Publications from the Nuffield College Social Reconstruction Survey, 1941-1948

This is a collection of some of the publications which were written as part/a result of the Nuffield College Social Reconstruction Survey. The Nuffield College Social Reconstruction Survey began in February 1941 and was an attempt to foster the co-operation of scholars and the nation's business and political leaders. See collection reference NCSRS PAPERS for more information and the papers from the Nuffield College Social Reconstruction Survey.

The Survey's headquarters were in Oxford. It also had a small office in London and regional teams of largely unpaid volunteer investigators working from twenty-eight regional centres, based chiefly on the universities. The Survey was an unofficial body but it began with official backing in the form of a grant of £5,000 from the Treasury in the financial year 1941–1942. In return, reports were prepared at the request of government departments and for official inquiries such as the Scott Committee, which investigated industrial developments in rural areas. During this period, Cole instigated a series of private conferences, which brought together people from diverse political and professional backgrounds. Opposition to the Survey first manifested itself in November 1941 when a motion was passed by the Hebdomadal Council urging the Survey to restrict the scope of its research. In the following year, Lord Nuffield expressed his unease at Cole's role in the Survey. In February 1943, the Treasury, which had proved increasingly obstructive, announced that it would not be renewing its grant beyond the end of March. Government departments were by now paying much greater attention to the issue of reconstruction. This inevitably led to friction and resentment on the part government departments at the perceived intrusion of the Survey into their spheres of responsibility. The Nuffield Committee responded on 12 June by ordering that the Survey be wound up within seven months. After the official end of the Survey on 31 January 1944, the Education, Local Government and Social Services Sub-committees continued to meet. The fruits of their work were published in the form of books and pamphlets over the next four years.

Each box has a different publication contained within and where it stipulates '.../1-...', there are multiple boxes containing one publication.

By prior appointment only. Application in writing (letter or email) to the Assistant Librarian (Archives). See Nuffield College Archives location page for more details.

The handlist for the Nuffield College Social Reconstruction Survey Publications collection can be found [online] Link: https://www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/the-college/library/special-collection-and-archives/archive/

The Nuffield College Social Reconstruction Survey Publications were deposited after the completion of the Nuffield College Social Reconstruction Survey in 1947.