Projects and Publications

Understanding the Distribution and Determinants of Wellbeing in London: Improving the Impact of Policy Outcomes

With growing awareness that Londoners typically report lower levels of subjective wellbeing and higher levels of mental ill-health than those living elsewhere in England, this project aims to advance our understanding of the drivers of subjective wellbeing in the Capital and develop policy interventions alongside policymakers and practitioners from the GLA, London boroughs, and the NHS in London. 

This project is jointly led by Professor Patrick Diamond, Dr Karl Pike and Dr Elizabeth Simon, in partnership with the Centre for London. It will: 

• provide an unprecedently detailed insight into the distribution and determinations of subjective wellbeing in London, through analysis of the British Household Panel and Understanding Society data. 
• use these advances to engage with policymakers through three workshops to develop a set of evidence-based policy recommendations to improve overall wellbeing levels and reduce inequalities in wellbeing across the Capital.
• disseminate our findings widely through a series of briefings with key stakeholders. 

Combatting Health Inequalities in East London

In our latest partnership with the Lifelong Health Team at QMUL, we are contributing to world-leading medical research and education about how best to tackle place-based health inequalities in East London. With stark inequalities in healthy life expectancy in Tower Hamlets and Newham, this exciting new project will reinforce the MEI and QMUL's commitment to our local area.

The East London Research Network

As part of QMUL's Civic University Agreement, the MEI is convening the University's new East London Research Network, which brings together researchers, students, campaigners, and the public to share research and innovation which is conducted in and has an impact on our local area. The ELRN seeks to ensure that QMUL continues to support 'healthy and sustainable futures' for the two million people who live in and around the East End.

Arts and Culture Advocacy Fellowships

In May 2022, in partnership with QMUL's Arts and Culture Team, we launched a three-year fellowship scheme establishing a coalition of advocates to work with QMUL academics to make the case for the arts and cultural sectors in London and across the United Kingdom as a whole. 

A Duty of Care: The MEI's Vision of the UK Post-Covid

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the MEI supported a number of projects exploring the impact that the pandemic had on the UK.

• In partnership with the Fawcett Society and the Women's Budget Group, the MEI supported the Coronavirus: Making Women Visible study, which considered the gendered impacts of Covid-19 and led to three Policy Briefings on its impact on Parenting, Disabled Women, and BAME Women. 
• In the Not for Patching? Public Opinion and the Commitment to 'Build Back Better' project, we examined the views of the British public on what rebuilding after the pandemic might mean and offered some preliminary indications of what policy areas the public want to prioritise.
• In A New Settlement: Place and Wellbeing in Local Government, Professor Patrick Diamond argued that, while the time is right for a radical restructuring of power, politics, and policy in the UK, it needs to be focused on place as the cornerstone of public action and policymaking.