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Alison Park
Park as executive chair of the ESRC in 2021
Born
Alison Macdonald Park
Alma materBristol Polytechnic
University of Oxford
Scientific career
FieldsAttitudes
Longitudinal studies
Cohort studies[1]
InstitutionsUniversity College London
Economic and Social Research Council
ThesisWomen working in higher education (1991)
Websiteiris.ucl.ac.uk/iris/browse/profile?upi=APARK85 Edit this at Wikidata

Alison Macdonald Park CBE FAcSS is a British social scientist and professor who served as executive chair of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) from 2021 to 2023.[1][2] Her research has focused on longitudinal data collection and social attitudes.[3] She was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to the Social Sciences.[4]

Early life and education[edit]

Park grew up in a literary family, with an academic as a father and a mother who worked in publishing.[5] She studied social science at Bristol Polytechnic[3] before moving to Nuffield College, Oxford as a graduate student, where she completed a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in sociology.[6] For her dissertation she explored data from a survey of academic careers overseen by A. H. Halsey[citation needed] and the career progression of women academics.[3]


Research and career[edit]

Park joined Social and Community Planning Research, now known as the National Centre for Social Research,[7] in the early nineties and later went on to set up its Scottish office, ScotCen Social Research. She worked for a number of years on the British Social Attitudes survey and the British Election Study as well as overseeing, designing and analysing other major UK surveys.[8]

Park joined the UCL Institute of Education as Director of Cohort and Longitudinal Studies Enhancement Resources (CLOSER) project in 2015 as Professor of Social Research.[9][10] CLOSER brings together the British Library and UK Data Service to coordinate longitudinal surveys and maximise understanding of social and biomedical issues.[11]

Park became director of research of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in 2019.[12] She was appointed interim Executive Chair in 2021.[13][14]

Awards and honours[edit]

Park was appointed a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to the Social Sciences.[4][15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Alison Park publications indexed by Google Scholar Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ Alison Park publications from Europe PubMed Central
  3. ^ a b c iris.ucl.ac.uk/iris/browse/profile?upi=APARK85 Edit this at Wikidata
  4. ^ a b Anon (2018). "Alison PARK: Order of the British Empire". thegazette.co.uk. The London Gazette. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  5. ^ Anon (2012-06-13). "My career: Alison Park". the-sra.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  6. ^ Park, Alison Macdonald (1991). Women working in higher education. ox.ac.uk (MPhil thesis). University of Oxford. OCLC 863340857.
  7. ^ "Park, Alison". sagepub.com. 2023-05-07. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  8. ^ "Past Contributors | BSA 34 | NatCen". bsa.natcen.ac.uk. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  9. ^ Anon (2022). "CLOSER: the home of longitudinal research". closer.ac.uk.
  10. ^ Anon (2018-06-13). "Spotlight on Professor Alison Park". ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  11. ^ "Professor Alison Park". ukri.org. UK Research and Innovation. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  12. ^ "Our People". adruk.org. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  13. ^ "Professor Alison Park appointed interim Executive Chair of ESRC". ukri.org. UK Research and Innovation. 2021-02-17. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  14. ^ "ESRC names interim executive chair | News". research-live.com. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  15. ^ "Alison Park – ARMA". arma.ac.uk. Retrieved 2023-05-25.

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