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The research addresses the need of the British Co-operative Group and its members across the UK for a stronger understanding of the development of the business model of co-operation in Britain, the importance of democracy in the governance and direction of the organisation and in adapting the model to future challenges. The project's findings are being used in the education of elected member officials who form the democratic bodies which govern the Co-operative Group, and employees who work for the organisation. Learning has focussed on the heritage of the co-operative movement and the development of the Co-operative Group's business model. It enhances the effectiveness of member democracy by increasing knowledge of the organization's development and democratic traditions.
The work of Birchall and Simmons on the potential of co-operatives, and their comparative advantage when compared to other organisational types, has had a strong impact on the attitudes and policies of all the major international agencies concerned with poverty reduction in low-income countries. It has helped shape new programmes of work in promoting and strengthening co- operative businesses worldwide. It led directly to the UN's declaration of 2012 as the International Year of Co-operatives. The Year was regarded as an outstanding success, with almost all the member countries contributing programmes of events and reviewing and developing policies towards co-operatives.
Research undertaken by Starkey and colleagues has informed the development of a particular philosophy and practice of research. This has informed policy debates about the nature of effective management research for engaging with practice — now widely referred to as co-production — and led to new insights into the practice of policymaking in government. The research informed (1) the development of a new approach to policymaking adopted by the previous administration in work conducted for and with the Cabinet Office with senior civil servants and representation from the House of Lords; (2) collaborative work on the development of low carbon communities which was conducted with the Department of The Environment and Climate Change.
Impact for the CPHR is derived from its collaborative partnership between their world-leading HR researchers and 20 primary sponsor organisations. Through this network the Centre stays abreast of the current issues facing HR directors. This co-production of knowledge generates performance-driven solutions that have benefit to the wider business community. These are distributed through high-impact white papers, journal articles and initiatives with the CIPD (the professional HR institution). Examples of organisational impact include a new strategy at McDonald's `Trust Based HR' and a 20% increase in job satisfaction of employees aged 60+ and the creation of an Executive Vice-President position at Shell.
Molly Scott Cato's ongoing research in the field of Sustainability Transitions has had an international influence on reframing global debates on green policy in three interlinked areas. First, she has made a major contribution to conceptualising the 'green economy' in work that can be demonstrated to have global reach through gathering formal evidence or informing policy advice. Secondly, Cato's work on relocalising and reclaiming ownership of provisioning systems — conceptualised as the 'bioregional economy'— emphasises land as the key economic resource. These insights have led to policy changes in the UK and in Wales specifically. Thirdly, Cato's work in the field of co-operative studies has influenced economic development policy in Wales. Through this work Cato is influencing public discourse on a broad scale.
The development and practice of strategic human resource management at two multinational enterprises has been transformed by University of Glasgow research on employer branding, corporate reputation management and employee engagement, impacting on more than 94,000 employees across 90 countries.
UWE research has informed the implementation of HR policy to support front-line managers more effectively in their role as people managers in diverse organisations (e.g. Selfridges, the Royal United Hospital, Bath, and the MOD). This research has provided empirical evidence that front-line managers (such as team leaders) are critical to organisational effectiveness and makes recommendations on the supportive conditions necessary to improve their behaviour in people management. It has also directly influenced the policies and learning materials of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, as well as advisory materials produced by ACAS, and a variety of public policy documents that have informed organisations' HR practice in supporting and developing front-line managers.