Social Sciences Impact Conference 2026

Today's rapidly-changing world is full of uncertainty - political shifts, rising global tensions and conflicts, the advance of AI and cybersecurity threats, the climate crisis, health and biosecurity risks, societal and cultural shifts, and changes in international aid, energy and supply chain systems. This uncertainty brings new challenges, but it also provides many opportunities to work together, to build resilience and enable meaningful change. Social sciences can provide robust approaches, evidence and understanding to inform responses and reimagine futures for the better.

The 2026 Social Sciences Impact Conference took place in March 2026 at St Anne's College, Oxford, supported by the University of Oxford's ESRC Impact Acceleration Account. 

Watch the session recordings below (or on this YouTube playlist) to explore the themes from the conference: how can collaboration, openness, innovation and inclusion help us move forward and address some of the collective challenges we face? 

Leading voices in the sector discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the social sciences in 2026; the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Professor Irene Tracey, highlights the success that collaboration across research can bring. Further sessions include the application of area expertise, meeting the climate challenge, evidencing impact, and a panel debate on whether social sciences are doing enough to build trust in society.  

Research and action amid global change is debated, along with deep dives into interdisciplinary spaces, inclusive innovation and creative engagement methods, as well as how technology can be leveraged to deliver impact at scale. The closing plenary looks to the path ahead for social sciences, and the keynote by Professor Ngaire Woods, Founding Dean of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, emphasises the social responsibility of research.

Eleven exhibitors joined us for the conference exhibition - find out more about them:

• OPEN
• SexEd matters
• The Evidence Chamber: Collaboration at the Intersection of Justice, Research and Society
• BBC Ideas
• Global Impact in Action: Parenting for Lifelong Health and Global Parenting Initiative
• Care on the Move, a project on active travel and children with non-visible disabilities
• Co-Producing Digital Cultural Knowledge with Young People
• Creating changes for unpaid carers with the Centre for Care and University of Sheffield.
• SDG Impact Lab
• OxEdDeanery
• Palgrave (sponsors)
• ACSS (sponsors)
• Overton (sponsors)