How do I join?
To join the Social Policy Association please click here and follow the sign up instructions. Once submitted, the Membership Secretary will approve your membership application (so we can attach your membership number to your profile). If you have any questions, please contact membership@social-policy.org.uk
Why join the Social Policy Association?
The Social Policy Association promotes research, teaching and practice in Social Policy while enhancing the subject’s public visibility. We aim to foster dialogue and collaboration across academic, policy and practice fields. We offer a platform for sharing and discussing ideas, research and viewpoints on important national and global social challenges. We are committed to promoting the discipline and providing collective representation for our national and international membership.
What are the benefits of membership?
- Opportunities to join and participate in SPA groups, networks and events.
- Discounted registration for the annual international Social Policy Association conference, which attracts social policy academics and researchers from the UK and internationally.
- The chance to apply for Opportunity Grants, which offer funding to support events and other activities that benefit both members and the wider social policy and research community.
- Exclusive bulletins to keep you updated on the latest news and events.
- Receipt of Social Policy Review, published annually, which features an edited collection of articles reviewing developments and debates in social policy in the UK and internationally.
- Eligibility to be nominated for the annual round of SPA Awards.
- Support for Postgraduate Researchers (PGR) and Early Career Researchers (ECR) through activities designed specifically to meet the needs of the community, including our dedicated pre-conference event, networking events and community-building opportunities.
- Individual subscription to the Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy, Journal of Social Policy and Social Policy and Society (all published in collaboration with Cambridge University Press).
- Close links with other learned societies and key organisations in social policy research, teaching and learning organisations such as the Higher Education Academy.
- Reciprocal arrangements with other learned societies such as the British Sociological Association.
How much does it cost?
- Membership subscription rates are charged on a sliding scale according to income (see below for current rates and special categories).
| Subscription rates UK and Economic North | |
| Annual income | Annual subscription |
| Early Career Transition Band* | £40 |
| Less than £15,000 | £40 |
| £15,000–£29,999 | £75 |
| £30,000–£49,999 | £95 |
| £50,000 or more | £125 |
| Organisational rate | £100** |
| Subscription rates Economic South*** | |
| Individual rate | £10 |
| Organisational rate | £50** |
* The Early Career Transition Band rate is for two years after a members’ PhD graduation date. Current employment or academic status is not relevant for eligibility.
** Please contact admin@social-policy.org.uk for further details of organisational membership which is available to organisations in the Public and Third Sector but not higher education institutions.
*** For clarification of the classification of the economic North/South divide please refer to this map (map reproduced by kind permission of the British Society of Criminology)
