Biography
Bobby Duffy is Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Policy Institute. He has worked across most public policy areas in his career of 30 years in policy research and evaluation, including being seconded to the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit.
Bobby sits on several advisory boards, including chairing both the Campaign for Social Science and the CLOSER Advisory Board, and is a member of the Executive of the Academy of Social Sciences, a trustee of British Future and a Senior Fellow of the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto.
His first book, The Perils of Perception – Why we’re wrong about nearly everything, was published by Atlantic books in several countries, drawing on a set of global studies on how people misperceive key social realities. His latest book, Generations: Does when you’re born shape who you are?, came out in September 2021 and challenges myths and stereotypes around generational trends, seeking a greater understanding around generational challenges.
Research
Centre for Attention Studies
Forging new responses to the foundational crisis of the digital age: distraction.
Offence
With growing interconnectedness, especially online, and with personal identities having more salience, the issue of offence has risen up the agenda.
Project status: Ongoing
News
Good manners, obedience and unselfishness: data reveals how UK parenting priorities compare with other nations
The public now place less importance on raising obedient children, but they still value good manners hugely
UK public among least likely to place importance on work
The UK ranks low for the belief that work should always come first, even if it means less leisure time
Britons broadly aligned on tackling poverty and inequality
Major study finds Britons broadly aligned on tackling poverty and inequalities
'Great replacement theory' and conspiracies about 15-minute cities, cost of living and digital currencies said to be definitely or probably true by one in three in UK
One in four also say they would take part in protests against some of these issues
UK public among most trusting in world, study finds
The UK public is one of the most trusting populations globally
Public think super rich are now more powerful than governments
The public also see family background as the biggest determinant of someone’s wealth
God, heaven and hell, and life after death: data reveals UK's low religious belief compared with other nations
The share of the British public who identify as religious has halved since the 1980s
UK public among most trusting of their neighbours internationally and increasingly comfortable living next to historically marginalised groups
The UK public is among the most relaxed about living next to a wide range of people
UK attitudes to immigration among most positive internationally
Public opinion has shifted a huge amount in a relatively short space of time
Are Millennials really killing the Tory party?
Younger generations are no longer becoming more conservative as they age
Events
A public polarised? Values, attitudes and beliefs in post-Brexit Britain
Join us for the launch event of the UK World Values Survey.
Please note: this event has passed.
Are the humanities in crisis?
Hear about the state of the humanities today and how policymakers can make the most of the sector.
Please note: this event has passed.
What's next for "levelling up"?
Join us to discuss the current state of the levelling up agenda.
Please note: this event has passed.
Better Evidence, Better Government: In Conversation with David Halpern and Ravi Gurumurthy
Join the Policy Institute and the Evidence Quarter for the first event in our new Better Evidence, Better Government series, which brings together well-known...
Please note: this event has passed.
Out of office? How London is living with hybrid working
What are the implications of the capital's shift to hybrid working?
Please note: this event has passed.
The generation myth
Join Professor Bobby Duffy for the 2022 David Hobman Lecture, discussing the myths and stereotypes around generational trends.
Please note: this event has passed.
Can anyone win the culture war?
Recent years have seen a huge surge in media discussion of “culture wars” in the UK – but despite this, the public have only a limited understanding of the...
Please note: this event has passed.
The “Fight for Fairness” in Britain
The pandemic has deeply affected us all – but not equally.
Please note: this event has passed.
Finding common ground in the culture wars
Recent years have seen a huge surge in media discussion of “culture wars” in the UK – but despite this, the public have only a limited understanding of the...
Please note: this event has passed.
Unequal Britain
The pandemic has deeply affected us all – but not equally
Please note: this event has passed.
Features
British people see geographical inequalities as most pressing – not gender or race
The end of lockdowns is in sight but the road out of these restrictions is only the start of a much longer journey to a full recovery from the pandemic.
One year on: Reflections from working at the forefront of the pandemic
As 2020 started, the world faced the threat of a totally new virus, COVID-19. As we all navigated completely new and very difficult challenges in our working...
Three ways people are reacting to coronavirus: 'accepting', 'suffering' and 'resisting'
How the UK is coping with life under lockdown
Informing the public debate on COVID-19
Academics from across the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy are helping us all better understand the huge societal shifts created by the COVID-19...
Spotlight
How King's researchers challenge the status quo in healthcare and policy
Research is core to King’s: what we do, what we care about and how we educate. It’s how we use our creativity to further our knowledge and understanding,...
Research
Centre for Attention Studies
Forging new responses to the foundational crisis of the digital age: distraction.
Offence
With growing interconnectedness, especially online, and with personal identities having more salience, the issue of offence has risen up the agenda.
Project status: Ongoing
News
Good manners, obedience and unselfishness: data reveals how UK parenting priorities compare with other nations
The public now place less importance on raising obedient children, but they still value good manners hugely
UK public among least likely to place importance on work
The UK ranks low for the belief that work should always come first, even if it means less leisure time
Britons broadly aligned on tackling poverty and inequality
Major study finds Britons broadly aligned on tackling poverty and inequalities
'Great replacement theory' and conspiracies about 15-minute cities, cost of living and digital currencies said to be definitely or probably true by one in three in UK
One in four also say they would take part in protests against some of these issues
UK public among most trusting in world, study finds
The UK public is one of the most trusting populations globally
Public think super rich are now more powerful than governments
The public also see family background as the biggest determinant of someone’s wealth
God, heaven and hell, and life after death: data reveals UK's low religious belief compared with other nations
The share of the British public who identify as religious has halved since the 1980s
UK public among most trusting of their neighbours internationally and increasingly comfortable living next to historically marginalised groups
The UK public is among the most relaxed about living next to a wide range of people
UK attitudes to immigration among most positive internationally
Public opinion has shifted a huge amount in a relatively short space of time
Are Millennials really killing the Tory party?
Younger generations are no longer becoming more conservative as they age
Events
A public polarised? Values, attitudes and beliefs in post-Brexit Britain
Join us for the launch event of the UK World Values Survey.
Please note: this event has passed.
Are the humanities in crisis?
Hear about the state of the humanities today and how policymakers can make the most of the sector.
Please note: this event has passed.
What's next for "levelling up"?
Join us to discuss the current state of the levelling up agenda.
Please note: this event has passed.
Better Evidence, Better Government: In Conversation with David Halpern and Ravi Gurumurthy
Join the Policy Institute and the Evidence Quarter for the first event in our new Better Evidence, Better Government series, which brings together well-known...
Please note: this event has passed.
Out of office? How London is living with hybrid working
What are the implications of the capital's shift to hybrid working?
Please note: this event has passed.
The generation myth
Join Professor Bobby Duffy for the 2022 David Hobman Lecture, discussing the myths and stereotypes around generational trends.
Please note: this event has passed.
Can anyone win the culture war?
Recent years have seen a huge surge in media discussion of “culture wars” in the UK – but despite this, the public have only a limited understanding of the...
Please note: this event has passed.
The “Fight for Fairness” in Britain
The pandemic has deeply affected us all – but not equally.
Please note: this event has passed.
Finding common ground in the culture wars
Recent years have seen a huge surge in media discussion of “culture wars” in the UK – but despite this, the public have only a limited understanding of the...
Please note: this event has passed.
Unequal Britain
The pandemic has deeply affected us all – but not equally
Please note: this event has passed.
Features
British people see geographical inequalities as most pressing – not gender or race
The end of lockdowns is in sight but the road out of these restrictions is only the start of a much longer journey to a full recovery from the pandemic.
One year on: Reflections from working at the forefront of the pandemic
As 2020 started, the world faced the threat of a totally new virus, COVID-19. As we all navigated completely new and very difficult challenges in our working...
Three ways people are reacting to coronavirus: 'accepting', 'suffering' and 'resisting'
How the UK is coping with life under lockdown
Informing the public debate on COVID-19
Academics from across the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy are helping us all better understand the huge societal shifts created by the COVID-19...
Spotlight
How King's researchers challenge the status quo in healthcare and policy
Research is core to King’s: what we do, what we care about and how we educate. It’s how we use our creativity to further our knowledge and understanding,...