The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a world class centre for its concentration of teaching and research across the full range of the social, political and economic sciences. Founded in 1895 by Beatrice and Sidney Webb, LSE has an outstanding reputation for academic excellence. Thirteen Nobel Prize winners in economics, literature and peace have been either LSE staff or alumni. Around 30 past or present heads of state have studied at LSE, and 28 members of the House of Commons and 42 members of the House of Lords have either studied or taught at LSE. The School is a world centre for advanced research. In the 2001 UK Research Assessment Exercise carried out by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the School's research was rated second among around 200 universities and colleges. LSE submitted 97% of its staff for assessment, more than any other UK university. There are currently over 30 active research centres and units at the School, and the Complexity Group is one of them. There are around 7,800 full-time students and over 800 part-time students, from 140 countries around the world. LSE has over 1,460 full-time and 1,320 part-time members of staff – 97% of the academic staff are actively engaged in research. The School maintains close links with government, industry and the professions, through public meetings and seminar programmes concerned with the dissemination of research findings in the context of public policy. Many staff are also actively engaged in policy development through membership of advisory bodies.

The Complexity Group at LSE was set up in 1994 to develop a theory of complex social systems and an integrated methodology to address practical problems. Some of the organizations that the Group has worked with/is working with, are: AstraZeneca, BT, BAe Systems, Cabinet Office, CitiGroup (New York & London), Department of Trade & Industry, the Environment Agency, GlaxoSmithKline, the Humberside TEC, Legal & General, Ministry of Defence, Mondragon Cooperative Corporation (Basque Country), the UK’s National Health Service, Norwich Union Life, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (now DCLG) Rolls-Royce (Aerospace & Marine), Shell (International, Finance & Shell Internet Works), the World Bank (Washington DC) and several companies in the aerospace industry. The Group’s work has focused on addressing apparently intractable problems in both the private and public sectors.

The Personal Social Services Research Unit

PSSRU is one of the leading social care research groups, internationally. It carries out policy analysis and research, focusing on needs, resources and outcomes in social and health care. The PSSRU has long had close and productive links with policy makers in the UK and elsewhere. The mission of PSSRU is to conduct high quality research on social and health care to inform and influence policy, practice and theory.