Research Activities
Current Research and Opportunities for Practitioners
There are a number of different ways in which SIPR can help those wanting to do research on policing in Scotland:
- It can provide information on recent and on-going research on policing in Scotland and help identify researchers with expertise in particular topic areas;
- It can help facilitate access to Police Scotland's Academic Research Team (partnershipresearchethics@scotland.pnn.police.uk)
PLEASE NOTE If you are requiring access to Police Data or you wish to arrange interviews with police personnel, you will need to contact Police Scotland's Academic Research Team (partnershipresearchethics@scotland.pnn.police.uk)
- It can provide resources for a range of different types of research, from MSc Dissertations and PhD Studentships, to shorter Practitioner Fellowships aimed at police staff and others working in the policing field who wish to spend time at a university undertaking a piece of supervised research;
- By being the national focus for policing research Scotland, SIPR can help develop collaborative research networks nationally and internationally.
SIPR Small Research Grant Competition 2019
SIPR ran an eighth competition for small research and knowledge exchange grants and made three awards in April 2019 totalling £22,800.
Dr Lynne Kelly, University of Dundee & Dr Sharon Jackson, GCU
Two MSc studentships to evaluate a new Joint Investigative Interviewing Training (JIIT) programme- Dr Alex McIntyre, Edinburgh Napier University
Formal Evaluation of Evolutionary Facial Composite Systems
- Dr Penny Haddrill & James Govan, University of Strathclyde
Development of a kit for the collection of human DNA evidence in wildlife crime cases in Scotland
ELIGIBILITY AND THE REVIEW PROCESS FOR THIS AND PAST COMPETITIONS
Members of SIPR based at the 14 Universities in Scotland that make up the Collaboration are eligible to apply to each competition and applicants can be from the university sector, Police Scotland, or the Scottish Police Authority. Applications are eligible from single individuals/institutions or collaborative ventures involving more than one university and/or a partnership between the academic community and police service.
An in-exhaustive list of the kinds of thing that can be supported through these grants includes:
A systematic review of evidence on a given topic and a process for promoting its use • Series of workshops designed to disseminate existing research and/or forge links between different partners • Practitioner fellowships and/or support for internships across agencies • Small-scale collaborative research projects • Scoping work designed as a precursor to a larger external funding bid or collaborative research studentship application • Larger pieces of new research and evaluation tailored to the Call
Strong evidence of collaboration (across disciplines or Universities, and/or involving police or partners) are expected.
Review process: All applications are reviewed by the SIPR Executive Committee and the Network Steering Committee, both of which include academic and practitioner representatives, and externally appointed reviewers. To ensure an open and fair process, academic reviewers are not allowed to comment on any bids from their own institution, and practitioners cannot comment on any projects in which they are personally involved.
Details are also provided of awards made in previous years
Strategic Research and Knowledge Exchange (SRAKE) Programme and Improving Police Action through Knowledge Transfer (IMPAKT)
In late 2011, SIPR launched the Improving Police Action through Knowledge Transfer (IMPAKT) Programme, which was designed to provide support to researchers in Scottish HEIs to undertake knowledge transfer/exchange and impact generating activities in partnership with the Scottish police service.
Building on this initiative, SIPR invited proposals for research and knowledge exchange projects focused on issues relevant to one or more of the priorities outlined in the Scottish Policing Assessment.
Two SRAKEAwards were made in January 2013, and a further award in May 2013.
The IMPAKT Programme provides support to researchers in Scottish HEIs to undertake knowledge transfer/exchange and impact generating activities in partnership with the Scottish police service. The knowledge exchange activities are focused on promoting the application of policing research to address one or more of the priorities outlined in the Scottish Policing Assessment and help to facilitate the co-production and application of knowledge.
Three IMPAKT Awards were made in March 2012.
PhD Studentships across Scotland
In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of PhD projects relevant to policing, with over 70 projects having been undertaken at the SIPR Consortium of universities, of which nine projects were directly funded by SIPR. Please see the SIPR Annual Reports for futher details.
SIPR Small Research Grant Competition 2010
SIPR is delighted to announce the winners of its second competition for small research grants
If you have a Research Proposal...
So that SIPR can respond to enquiries and provide guidance in developing a research proposal, in the first instance you should complete the Research Proposal Template [Word document], and return this to the Director of SIPR. The proposal will be assessed as shown in the flowchart.
PLEASE NOTE If you are requiring access to Police Data, you will need to complete a Request for Access to Police Data Form
Where the proposal is not considered relevant to SIPR, it may be referred to the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR), or another relevant body. The review panel will include representatives, as appropriate, from the SIPR Executive Committee.
