Reports

This report from UK think tank RUSI underscores the need for integrated approaches to peacebuilding, development and security in the borderlands. This paper provides critical insights into the complex dynamics of instability in the Kenya–Somalia–Ethiopia borderlands, drawing on findings from the Deris Wanaag project's research conference held in Nairobi in February 2026. ​The conference brought...

This report from UK think tank City-REDI examines how artificial intelligence is being adopted in local government. This report from the Local Policy Innovation Partnership provides a timely stocktake of how artificial intelligence is being adopted in local government, what benefits are beginning to emerge, and what barriers still limit wider deployment. It draws on...

This report from UK think tank HEPI offers an alternative model for student loans, which would be cost-neutral for the Treasury. New research by London Economics has found that following various changes to student loan terms, implemented since early 2022, the Treasury are making a surplus of £679 million for the 2022/23 cohort of undergraduate student entrants in England. The research also found that the Government’s changes have had a greater adverse impact...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs examines public understanding of British economic performance and attitudes to pro-growth policies. Most Britons (87%) want the UK to focus more on economic growth, and would back free market reforms to deliver it, including: reducing energy costs (77%), cutting taxes on workers (72%) and...

This report from UK think tank IPPR explores how to make social media good again. How social media has changed over the last 20 years to make us more isolated from each other online, and what needs to change. Social media inarguably poses threats to democracy: disinformation and misinformation, polarisation, echo chambers, bots and rage-inducing...

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation investigates the state of digital transformation in universities across the UK. British universities are often seen as leaders in research – but are our universities equipped to maintain this status in an increasingly digital age? This report investigates the state of digital transformation in institutions...

This report from UK think tank RUSI delivers a critical framework for securely enabling third-party evaluation of frontier AI models. This paper delivers a critical framework for securely enabling third-party evaluation of frontier AI models, directly addressing the urgent need for robust safety and security in the defence and security sector as AI capabilities rapidly...

This report from UK think tank RUSI addresses the utility of measuring lethality as a focal point in force design. With the UK and US military facing potential numerical disadvantages in future conflicts, this Research Paper explores how lethality – defined as the rate at which a force inflicts damage relative to the casualties it...

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation assesses Britain’s falling birth rate since the early 2010s. This briefing explores Britain’s recent baby bust and whether it should be a cause for concern for policymakers. Most developed countries are grappling with a falling birth rate, and the UK is no different. There have always...

This report from UK think tank IPPR reveals that UK business investment is the second lowest in the G7. High energy costs are squeezing UK industry, but support must do more than keep firms afloat. British manufacturing workers have access to 47 per cent fewer machines, tools and technologies than workers in similar economies Our...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies demonstrates that democracy delivers development better than other regimes. Democracy is in crisis. Anti-democratic politicians and anti-rights movements are becoming more popular. Simultaneously, growing inequality around the world – a product of neoliberal capitalist societies – has left millions of people feeling left behind...

This report from UK think tank the Fabian Society explores what a new relationship with Europe might look like. A decade ago, the British electorate narrowly voted to leave the EU. It was a decision of generational significance, predicated, in large part, on a picture of splendid isolation that has turned out to be false:...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs makes one of the twentieth century’s most important works of political philosophy available to a wider audience. F. A. Hayek (1899–1992) was one of the most important social thinkers of the last hundred years. Law, Legislation and Liberty (1973–79) is one of his most...

This report from UK think tank Chatham House explores how a crisis could lead to global coordination. International AI governance is at risk of failure. Rapid geopolitical change, institutional weakness and asymmetries between the public and private sectors appear to make cooperation on AI near impossible. Proponents of inclusive, effective and global AI governance must...

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at the Swiss asylum reforms and key takeaways for the UK. The UK is suffering a downward spiral, with collapsing public confidence in the government’s ability to deliver an effective asylum system. This report investigates reforms to the Swiss asylum system designed to address...

This report from UK think tank Nesta explores the reasons behind the challenges faced by shared infrastructure projects across the UK. Nesta has been researching the ways to roll out area-based approaches to clean heat at scale One aspect of our clean heat neighbourhood approach is shared infrastructure technologies, such as networked heat pumps, shared...

This report from UK think tank HEPI calls for sustained and intensive outreach to tackle persistent higher education access gaps. New HEPI Policy Note calls for sustained and intensive outreach to tackle persistent higher education access gaps. It argues that sustained and intensive outreach programmes are among the most effective tools to widen access to...

This report from UK think tank RUSI looks at the lessons to be drawn from sabotage attacks attributed to Russia against civilian infrastructure and logistics in European NATO countries. This paper provides a critical analysis of Russia's escalating sabotage operations targeting NATO civilian infrastructure and logistics in Europe since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.​ It...

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation examines the costs of Scotland’s drug crisis. Scotland has a drug problem. The issue is likely to be a key one in the upcoming Scottish elections. Questions of the costs of potential interventions, and how worthwhile they are, will be central to decisions made on...

This report from UK think tank City-REDI finds that high-level skills mismatches differ significantly by area and that policy responses should reflect local differences in demand. This study maps employer demand for higher-level qualifications (at Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) Level 4 and above), the supply of residents with these qualifications, and the resulting demand-supply gaps...

This report from UK think tank The King's Fund examines the results from the British Social Attitudes survey. This report presents findings from the 2025 British Social Attitudes survey on public satisfaction with the NHS and social care, jointly sponsored by The King’s Fund and the Nuffield Trust. After several years of decline, overall satisfaction...

This report from UK think tank the Sutton Trust examines the interplay of SEND and disadvantage in school admissions. There is widespread acceptance that the SEND (Special Education Needs and Disability) system is in crisis but fierce debate surrounding ways forward. Greater demand is being placed on a system that is complex, notoriously difficult to...

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation explores how childhood disadvantage depresses the earnings of university graduates in England. This briefing note examines how being in deep poverty in childhood – proxied by eligibility to free school meals at age 16 – continues to shape graduates’ earnings long after university. Using the Longitudinal...

This report from UK think tank the Future Governance Forum calls for the reform of the EHRC to strengthen equality and human rights protection for people living in the UK.  Our recommendations for how the Commission can restore its credibility include: being politically neutral, leading public debates in sensitive areas and making greater use of...

This report from UK think tank RUSI underscores the importance of understanding the Global South’s perspectives on cyber attribution to help navigate the complexities of a multipolar world. Global South approaches to public cyber attribution are more cautious than Western approaches, due to factors including cultural background, foreign policy goals and perceptions of western double...