Professor Irene Hardill AcSS

Honorary Membership Secretary

Professor Irene Hardill AcSS is Professor of Public Policy in the Dept of Social Sciences at Northumbria University. She has a particular expertise in volunteering and the voluntary and community sector, demography and ageing, and knowledge exchange. Her current research is supported by a series of grants from the ESRC, and includes a New Dynamics of Ageing research grant on sustaining IT use by older people, the Process and Impact Review of the Engaging Scottish Local Authorities Scheme (ESRC/SFC), an ESRC CASE studentship with AgeUK, and an ESRC seminar series on the mixed economy of welfare. Professor Hardill's research has been supported by Leverhulme Trust, Age Concern England, the English Regions Network, the Canadian High Commission, and the French Government. Professor Hardill has produced over 100 publications, including five books. Her work has featured in five ESRC publications for its academic and wider impact. She is currently completing a book Enterprising Care: Unpaid voluntary action in the 21st century for Policy Press with Dr Sue Baines, and is co-editing a special issue of Social Policy and Society on remixing the economy of welfare.  Professor Hardill is former vice-Chair of the Regional Studies Association.