On Tuesday 15 December 2015, 3-4pm, the UK Data Service will run an interactive online group session, walking users through the process of submitting a data collection into the ReShare repository.

The session will cover:

• How to start the process of depositing data into ReShare
• How to describe a data collection well (i.e. which metadata to provide)
• Why providing detailed and accurate metadata is important
• How to prepare and upload your data files and documentation files
• How to decide upon the most suitable access level and licence for your
• data
• How your data is reviewed before publication.

Register for the webinar.

If you want to use the service prior to December 2015, the LSE Library has produced a useful guide for depositors on using ReShare.


Leadership Foundation offers leadership development programme
The Leadership Foundation for Higher Education is offering a leadership development programme tailored for research academics and professional services staff who support a research team. Leading Research Leaders is exclusively designed to support research academics who are leading multi-institutional, multidisciplinary or multi-national research projects. Previous participants have included lecturers, research deans, research head of departments and research managers. The programme aims to:

• Develop clearer communication and more effective implementation of research agendas
• Enhance engagement with the institution’s strategic research objectives
• Gain a better understanding of leadership structures
• Experiment with effective methods of leading other research leaders and managing significant research projects.

LSE Research Online is a service provided by LSE Library to increase the visibility of research produced by LSE staff. It contains citations and full text, open access versions of research outputs, including journal articles, book chapters, working papers, theses, conference papers and more.
 

New work, published by researchers associated with the Centre for Social Exclusion (CASE) at LSE and the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), concludes that the improved performance largely reflects gradual improvements in school quality over time. Improvements in primary schools played a major role in explaining later improvements in secondary schools.
>>More


NHS health check programme wasting £450 million a year, says new report
The NHS Health Check programme is ineffective and currently wasting £450 million a year in scarce resources, according to a new report from LSE and University of Liverpool.

The programme invites everyone in England aged 40–74 without cardiovascular disease (CVD) for a check every 5 years. Its website advertises that health checks, branded as “mid-life MOTs”, can prevent heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease stroke and dementia, as well as provide support and advice to help individuals manage and reduce their risk of future disease.

However, according to the report, Invited Debate. NHS Health  Checks—a naked emperor?, published in the Journal of Public Health, the NHSHC programme fails to achieve both of these primary objectives.
>>More


Islington community threatened by eviction offers lessons for housing vulnerable says LSE
A housing community in Islington, which is under threat of eviction, provides a useful model for tackling the social isolation of vulnerable and older people says a recent report from LSE London.

The research focuses on the Islington Park Street Community, which was founded in 1976 and is probably the oldest cohousing-style project in London. 
>>More


New housing solutions needed in London for new graduates
Fewer than six per cent of new graduates who move to London come from the most disadvantaged 20 per cent of UK neighbourhoods, according to a report by LSE London for the Sutton Trust. In contrast 42 per cent come from the most advantaged 20 per cent of UK neighbourhoods.

New graduates from the South East find it easier to gain a foothold in the capital, with fewer than 20 per cent of graduates moving to London from outside the region, says the new report called Home Advantage.

Dr Kath Scanlon, Dr Melissa Fernandez, Emma Sagor and Professor Christine Whitehead analysed the current housing situation for young professionals in London and proposed solutions to the crisis.
>>More

---

Top tips

Common issues with expense claims
Prevent reimbursement delays by ensuring your expense claim avoids these common issues:

1. Missing original receipts: claims cannot be processed without the original VAT receipt (the itemised bill/receipt with transaction breakdown) and not just the card transaction receipt.
2. Flight/Eurostar/train travel booked outside of economy class: ensure travel is in line with LSE's travel policy and provide justification if required.
3. Use of taxis in UK: with the exception of airport transfer a justification is needed in line with LSE's travel policy.
4. Hospitality claims: a list of attendee names should be provided for event catering or meals/drinks with guests.
5. Claims made beyond six month period: if the receipt being claimed is more than six months old, provide justification for the delay as this is outside LSE financial regulations and will be queried.
6. Mileage claims: Provide confirmation that your car insurance is covered for business-related travel and a Google map showing the journey start and end points in order to confirm the distance travelled. 
7. Travel insurance cannot usually be claimed: when travelling on LSE business, staff members have travel insurance cover in most areas (with the exception of complex high risk environments). Contact the Health and Safety Team for further details and to request a copy of the travel cover certificate. Individual travel insurance purchased by staff is not eligible for reimbursement.
8. Subsistence rates: Claims should be in line with HMRC worldwide subsistence rates. Any travel costs inconsistent with the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness will be queried.
9. Missing boarding passes: For European Commission funded projects we require boarding passes in order to claim reimbursement for any flights or Eurostar travel. If costs are claimed in advance of the date of travel, please send boarding passes to the Research Division upon your return, using the project code as a reference. For boarding passes on a smartphone, take a screenshot copy and send that to us. 

---

60 second interview

With Professor Julia Black, Pro Director for Research and Professor of Law. 

What does it mean to you to be Pro Director for Research at the LSE? The title Pro Director for Research (PDR) is a contradiction in terms – academics pride themselves on their intellectual autonomy and the idea that anyone could direct the research of an academic is an anathema. So the role isn’t about telling people what to research – we have talented individuals who are more than capable of working that out for themselves. But it is about setting the bar high: encouraging people to publish innovative and distinctive research of the highest quality, and supporting efforts to foster collegial and inspiring research environments, both within and across departments, for academics, research staff and research students alike. It is also about trying to ensure that our research is available to as wide an audience as possible so it can make a difference in any number of ways. Efforts to make our research accessible range from prompting academics and research staff to post research papers or book manuscripts on LSE Research Online, through initiatives such as our blogs, ‘Gearty Grillings’ and the impact website, to targeted engagement and impact related activities for specific research projects. The PDR role covers other issues too: increasing our grant income for research, preparing for the next REF, enhancing our PhD programme - including the launching of the PhD academy, developing the role of the Library in supporting research, overseeing the Research Division, preparing our Athena Swan submission, the design of the new LSE website and oversight of our communications more generally, setting up a new high performance computing facility – the list goes on!

How has the research funding landscape changed in recent years, are these changes set to continue and what impact will they have at LSE?
November 2015 is going to be a critical month for UK universities, as we will find out what the settlement will be for universities in the Comprehensive Spending Review. Universities fall under the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, which has been asked to find cuts of between 25%-40%. Universities as a whole have been pushing hard to retain the flat cash settlement we had under the coalition government, but it’s by no means clear whether we will succeed. There has also been talk of scrapping QR funding (which is unrestricted funding for research) and channelling all research funding through the Research Councils, which we have been arguing against. Moreover, if the UK were to withdraw from the EU, this would remove our access to EU research funding, in which the UK, and the LSE, does comparatively well.  So the outlook for research funding is unsettled, at best.

What advice would you give to new academics and research staff at the LSE?
For new academics and research staff joining LSE, as far as research is concerned, I have three pieces of advice. First, try to meet as many people whose research is related to your interests as possible, and look beyond your department or centre in doing so. Second, aim to do the best research and publish the highest quality papers you can, and don’t be afraid to ask colleagues to read drafts. Third, when it comes to deciding where to submit your publications, aim for the top. You may get rejected, but you will usually get excellent feedback which can help you improve, and after all, you may be accepted!  

You have been a Visiting Fellow at the University of Sydney and at All Souls College, Oxford, and more recently in 2014 the Sir Frank Holmes Visiting Professor in Public Policy at the University of Victoria, New Zealand. Where in the world have you always wanted to visit but never quite made it…yet? 
South America – so all invitations welcome! 

If you could give your younger self some advice, what would it be? 
You can do more than you think you can, but you cannot and need not always do it on your own.