Reports

Latest Reports

How a surge in defence and dual-use technology investment could reconfigure the global AI race

This report from UK think tank Chatham House explores four important trends that have accelerated in the past year and which could start a shift towards a multipolar AI market. The AI race is often presented as one between the US and China, with other countries having little to no chance of catching up. Geopolitical...

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Lost in transition

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation examines why the UK NEET rate is high and rising. This report investigates why the UK’s NEET rate has been rising since 2019, and why it has long been higher than in many other countries. After falling for much of the 2010s, the proportion of 18-24-year-olds...

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How to respond to the energy crisis

This report from UK think tank Nesta explores how to respond to the energy crisis and make it the last one ever. This note proposes a strategic response centred on accelerating energy efficiency measures and speeding up the adoption of electric heating technologies in the home.

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Course correction: How to densify British cities

This report from UK think tank Centre for Cities looks at where city densification needs to occur and what policy needs to do differently. Policy attention towards densifying British cities is welcome, and this research uses data on historic neighbourhood age and Centre for Cities’ residential densities dataset to dig deeper into where densification needs...

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School funding and the pupil premium 2026

This report from UK think tank the Sutton Trust reveals enduring challenges for schools. For a number of years, our annual survey of teachers has provided detailed insights into school funding pressures and how school leaders are spending their budgets. Last year’s release showed a worsening picture for school funding, with more school leaders reporting...

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The macroeconomic policy outlook Q2 2026

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation discusses the macroeconomic policy outlook in the second quarter of 2026. Since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran began nearly two months ago, global energy markets have been volatile. But the shock facing Britain has so far been smaller than that which followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine:...

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Flex factor: How government can keep network costs on bills down

This report from UK think tank IPPR states that the government must strike a balance between bringing down energy bills and building a system fit for the future. Government must strike a better balance between bringing down energy bills now and building a system fit for the future. Delivering a clean, secure electricity system is...

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Mobilisation and training for war: Preparing to break glass

This report from UK think tank RUSI provides a framework to address the UK’s preparedness for protracted conflict and its NATO commitments. This paper examines the critical need for the UK to prepare its armed forces for rapid mobilisation and training in response to escalating security threats in Europe. ​It highlights the challenges of increasing...

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Environmental sustainability in the NHS

This report from UK think tank The King's Fund examines a new approach to national leadership and accountability. This report argues that environmental sustainability is no longer a peripheral issue for the NHS but a central requirement for its future viability. Climate change is described as the greatest health risk of the 21st century, while...

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Beyond caring: a new funding model for later-life social care

This report from UK think tank Re-State calls for a new Later Life Care Fund to replace England's failing model for funding for older people's social care. New research from Re:State sets out the case for a fundamental overhaul of how later-life social care is funded in England, arguing that the current model is unfair,...

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Educational psychologists in England

This report from UK think tank the Education Policy Institute provides the first comprehensive national assessment of the EP workforce since the Covid-19 pandemic. 'Educational psychologists in England' provides the first comprehensive national assessment of the EP workforce since the Covid-19 pandemic. Drawing on eight years of administrative data and case studies from six local...

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Instability in the Kenya-Somalia-Ethopia borderlands

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...

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AI in local government: Adoption, benefits and challenges

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...

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Understanding the Plan 2 loan repayment system

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...

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A growth mindset?

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...

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Stuck on you: How to make social media good again

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...

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Byte the Budget?

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...

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Developing a framework for secure third-party access to frontier AI

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...

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Measuring lethality: Army combat power and force design

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...

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Bye bye baby

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...

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Turning energy support into investment leverage

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...

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Where’s the demos in democracy?

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...

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Pressing reset

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:...

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Hayek’s law legislation and liberty: A guide

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...

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Breaking the deadlock on AI governance

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...

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