Today for the first time, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is to recognise its global centres of excellence with official ESRC Research Institute status. The move acknowledges those centres which have demonstrated sustained strategic value to the Council, as well as to the broader social science research landscape, with long-term, five-year funding. Launching as the first ESRC Research Institutes will be the Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy (CPP) and the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP).  Professor Stephen Machin, Director of CEP, said: “My colleagues and I at the Centre for Economic Performance are delighted to be awarded ESRC Institute status. This is testament to the achievements since the Centre was first set up in 1990 and its significant impact on a wide range of policy over the years. We very much look forward to working with the ESRC to continue to respond to social and economic changes and seek answers to key contemporary economic questions, as well as developing new, ambitious research areas.”