part	of	the	SHAPE	initiative,	most	of	ourinterviewees	knew	what	‘STEM’	and	the	arts	and	humanities	are.		They	did	not	have	the	same	understanding	aboutthe	social	sciences,	as	page	ix	of	Vital	Business	explains.Impact of Social Sciences Blog: Businesses know the value of social sciences. Higher Education policy needs to catch up Page 3 of 4		Date originally posted: 2020-09-15Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2020/09/15/businesses-know-the-value-of-social-sciences-higher-education-policy-needs-to-catch-up/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/That	is	a	challenge	the	Campaign	will	hope	to	address	over	the	coming	months.		We	believe	businesspeople,	MPs,and	others	should	feel	proud	to	say	that	they	are	a	social	scientist	using	their	knowledge	and	skills	in	their	work.	This	research	shows	they	would	be	in	good	company	in	doing	so.				The	UK’s	Campaign	for	Social	Science	is	the	outward,	campaigning	arm	of	the	UK’s	Academy	of	Social	Sciences.	The	Academy	is	composed	of	about	1330	individual	Fellows,	46	member	Learned	Societies	and	other	affiliates.		Itincludes	practitioners,	as	well	as	academics.	Its	aims	are	to	promote	appreciation	of	the	importance	of	the	socialsciences	for	public	benefit,	and	to	consider	issues	that	affect	their	long-term	well-being.	Note:	This	article	gives	the	views	of	the	authors,	and	not	the	position	of	the	LSE	Impact	Blog,	nor	of	the	LondonSchool	of	Economics.	Please	review	our	comments	policy	if	you	have	any	concerns	on	posting	a	comment	belowImage	credit:	QuinceCreative	via	Pixabay	Impact of Social Sciences Blog: Businesses know the value of social sciences. Higher Education policy needs to catch up Page 4 of 4		Date originally posted: 2020-09-15Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2020/09/15/businesses-know-the-value-of-social-sciences-higher-education-policy-needs-to-catch-up/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/

Businesses know the value of social sciences. higher education policy needs to catch up

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Businesses know the value of social sciences. higher education policy needs to catch up

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