Raj Patel

Understanding Society, University of Essex

Raj leads the Policy and Partnerships Unit at Understanding Society, which engages and collaborates with government departments, charities, parliament, think tanks, and other organisations in the use of the study’s data and research findings. He plays a central role in ensuring the Study is recognised as a rich resource for addressing major policy questions facing society. An economist by profession, and having worked in government, charities and business at a senior level, he brings extensive experience in policy development, knowledge exchange, running campaigns and strategic management.

15:20 - 16:15

Wednesday 12 May

How to use Understanding Society data to examine how the pandemic is affecting and changing society

Harnessing large-scale data well is becoming more critical to the work and impact of organisations. Understanding Society offers unrivalled data collected across adults, children, and families on a wide range of issues from social cohesion, volunteering, and charitable giving to health, poverty, and work. This session will provide an overview of how to make the most of this resource, including use of data collected during the pandemic. It will explore potential uses through case studies, and drill into the data to profile the extent to which particular disadvantaged groups are represented in the study.