Welcome to Understanding Society: A festival of social science - showcasing Sheffield’s world-leading social scientists and their work on tackling some of the greatest problems facing society today. Part of the national ESRC Festival of Social Science.
All venues are fully wheelchair accessible.
The ESRC Festival of Social Science is an annual celebration of research and knowledge about humans and society. It’s a key element of ESRC’s commitment to share UK social science research with new audiences. This year the festival is being held from 17 October to 7 November 2026 and features hundreds of free events across the UK for both children and adults, run by 41 universities and research institutes.
The UKRI Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government. We fund world-leading research, data and post-graduate training in the economic, behavioural, social and data sciences to understand people and the world around us. Our work helps raise productivity, address climate change, improve public services and generate a prosperous, inclusive, healthy and secure society.
A series of free events and activities examining the ideas that shape our everyday lives. From Saturday 17 to Saturday 31 October 2026 in various venues across Sheffield City Centre.