For immediate release - 3rd April 2007
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has awarded over £2 million to eight different research projects focusing on innovation.
The primary objective of the initiative is to promote and support world-class theoretical, empirical, policy- and practice-oriented research in innovation.
The following key issues will be addressed through the various projects:
- How can the rate of innovation be increased to enhance economic growth and competitiveness, while the direction of innovation simultaneously steered to achieve social and environmental sustainability?
- What are the options for public policy at different levels to increase innovation and steer towards such policy objectives?
- What economic, social and managerial factors enable an economy such as the UK to best capture high value from increasingly global innovation processes?
- How is it best to model and measure emergent innovation activities and systems?
The initiative also aims to:
- support significant conceptual, theoretical and methodological developments;
- provide insights of practical and policy relevance through high quality independent research on selected topics;
- have a strong international dimension;
- engage with a wide range of research users;
- promote cross-disciplinary research and approaches;
- exploit existing data and widen the scope for new data collection;
- complement and work in partnership with other research initiatives in the field.
Professor Andy Neely, AIM Deputy Director comments, "AIM is pleased to be supporting such talented scholars, each with the skills necessary for ensuring the success of this initiative; both in the UK and internationally".
These targeted projects have been commissioned alongside the Advanced Institute of Management Research (AIM) Innovation Fellowships; AIM will provide the infrastructure to ensure that there is effective academic interchange between the projects and fellowship. AIM will also be responsible for the overall dissemination of research results from both Projects and Fellows.
Each of the eight projects will be managed and overseen by a principal investigator; they are:
Chris Hendry is Centenary Professor in Organisational Behaviour at Cass Business School City of London and is the Director of the Centre for New Technologies, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CENTIVE); and Associate Dean (Research).
His innovation project is titled: 'The 'Uncertain Middle': The role of demonstration projects and trials in influencing success'.
Mark Harvey is a senior research fellow at the Centre for Research in Innovation and Competition (CRIC) at the University of Manchester.
His innovation project is titled: 'The transition to a sustainable economy: innovation and expectations'.
Andrew Davies is a Principal Research Fellow in the Innovation Studies Centre at Tanaka Business School, Imperial College London.
His innovation project is titled: 'Platforms for Innovation: Creating replicable product and service components for high value integrated solutions'.
James Wilsdon leads the science and innovation programme at Demos. He is also a Senior Research Fellow in the Institute for Advanced Studies at Lancaster University.
His innovation project is titled: 'Between Techno-Nationalism and Cosmopolitan Innovation: Governance and Ethics as factors in UK-China R&D Collaboration'.
Bruce Tether is a Senior Lecturer in Innovation and Technology Management at the Manchester Business School and a Senior Research Fellow at the ESRC Centre for Research in Innovation and Competition (CRIC), also at the University of Manchester.
His innovation project is titled: 'Increasing Added Value in UK manufacturing through globalizing 'open innovation' and serviceisation strategies'.
Gareth Shaw is Professor of Retail and Tourism Management at the University of Exeter School of Business and Economics.
His innovation project is titled: 'Internationalisation and Innovation in the Service Sector: The role of International migrants and UK (London) Hotels'.
Mary Rose is Professor of Entrepreneurship and research director of the Institute of
Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development at Lancaster University Management School.
Her innovation project is titled: 'Knowledge and Technology Transfer, Innovation and Competitive advantage: past and present'.
Rachel Griffith is the Deputy Research Director at the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS).
Her innovation project is titled: 'Globalisation, innovation and productivity: international evidence and implications for policy'.
For more information contact:
- Professor Andy Neely, Deputy Director, AIM, email: aneely@london.edu, Tel: 0870 734 3000 or 07711 140198
- Claire Fitzpatrick, Press and Communications, AIM, email: cfitzpatrick@london.edu, Tel: 020 7000 0517 or 07703 725927
Notes for Editors
- AIM Research is funded by the ESRC and EPSRC and was launched in November 2002. AIM's mission is to improve understanding of management's contribution to organizational performance, and thus UK well-being. AIM's more specific objectives are: (i) to conduct research that will identify actions to enhance the UK's international competitiveness; (ii) to raise the scientific quality and international standing of UK research on international competitiveness; (iii) to expand the size and capacity of the active research base for UK research on management; and (iv) to develop the engagement of that capacity with world-class research outside the UK and with practitioners as co-producers of knowledge about management and other users of research within the UK. For more information on AIM visit www.aimresearch.org
- The ESRC is the UK's largest funding agency for research and postgraduate training relating to social and economic issues. It provides independent, high quality, relevant research to business, the public sector and Government. The ESRC's planned total expenditure in 2006/7 is £169 million. At any one time the ESRC supports over 4,000 researchers and postgraduate students in academic institutions and research policy institutes. More at www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk
- The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the UK's main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences. The EPSRC invests more than £500 million a year in research and postgraduate training, to help the nation handle the next generation of technological change. The areas covered range from information technology to structural engineering, and mathematics to materials science. This research forms the basis for future economic development in the UK and improvements for everyone's health, lifestyle and culture. EPSRC also actively promotes public awareness of science and engineering. EPSRC works alongside other Research Councils with responsibility for other areas of research. The Research Councils work collectively on issues of common concern via Research Councils UK. Website address for more information on EPSRC: www.epsrc.ac.uk