Social Affairs Unit

Background

Social Affairs Unit is a group of 'independent' individuals that study various cultural, social and economic issues, with an "emphasis on the value of personal responsibility" [1]. They are compiled of a group of educated individuals, namely historians, sociologists, philosophers, doctors and 'hard scientists' who according to their website "identify research with a potential to inform public policy and translate it from academic discourse into public debate".

It was founded in 1980 by Julius Gould (professor and director) and Digby Anderson (doctor and chairman).

In its early years it was interested in 'critical evaluation' of the welfare state and it boasts how many of the ideas such a parental accountability and local autonomy within education have made their mark on policy today. Ironically these issues are the 'hot' issues today!

Staff

• Director: Michael Mosbacher

• Trustees:

Professor Julius Gould John Greenwood Professor Anthony O'Hear Frank Sharratt

• International Advisory Council

Dr. Digby Anderson Dr. Alejandro Chafuen Professor Christie Davies Professor Adrian Furnham Professor Jacques Garello Professor Nathan Glazer Dr. Simon Green Professor Leonard Liggio Dr. Theodore Malloch Professor David Martin Professor Antonio Martino Professor Michael Novak John O'Sullivan Dr. Geoffrey Partington Dr. Arthur Seldon CBE

• Other contributors and authors

Jeremy Black Lilian Pizzichini Myles Harris Richard D. North Harry Phibbs Douglas Murray Peter Mullen

Contact

The Social Affairs Unit 314-322 Regent St London, W1B 5SA Tel: 020 7637 4356 Fax: 020 7436 8530

Funding

Apparently an independent organisation and corporate intervention free, it was originally founded and encouraged by the Institute of Economic Affairs and remains linked to it today in the form of the recently deceased (2005) Arthur Seldon, former joint founding president of the Institute.

Website

Social Affairs Unit website is organised by a blogging company called 'tbbc: the Big Blog' that manages blogging sites for Ideal Government, Stephen Pollard, Economics UK and Adam Smith Institute as well as the Social Affairs Unit.

Articles

Examples of their articles can be viewed [2] and tend to contradict their wish to talk about issues that can be translated to all since they are on rather obscure political and scientific research. Furthermore, their very name suggests a slightly elitist membership since its not so easy to research a social affairs unit!