Research Centre on Peripheral Populations

Our mission is to lead transdisciplinary research and deliver solutions to address the challenging and pressing issues confronting peripheral populations. We define peripheral populations widely, to include individuals who are isolated, marginalised, subject to extreme conditions and who are excluded from participating in mainstream society.  

We work with policy makers, academics and activist organisations to address some of the most critical issues that peripheral populations face. We investigate their experiences along multiple dimensions− social, economic, cultural, political and spatial. In all these dimensions, we examine how structures, institutions, and systems at global and national levels influence each other to impact peripheral populations. We look in detail at their everyday lived experiences, how they preserve or construct new identities, how their social characteristics intersect to shape their experiences and the networks they draw upon to sustain themselves. 

We strive to shape strong policies and practices to enable peripheral populations to thrive in their societies.

The Research Centre is led by Professor Lilian Miles and Dr Maria Granados. Dr Christina Flora is the Centre’s Research Fellow. 

The Research Centre on Peripheral Populations has conducted research and knowledge exchange activities into the following areas:

• Women migrant workers and reproductive health
• Migrant workers’ social and market inclusion during the pandemic
• Barefoot entrepreneurs and their struggles in the informal economy
• Gender empowerment in social enterprises in the UK 
• Improving resettlement planning for Syrian refugees in London
• Developing strategies to combat modern slavery in collaboration with migrant organisations in the UK
• The Global Majority Giving Initiative (GMGI)

Our partners include National Centre for Social Research International UK, Social Enterprise UK and a large range of universities, NGOs and charities around the world. 
 

See all projects

• Granados, M. L., and A. Adelekan. (2026). Towards a Socially Inclusive Circular Economy: Evidence From Social Enterprises in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Business Strategy and the Environment 1–22.  
• Chitac, I., Michielsens, E., & Miles, L. (2025). Bricolentrepreneuring: A comparative phenomenological study of Ukrainian refugees’ entrepreneurial bricolage practices in the UK and Romania. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 1–24. 
• Miles, L., Granados, M. L., & Tweed, J. (2024). Social Entrepreneurship, Empowerment of Women Experiencing Homelessness and Gender Equality. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 1-23
• Freeman, T., Miles, L., & Ying, K. (2024). Self-surveillance practices of factory women migrant workers receiving SRH interventions in Malaysia: The effects of salience, gendered subjectivity and universalism. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 0(0). 
• Miles, L., Freeman, T., Capucci Polzin, A., Reitz, R. and Croucher, R. (2023). Migrant workers navigating the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK: Resilience, reworking and resistance. Economic and Industrial Democracy. 
• Granados, M. L., Rosli, A., & Gotsi, M. (2022). Staying poor: Unpacking the process of barefoot institutional entrepreneurship failure. Journal of Business Venturing, 37(3), 106204
• Freeman, Tim; Miles, Lilian; Ying Kelvin; Lai Wan Teng, Mat Yasin, Suziana (2021). At the limits of ‘Capability’: The sexual and reproductive health of women migrant workers in Malaysia. Sociology of Health and Illness 
• Miles, Lilian; Freeman, Tim; Lai Wan Teng, Mat Yasin, Suziana, Ying, Kelvin (2021). Empowerment as a prerequisite to managing and influencing health in the workplace: The sexual and reproductive health needs of factory women migrant workers in Malaysia. Economic and Industrial Democracy

Academic staff

• Professor Lilian Miles
• Dr Maria Granados
• Dr Christina Flora
• Dr Vincent Rich
• Dr Setenay Dilek Fidler
• Amanda Capucci Polzin
• Dr Koko Kondo
• Dr Rukhsana Kausar
• Dr Anees Ikramullah
• Dr Erendira Leon Bravo
• Dr Petros Karatsareas
• Dr Teddy Seyoum
• Dr Kyoko Murakami
• Dr Tony Black
• Dr Manal Mohammed
• Dr Annetta Paps-King

External members

• Ainurul Rosli, Hult International Business School
• Adriana Ruiz Restrepo, CIVISOL, RRA Colombia

Doctoral researchers

• Ahmad Alham, SOES
• Emamuzo Idegbesor, SMM
• Syed Khalid, SMM
• Vichea Thanakyuth Sal, SOES    

Visiting researchers

• Javier Carreno Ortiz, University of Medellin, Colombia
• Dr Sherine El Taraboulsi-McCarthy, Senior Research Associate at ODI Global