• home page
• about us
  • managing director
  • HOST centre
  • the team
• our services
  • strategy studies
  • evaluation & impact assessment
  • policy & strategic research
  • qualitative research
  • surveys & quantitative research
  • knowledge reviews
  • process consulting
• our knowledge & expertise
  • education & young people
  • adult & workplace learning
  • employment & labour market
  • qualifications & skills change
  • enterprise & economic development
  • sectoral & occupational studies
• our clients
• working with HOST
  • supporting clients
  • working in partnership
  • working for HOST
• research ethics
• projects & consultations
  • current projects
  • recently completed projects
  • current consultations
• publications
• contact us
• search

HOST Policy Research: Our Services

Policy and Strategic Research

HOST brings over 20 years of experience to developing and delivering research for decision-makers in and around the public sector. These services provide for a variety of intensive and longer-term studies supporting the investigation, review, intelligence and evaluative needs of policy-makers, and others shaping and influencing public policy. HOST’s policy expertise covers all areas of social and economic policy, with recent policy studies in employment and enterprise development, labour market and related issues of social and economic development, and covering all areas of mainstream and vocational education and training.

Our policy studies are known for their combination of robustness and practical focus, and for the flexibility we bring to meeting policy-makers’ needs. HOST personnel have contributed underpinning research to many of the major policy developments in social and economic policy for successive governments, as well as for the European Commission and other international bodies. As an independent centre of expertise we also conduct policy-shaping research for representative bodies including sector, employer and trade union groupings as well as voluntary sector and other interests groups.

Policy research at HOST draws on the portfolio of methods and methodologies which HOST is able to apply to other research and analytical needs, but with a particular focus on policy impact and integration, and the information needs of decision-makers. Policy and strategic research is often conducted to very intensive schedules, and draws on HOST’s expertise in producing reporting and briefing tools focused on different tiers of executive decision-making.

Policy research teams include senior staff who have past experience as advisers and analysts within government departments and non-departmental agencies, and they continue to contribute to international policy and practice observatories and governmental review bodies.