Reports

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs analyses spontaneous order and its implications. Spontaneous order is crucial for understanding fundamental human institutions (e.g. language and the law, morals, markets and money) and for defending individual liberty. But its operation is often overlooked. Empirical studies have confirmed that spontaneous order has been...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date account of digital-ID across Africa. The Biometric Digital-ID in Africa report provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date account of digital-ID across Africa. It addresses the critical governance challenges of digital identification (digital-ID) systems currently unfolding across the continent....

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation examines how low income households can benefit from smart data initiatives. Smart data has the potential to help people to access the best products and services – saving them money while facilitating product innovation. Despite this, and cross-party backing, challenges remain around whether the market...

This report from UK think tank Localis examines the current policy context for technological integration and LGR. The wave of local government reorganisation (LGR) heralded by the English Devolution Bill represents the most significant structural upheaval outside of central government since the 1970s. The creation of new unitary authorities is designed to increase productivity and...

This report from UK think tank NCUB looks at the evidence on collaboration between universities and businesses. NCUB’s annual State of the Relationship report is an evidence tool to strengthen collaboration between universities and businesses. It offers important insights into the scale and nature of interactions between universities and businesses, identifying patterns and trends over...

This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform examines European security in a time of war. A new policy brief by Ian Bond warns that existing European security structures are under serious threat from Russian aggression and US indifference to European interests, while European democracy risks crumbling from within – with Russia...

This report from UK think tank RUSI uncovers how regulatory gaps and limited international cooperation enable wildlife laundering. The critical issue of wildlife laundering – whereby illicit actors use legitimate corporate entities to fraudulently pass illegally harvested or obtained wildlife into legal supply chains – is a significant threat to biodiversity, national security and local...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government examines how the abolition of NHS England creates both risks and opportunities. The abolition of NHS England comes with significant opportunities to make the health service’s centre work better within government and in leading the service. It also carries significant risks. The consistent lesson from...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Policy Research provides recommendations that address six recurring challenges for Indigenous students in Mexico. Working with more than 300 individuals across six Mexican states between 2021 and 2024, the researchers analysed the role that higher education plays in supporting the social and economic development of Indigenous...

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation puts the Autumn Budget 2025 decisions on tax, spending and borrowing into context. The Chancellor’s second tax-rising budget arrived under dark clouds, but forecasts came in better than feared. But even though she was saved from the worst predictions of past weeks, the Chancellor still faced...

This report from UK think tank RUSI outlines the cyberthreats against consumer mobile devices and considers strategies to mitigate these threats. This paper examines cybercrime against consumer mobile devices and their users in the UK. Mobile cybersecurity is underrepresented in policy debates and research, especially when considering the societal significance of smartphones for individuals and...

This report from UK think tank City-REDI examines community empowerment and living heritage in 2026. Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill coming into action in the UK. The paper provides an initial provocation as to whether 2026 could provide the strongest mandate yet for valuing community culture and...

This report from UK think tank British Future explores what the public really thinks about immigration. The British Future/Ipsos Immigration Attitudes Tracker has followed public attitudes to immigration for a decade since 2015. Research for this 18th wave of the tracker surveyed 3,003 adults across Great Britain, from 16 June to 2 July 2025. The report...

This report from UK think tank Green Alliance explores how to transform the food system through legislation and mandatory reporting. The UK food system sits at the heart of major challenges facing the country: NHS pressures, climate change, food security and the cost of living crisis. It’s responsible for 12% of UK greenhouse gas emissions...

This report from UK think the Future Governance Forum puts forward a three step plan for the government to end use of asylum hotels by 2026. Published by The Future Governance Forum with contributions from Nesta, Labour Together, the Refugee Council and housing expert Kate Wareing, Restoring Order and Reducing Costs puts forward a three...

This report from UK think tank Re:State distills the key themes and recommendations from across all three reports. The past year, Re:State has been working on a landmark programme titled ‘Hospital of the Future’. This was predicated on the idea that the 'upstream' shift to prevention alone will not remediate the existential crisis hospitals are...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government explores the Treasury’s role and the tensions it creates across Whitehall. With the 2025 budget just days away, this Ministers Reflect report on the Treasury offers candid insights from former Treasury ministers – including four chancellors in Jeremy Hunt, Philip Hammond, Alistair Darling and Ken...

This report from UK think tank The David Hume Institute looks at the economic outlook for Scots. The final Understanding Scotland Economy Tracker for 2025 highlights widespread pessimism about Scotland’s economic outlook and its growing impact on daily life. The Tracker, commissioned by the David Hume Institute and produced by Diffley Partnership, reveals that around...

This report from UK think tank HEPI reveals the hidden realities of student employment in UK higher education. A landmark study exploring the growing prevalence and impact of paid work among students in UK higher education, and which demonstrates the hidden realities of the student experience, has today been launched by the Higher Education Policy...

This report from UK think tank Centre for Cities addresses exactly where British cities should increase density and how they can do it. Britain needs more homes – and it needs them in its cities. The housing crisis, inefficient urban transport, and the underperformance of major urban economies all point in the same direction: higher-density urban...

This report from UK think tank City-REDI examines business cases and place-based funding. This report critically examines the application of the Better Business Case Green Book model by practitioners when seeking to secure past place-based economic development funding. The business case framework is used to appraise and manage the development of an intervention, as set...

This report from UK think tank Civitas discusses classical liberal education and its history. Classical liberal education is the grounding of a child into a lifelong adventure through ideas and ideals, that they might enter, through the gradual cultivation of wisdom, style and virtue, into the fullness of humanity, ‘the good life’ as we might...

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation evaluates when local delivery works well and what principles should guide any future reform. This report is part of the project Safety Nets: social security for families in a devolved UK, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. It examines the growth of localised social security in the...

This report from UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society examines how disinformation affects university students in the UK. This report examines how disinformation affects university students in the United Kingdom. Drawing on three distinct case studies – vaccination, the Southport stabbings, and Candace Owens’ claim that Brigitte Macron is a man – we assess...

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation recommends measures to strengthen personal finances and provide a boost to the UK economy. Britain is a country of investors – they just don’t know it. This report outlines the current state of the UK’s retail investment landscape, highlights the shortcomings that mean households are...