The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), formerly the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) funded by the UK government. ESRC provides funding and support for research and training in the social sciences. It is the UK's largest organisation for funding research on economic and social issues. The ESRC was founded in 1965 as the Social Science Research Council. The establishment of a state funding body for the social sciences in the United Kingdom, had been under discussion since the Second World War; however, it was not until the 1964 election of Prime Minister Harold Wilson that the political climate for the creation of the SSRC became sufficiently favourable. The first chief executive of the SSRC was Michael Young. Subsequent holders of the post have included Michael Posner, later Secretary General of the European Science Foundation.