Research

We support organisations of all kinds, providing independent expertise, research and practical know-how to enable you to make real and lasting impact on socio-economic diversity and social equality.

Consequently, rigorous, independent research evidence underpins everything we do. That will almost certainly mean traditional empirical evidence, but it may also mean bringing people together to facilitate innovative, interactive enquiry.

Our objective is to make real and meaningful change for people from lower socio-economic backgrounds in three key areas:

• Securing equal access to higher education

• Improving graduate outcomes

• Promoting greater diversity in the professions, including hiring and progression.

Independent thinking

Our research and policy work is undertaken independently and driven by guidance from the Charity Commission. Find out more about our approach as a charity here.

Key research themes

Learner progression from school and college to higher education

• University and employer outreach with young people

• The influence of geography on access and participation

• University admissions practices

Equality of student outcomes in higher education and graduate outcomes

• Being a commuter student

• The impact of university careers services in narrowing the gap in graduate outcomes

• The impact of geography and socio-economic background on the graduate experience and transitioning to the workplace

• Employer practices for attracting and recruiting graduates

Diversity and inclusion in the workplace

• The business case for greater diversity with respect to socio-economic background

• Employer practice in attracting and hiring at all levels

• Progression, pay and performance by socio-economic background

• Employer practice in diversity and inclusion

• Measuring success including setting and monitoring targets

• Regulatory expectations with respect to diversity and inclusion

The Bridge Group conducts all research in accordance with our Research ethics policy.

Data gathered through our research is managed and stored in accordance with our Information security policy and Confidentiality policy.

The Bridge Group has been awarded the Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certification.

Events

To help make change happen, we share our findings as widely as possible. This includes running launch events to support the publication of individual research reports and toolkits. We also run themed events in which we share anonymised aggregate findings from unpublished material as well.

Our events bring together senior colleagues and expert practitioners from across sectors. We often include representatives on a panel, to present a range of perspectives on our findings and examples of how to address our recommendations. This means that our events include plenty of practical actions to take away.

For a list of upcoming and past events, please see news and events.

Research outputs