The Everyday Austerity project

University of Manchester research into the impacts of austerity on everyday life has challenged the perception that austerity is only an economic and political condition. The research has influenced policy-making, invigorated creative ethnographic practice, and shaped public understanding.

 

Issue

The economic downturn in the UK between 2008-2013 led to a prolonged period of low growth and fiscal austerity. Austerity policies implemented in the UK since 2010 have been described by Phillip Alston (UN Special Rapporteur) as 'ideological', 'tragic', and 'harsh and uncaring'. The research has brought the personal impacts of austerity to the fore, informing the work of key influential organisations.

 

Approach

The research explored everyday life in austerity with two years of intensive fieldwork (2013-2015) in Greater Manchester, a region that has experienced significant austerity cuts since 2010. The everyday lives of families and communities in an ‘average’ Greater Manchester town were studied in terms of markers of wealth and impoverishment, as well as ethnic/racial diversity, to ascertain the lived impacts of austerity policies on social relationships.

 

Impact

The research findings have had a transformational impact on national and local policy-making regarding families, welfare, and austerity. A tailored policy briefing document, supported by three data sharing sessions, was shared with Citizen’s Advice. This influenced the organisation's recommendations to the Department for Work and Pensions and the Treasury on childcare support structure within Universal Credit.

A policy brief entitled ‘Lived Experiences of Poverty and Austerity in Greater Manchester’ was produced for Manchester City Council’s Family Poverty Strategy Working Group. The team’s person-centred methods have also shaped the approach taken towards evidence-based policy by Manchester City Council to provide more ‘realistic’ representation of lived experiences of poverty.

The research has invigorated ethnographic practice within influential organisations that are concerned with securing poverty reduction. Between 2016-2020, researchers were invited to deliver 18 ethnographic, participatory, and creative research methods training sessions to local, regional, and national organisations (including the Department for Work and Pensions, LGBT Foundation, Northern Policy Forum, Oldham City Council, Shelter, and Women Asylum Seekers Together).

The research improved public understanding of austerity through the Everyday Austerity public exhibition, which toured across 15 locations in Greater Manchester from 2016-2017 and attracted more than 4000 visitors.

 

More information

• Read the full impact case study in the REF21 database

Institution: University of Manchester 

Researcher: Professor Sarah Marie Hall