Research environment

Image of University tower through a lens

The Centre for Cultural Policy Research is renowned nationally and internationally for producing high-quality, innovative, and publicly engaged work on diverse aspects of media and cultural policy. Launched in 2007 it has grown into a thriving Centre of scholars and postgraduate researchers, working across many different topics in media and cultural policy, media economics, media sociology, the cultural industries, and digital and creative economies.

Our academics have established strong reputations for excellence and have led and collaborated on many successful projects. The Centre provides two editorial board members of the leading international media and communication journal, Media, Culture and Society, and its staff sit on the boards of many other journals, as well as providing expertise for a range of academic and non-academic institutions and organisations. CCPR has been highly successful in attracting external funding for research, including from the AHRC, ESRC, European Commission, Nesta, the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Canada’s SSHRC. See our current and past funded projects at Research in CCPR

The breadth and quality of our research is also demonstrated through publications. Recent highlights here include books on cultural industries and the environmental crisis, the ‘talent industry’, cultural work and inequality, and the rise and fall of the UK Film Council. Our academics also publish frequently in leading media and cultural policy journals, thereby showcasing their current and most cutting-edge work. Some recent articles have focused on transformations in the structure and ownership of television, the ‘post-public sphere’, children and on-line games regulation, intimacy and safety on film sets, and the history of marketing and product-placement in film. You can learn more about our academics and their research interests at CCPR Staff pages

Our research has strong intellectual and policy impact, based on close engagement and collaboration with several Scottish, UK and international partners, both academic and non-academic. Current and recent partners have included the Creative Economy Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC), The Future of Media Commission in Ireland, UEFA, OECD, European Commission, Nesta, the University of Barcelona, the University of Lausanne and the Telemark Research Institute, Norway.

CCPR’s research culture is supported by a vibrant and international community of doctoral researchers, who are fully engaged in our seminar and events programme, and supported through dedicated postgraduate workshops and seminars. We are proud of the close and concentrated support we offer our research students, providing them with a full academic portfolio in the skills of research and writing, teaching experience, and in developing communication, knowledge exchange and public engagement opportunities.

CCPR also works closely with and complements research undertaken by colleagues in the School of Culture and Creative Arts, including in Film and Television Studies and Theatre Studies. Together we have focused on three key themes that shape and support the strategic direction of the School’s research:

  • Critical Study of Cultural Forms and Policies
  • Cultural History and Heritage
  • Critical and Creative Practices

Our contributions include ESRC-funded research on television production in transition, AHRC-funded work on the Cultural Enterprise Office, contributions to the work of both the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre and CREATe, the UK Copyright and Creative Economy Centre, as well as research on cultural and media work (Critical Study of Cultural Forms and Policies). Other contributions include AHRC-funded research on the UK Film Council (Cultural History and Heritage). We have strong collaborative links with our Glasgow colleagues in the Colleges of Arts & Humanities and Social Sciences focused on current and future challenges facing the media and cultural policy spheres.