Since the establishment of the Government Equalities Office (GEO) on 12 October 2007, the GEO Research and Analysis Team has conducted or commissioned a range of research on equality issues using a variety of research methods.
Based on current records, Table 1 lists research projects involving opinion survey (defined broadly here as any surveys of the public to acquire relevant information) commissioned by the Department from October 2007 and the GEO's expenditure on this research by financial year. Table 2 sets out research projects involving focus groups, commissioned by the Department and the associated total annual expenditure by financial year. Table 3 presents information on any other forms of market research commissioned by GEO and associated costs by financial year.
A number of these research projects combine a mixture of research methods, for which it is not possible to disaggregate the specific cost of surveys or focus groups. Under these circumstances, the total cost of the project has been provided, and is included in only one place in the tables (to avoid the double-counting of costs).
Year Research Purpose Total annual costs (£) 2008-09 Attitudes to prostitution To explore public attitudes to prostitution. 125,586 Flexible working To explore how flexible working can help carers combine paid work and caring responsibilities, and any constraints. Women in business To establish the reasons for and experiences of women starting their own business. Impact of the economic downturn on women and families To explore how the downturn has affected the concerns and experiences of women and men. Please note this research involved focus groups and opinion surveys for which the costs cannot be disaggregated. 2009-10 Perceptions of offenders' gender and sentencing ongoing research) To establish public perceptions of offenders' gender and sentencing. 13,515 Awareness of right to request flexible working among parents To assess awareness of the right to request flexible working among carers and parents.
Year Research Purpose Total annual costs (£) 2007-08 Routes to power To explore ethnic minority women's routes into, through, and out of decision-making positions. Please note this research involved a range of methods. The cost of the focus groups cannot be disaggregated from the total project cost. 53,550 Women take part To examine the participation of women, in particular under-represented women, in governance and decision making, in community and public life. Please note this research involved a range of methods. The cost of focus groups cannot be disaggregated from the total project cost. 2008-09 Perceptions of fair and equal treatment (ongoing research) To examine perceptions of fair treatment 28,252 Note: Impact of the economic downturn on women and families involved focus groups and opinion surveys. To avoid double counting, the costs for this project have been included in Table 1 not Table 2.
Year Research Purpose Total annual costs (£) 2008-09 The use of age-based practices in financial services (ongoing research) To explore how age-based practices are used in financial services. Please note this research involves a range of methods. The cost of the market research element cannot be disaggregated from the total project costs. 120,000