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The ability of companies and organisations to pay and recover debts affects and reflects the financial health of UK PLC. Research by the Credit Management Research Centre (CMRC) led by Professor Nick Wilson has directly influenced UK government policy and regulation, leading to the development of tools and guidance to alleviate short and long-term financing problems for large and small businesses and organisations. The research has improved understanding of alternative forms of corporate finance for new ventures, growth and corporate restructuring. Improved knowledge has been gained on why some businesses grow and others fail in relation to financing, financial management and governance. Research has led to changes in the debt management systems and procedures in the public and private sector.
Research on employee share plans and employee ownership has made an impact in the media and on government policy. Pendleton's research has influenced and increased media discussions of participation in share plans, financial knowledge, and plan outcomes in the specialist reward and financial press. Additionally, the research impacted upon government policy in two ways: one in informing a government decision not to remove the tax benefits connected with share ownership plans; and two, in contributing to an enquiry which has subsequently had a significant influence on the views of the main political parties towards employee ownership.
Research by Professor Ian Cunningham and Professor Dennis Nickson has influenced policy and practice with regard to a range of employment relations issues in the voluntary sector. Sector-level lead bodies, such as the Coalition of Care and Support Providers Scotland (CCPS) and individual trade unions (e.g. Unison and UNITE) and union confederations such as the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) have adopted the research results and recommendations to campaign and influence public policy. The research has enabled Unison to establish a separate 'service group' (a term used to describe the union's key industrial sector). Research work on re-tendering in the voluntary social care sector (VSSC) has also been a key influence for the Scottish Government according to the Director of the CCPS, resulting in the formulation of specific guidance on social care procurement. Some research findings are cited in an influential report that has resulted in the establishment of a Scottish Government National Steering Group on joint strategic commissioning. The research on the impact of recession on VSSC has also led to joint lobbying between the STUC and employer organisations to campaign on worker terms and conditions, and training.
Research on employee ownership (EO) conducted by Professors Lampel and Bhalla at City University London has made a substantial contribution to the evidence base used by the UK government to formulate and introduce policies aimed at boosting employee ownership. Evidence on the resilience and flexibility of EO firms, as well as the barriers that they confront, played an important role in the launch on 4th July 2013 of a new government policy to make employee ownership more accessible, including the injection of £50M annually to support EO models. Greater adoption of the EO model in the private sector benefits employees and employers and improves the wider economy. The evidence provided by this research has also led to a greater focus on EO in the public sector, with government policies now being formulated to encourage greater adoption of EO, specifically in the areas of health and social care, benefiting additionally the recipients of services and their families.
Unique research at the University of Manchester highlights the shortcomings of public accountability and the high cost, to the public purse, of PPPs and the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) using critical financial analysis. Lead researchers have been invited to engage in dialogue with national audit regulators, give evidence to parliamentary committees and contribute to policy debate through international roundtables. The work has been used to challenge government policy and has significantly influenced the national and international public debate about the costs, affordability and value for money of PPPs. The UK government has now renegotiated existing PFI projects to achieve cost savings, and we have given evidence by invitation to international committees concerned with public accountability and policy development.
Professor Robin Blackburn has written extensively on pension policy and has advocated the need for strong public pension provision. Following the financial crisis that began in 2008, Blackburn's ideas have attracted much interest, especially given that he had identified many of the problems that would come to afflict private schemes. His work has been recognised globally: for example, he was invited to speak at a conference organised by the EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, and his research has been cited by the United Nations' Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Blackburn's highest-profile work has been in Ecuador, where he has addressed the President, cabinet ministers, and senior civil servants.
Every year many thousands of people make claims for damages following an accident, with the Department for Work and Pensions Compensation Recovery Unit recording just over 1 million in 2011-12. Cardiff researchers developed an improved method of calculating compensation involving future loss of earnings and in doing so demonstrated that claimants had previously been undercompensated. The new approach achieves greater consistency, accuracy and equity in awards and, as of the Sixth Edition, has been incorporated into the Government Actuary Department's Actuarial Tables for Personal Injury and Fatal Accident Cases (the `Ogden Tables'). In England and Wales, these tables are used by lawyers and the courts as a starting point in the determination of compensation awards for all future losses and expenditure in cases of personal injury. They also provide guidance in other jurisdictions where the law is based on English common law (former colonies) and which rely upon scheduled damages. Dr Victoria Wass of Cardiff Business School (CBS) was central to the research and to the subsequent training of legal practitioners in the application of the new methodology.
Research at Aston University has influenced and shaped business support policy in the UK and changed the strategic direction of small businesses in the Midlands region, which has led to increased growth and profitability. A specific impact of the research nationally has been to inform the Coalition Government's business support policy and form part of the underlying rationale for the new Growth Accelerator business support programme in England. At regional level the research has changed strategic thinking, specifically in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull region through its Local Enterprise Partnership, the Leeds City Region, and the Greater London Authority, influencing business support strategy and practice in those areas. On the ground, Aston's research has had a direct impact on the growth, job creation and profitability of small businesses in the Midlands.
Research by Prof Iraj Hashi has had a significant impact on the development of policies on Employee Financial Participation (EFP) by the institutions of the European Union. The impact has been achieved through the preparation of two major reports for DG V (Employment), a study for the European Parliament, and a study for the European Commission (currently underway). As a result of these works, various institutions of the EU have proposed policies to encourage employee participation in the results of their work (in the form of share ownership, profit sharing, share options, etc.). Most recently, the Commission has issued a call for tender for a "Pilot Project - Promotion of Employee Ownership and Participation", and has also included EFP as an element of its Action Plan to reform European company law and corporate governance. These reports and the associated policy proposals have been informed by, and in turn facilitated, the research by Prof Hashi; in particular, Hashi (1998), Hashi and Hashani (2011) and Hashi and Hashani (2013).
Professor Costas Grammenos' research at City University London changed the way traditional family shipping companies perceived the capital markets as a source of finance. Dissemination of his research to the international business community through international dialogue, debates and speeches has made a significant impact on the international shipping industry, in which several City alumni raised, or helped others to raise, funds from major global capital markets (e.g., New York, London). Up to 2000, only 25 shipping companies had raised finance from the US equity capital markets, with the number increasing to 56 for the period from 2000 to 2013.