The Institute for Jewish Policy Research has announced a change of direction with a key new appointment.
David Graham, who has worked on demographic surveys for the Board of Deputies, will be the new director of social and demographic research. He will be supported by a new advisory board, chaired by Professor Steve Miller, an expert on research into Jewish communities.
The changes mark a return to a more local agenda for the think-tank, which, under its former executive director Tony Lerman, who stepped down last year, had shifted its focus from domestic social research to Europe.
Dr Graham, who was recently awarded an Oxford doctorate for a study of British Jewry, said: “Our educational, religious and welfare organisations depend on accurate data to function efficiently and to plan for the future.
“JPR aims to be at the forefront of this process, providing its services for the benefit of the entire Jewish community.”
JPR chairman, Harold Paisner, highlighted “an important shift in direction which will see us working in a new and highly collaborative fashion with Jewish communal organisations, including the research team at the Board of Deputies.
“This new thrust to JPR’s work will ensure that the community has timely, relevant, high-quality data to inform its decision-making and strategic planning.”
