Productivity Insights Network
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sheffield
Department Name: Management School
Abstract
UK national productivity challenges can be analysed from many different perspectives, including firm-specific, industry-specific, organisational-specific, institution-specific or technology-specific perspectives. In the case of the UK, however, the extent to which productivity problems are regional in nature is almost unparalleled amongst the advanced OECD economies. London and the core regions of southern England exhibit very strong productivity performance by OECD and EU standards whereas the non-core regions of the UK consistently exhibit weak productivity performance by OECD and EU standards. These non-core regions consistently display a very long tail of poor productivity firms, operating alongside numerous high productivity firms in London and its hinterland.
When compared to OECD and EU averages the non-core tail of poor performing firms hampers national productivity performance by largely cancelling out the stronger performance of the firms in the more prosperous core regions. The result is that UK productivity has barely changed relative to our international competitors in more than four decades. Yet, these longstanding and growing interregional differences in productivity performance are the very aspect of the UK's productivity performance about which we probably know the least. Therefore, in order to better understand the UK's productivity challenges, we employ a place-based lens to investigate the extent to which many UK productivity-enhancing and productivity-inhibiting processes are related to geography.
The proposed Productivity Insights Network incorporates these analytical perspectives in a manner that explicitly uncovers the local, city and regional dimensions of productivity performance. This is achieved by developing an innovative multi-disciplinary network though with the thematic productivity challenges aim to unpack the complex interactions between factors of production across different institutional and geographical settings. The network is structured around seven thematic productivity challenges which are addressed and integrated by interdisciplinary teams of experts examining five sets of interaction mechanisms, all operating in a geographical setting.
The thematic productivity challenges addressed are: a) Skills, education and training b) Employment, work and labour markets; c) FDI, capital and investment markets; d) Health, well-being, ageing and demographic change; e) Technology, innovation, competitiveness, and enterprise; f) Organisation, institutions and governance; and, g) Land use, transport and infrastructure. The five different interaction mechanisms we examine are: 1) knowledge spillovers and interactions; 2) financial interactions; 3) organisational interactions; 4) social interactions; and; 5) governance interactions. These different lines of enquiry are knitted together via four work packages (WPs), namely: WP1. Network Management; WP2. Thematic Productivity Challenges; WP3. Integrated Analysis; and, WP4 Engagement, Dissemination & Learning Activities.
This Sheffield-led Productivity Insights Network proposal will co-produce new social science insights with a range of partners from the public, private and third sectors, with a view furthering our understanding of the UK productivity puzzle and develop actionable outcomes. Beyond generating new perspectives the Productivity Insights Network will also identify policy options best suited to responding to the UK's productivity challenges. This proposal has been developed in consultation with over 50 academics well as with other non-academic partners and networks, and if funded the NW+ will pursue a portfolio of new interdisciplinary activity. The multi-disciplinary Productivity Insights Network will see early career researchers and established scholars working together in order to develop and disseminate new insights through the network to government, businesses and other stakeholder organisations.
When compared to OECD and EU averages the non-core tail of poor performing firms hampers national productivity performance by largely cancelling out the stronger performance of the firms in the more prosperous core regions. The result is that UK productivity has barely changed relative to our international competitors in more than four decades. Yet, these longstanding and growing interregional differences in productivity performance are the very aspect of the UK's productivity performance about which we probably know the least. Therefore, in order to better understand the UK's productivity challenges, we employ a place-based lens to investigate the extent to which many UK productivity-enhancing and productivity-inhibiting processes are related to geography.
The proposed Productivity Insights Network incorporates these analytical perspectives in a manner that explicitly uncovers the local, city and regional dimensions of productivity performance. This is achieved by developing an innovative multi-disciplinary network though with the thematic productivity challenges aim to unpack the complex interactions between factors of production across different institutional and geographical settings. The network is structured around seven thematic productivity challenges which are addressed and integrated by interdisciplinary teams of experts examining five sets of interaction mechanisms, all operating in a geographical setting.
The thematic productivity challenges addressed are: a) Skills, education and training b) Employment, work and labour markets; c) FDI, capital and investment markets; d) Health, well-being, ageing and demographic change; e) Technology, innovation, competitiveness, and enterprise; f) Organisation, institutions and governance; and, g) Land use, transport and infrastructure. The five different interaction mechanisms we examine are: 1) knowledge spillovers and interactions; 2) financial interactions; 3) organisational interactions; 4) social interactions; and; 5) governance interactions. These different lines of enquiry are knitted together via four work packages (WPs), namely: WP1. Network Management; WP2. Thematic Productivity Challenges; WP3. Integrated Analysis; and, WP4 Engagement, Dissemination & Learning Activities.
This Sheffield-led Productivity Insights Network proposal will co-produce new social science insights with a range of partners from the public, private and third sectors, with a view furthering our understanding of the UK productivity puzzle and develop actionable outcomes. Beyond generating new perspectives the Productivity Insights Network will also identify policy options best suited to responding to the UK's productivity challenges. This proposal has been developed in consultation with over 50 academics well as with other non-academic partners and networks, and if funded the NW+ will pursue a portfolio of new interdisciplinary activity. The multi-disciplinary Productivity Insights Network will see early career researchers and established scholars working together in order to develop and disseminate new insights through the network to government, businesses and other stakeholder organisations.
Planned Impact
The Productivity Insights Network has been designed to develop high-impact academic insights. The team of Co-Is comprises leading economists and social scientists with extensive experience of collaborative working and knowledge exchange. This is critical to ensuring the impact of new insights about the UK productivity puzzle. Designed around seven productivity themes, addressing the productivity puzzle demands working across what are complex interdependent issues. The Productivity Insights Network will engage in a wide range of communication, engagement, learning and dissemination activities targeting different academic and non-academic user communities from the inception of the network, with engagement and impact intrinsic to the activities of the network.
Ensuring the relevance of the Productivity Insights Network is contingent on sustained and meaningful engagement of non-academic partners and stakeholders. The approach of the NW+ model is to engage user communities in co-designing and co-producing knowledge and outputs that add value. An important aspect of the impact strategy is to identify demand for particular activities and outputs, and then prioritise those with the greatest interest and impact potential. Moreover, by creating as a network of networks as well as working in partnership with non-academic organisations, the Productivity Insights Network has strong foundations to build its research and knowledge exchange activities.
The research and analysis underlying the impact activities will be adapted to be accessible and of interest to different audiences, and where possible communicated in partnership with key stakeholder organisations. As set out in the Pathways to Impact, the Productivity Insights Network will adopt an approach that includes both online and offline activities, including but not limited to: website, social media,stakeholder forums, masterclasses, good practice workshops, seminars/webinars, debates, regional roundtables/business breakfasts, action learning sets, good practice summaries, briefings, newsletters, working papers, and an annual 'Productivity Insights' conference. Over the duration of the NW+ there will be an ongoing process of planning, monitoring and evaluating impact, reviewed in consultation with the management group and with different user communities.
The members of the Productivity Insights Network and our partner organisations are key to the reach and impact of our activities. Through our current network we have already have connection to an impressive array of organisations, bodies and networks, these include: Industrial Strategy Commission; All-Party Parliamentary Group on Inclusive Growth; Commission on Economic Justice; What Works Centre for Wellbeing; National Institute for Ageing; Institute for Social Renewal; What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth; LLAKES; Scottish Govt, Department for Transport, OECD; Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; LEP Network; Local Government Association; Local Government Information Unit; Institute for Economic Development; Public Policy Institute Wales; Federation of Small Business; HM Treasury; Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence; Housing Evidence Centre; Low Pay Commission; Department for International Trade; Bank of England; Cabinet Office; and the Innovation Caucus.
The stakeholder and user communities of the Productivity Insights Network will continue to grow over the duration of the NW+. Given impact is critical to future success, considerable time and resource has been allocated to the communication, engagement, learning and dissemination activities. These activities include the time for highly experienced senior academics in leading high impact knowledge exchange as well as a dedicated KE/comms officer. In this way, and by working with a range of partners, the aim is to ensure the visibility of the Productivity Insights Network during and beyond the funded life of the funded NW+.
Ensuring the relevance of the Productivity Insights Network is contingent on sustained and meaningful engagement of non-academic partners and stakeholders. The approach of the NW+ model is to engage user communities in co-designing and co-producing knowledge and outputs that add value. An important aspect of the impact strategy is to identify demand for particular activities and outputs, and then prioritise those with the greatest interest and impact potential. Moreover, by creating as a network of networks as well as working in partnership with non-academic organisations, the Productivity Insights Network has strong foundations to build its research and knowledge exchange activities.
The research and analysis underlying the impact activities will be adapted to be accessible and of interest to different audiences, and where possible communicated in partnership with key stakeholder organisations. As set out in the Pathways to Impact, the Productivity Insights Network will adopt an approach that includes both online and offline activities, including but not limited to: website, social media,stakeholder forums, masterclasses, good practice workshops, seminars/webinars, debates, regional roundtables/business breakfasts, action learning sets, good practice summaries, briefings, newsletters, working papers, and an annual 'Productivity Insights' conference. Over the duration of the NW+ there will be an ongoing process of planning, monitoring and evaluating impact, reviewed in consultation with the management group and with different user communities.
The members of the Productivity Insights Network and our partner organisations are key to the reach and impact of our activities. Through our current network we have already have connection to an impressive array of organisations, bodies and networks, these include: Industrial Strategy Commission; All-Party Parliamentary Group on Inclusive Growth; Commission on Economic Justice; What Works Centre for Wellbeing; National Institute for Ageing; Institute for Social Renewal; What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth; LLAKES; Scottish Govt, Department for Transport, OECD; Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; LEP Network; Local Government Association; Local Government Information Unit; Institute for Economic Development; Public Policy Institute Wales; Federation of Small Business; HM Treasury; Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence; Housing Evidence Centre; Low Pay Commission; Department for International Trade; Bank of England; Cabinet Office; and the Innovation Caucus.
The stakeholder and user communities of the Productivity Insights Network will continue to grow over the duration of the NW+. Given impact is critical to future success, considerable time and resource has been allocated to the communication, engagement, learning and dissemination activities. These activities include the time for highly experienced senior academics in leading high impact knowledge exchange as well as a dedicated KE/comms officer. In this way, and by working with a range of partners, the aim is to ensure the visibility of the Productivity Insights Network during and beyond the funded life of the funded NW+.
Organisations
- University of Sheffield (Lead Research Organisation)
- Centre for Tendering (Collaboration)
- GLASGOW CALEDONIAN UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- University of Warwick (Collaboration)
- Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland (Collaboration)
- Doncaster Council (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- University of Sheffield (Collaboration)
- ASTON UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- Government of Scotland (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS (Collaboration)
- Strategic Capability (Collaboration)
- Lancaster University (Collaboration)
- Enterprise Research Centre (Collaboration)
- Newcastle University (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE (Collaboration)
- Boyes Turner LLP (Collaboration)
- NESTA (Collaboration)
- Be the Business (Collaboration)
- Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd (Collaboration)
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD (Collaboration)
- Regional Studies Association (Collaboration)
- Affinity Health at Work (Collaboration)
- MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- Economic and Social Research Council (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF KENT (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF YORK (Collaboration)
- Cambridge Econometrics (Collaboration)
- Institute of Economic Development (Project Partner)
- ESRC Business & Local Gov Data Res Ctr (Project Partner)
- Steer Davies & Gleave Ltd (Project Partner)
- What Works Network (Project Partner)
- Arup Group (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- What Works Scotland (Project Partner)
- York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Enterprise Partnership (Project Partner)
- DLA Piper UK LLP (Project Partner)
- BPS Birmingham (Project Partner)
- Nesta (Project Partner)
Publications
Vidmar M
(2020)
New Space and Agile Innovation: Understanding transition to open innovation by examining innovation networks and moments
in Acta Astronautica
Owen R
(2021)
Financing Cleantech SME Innovation: Setting an Agenda
in IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management
Owalla B
(2021)
Mapping SME productivity research: a systematic review of empirical evidence and future research agenda
in Small Business Economics
Nielsen K
(2018)
IGLOO: An integrated framework for sustainable return to work in workers with common mental disorders
in Work & Stress
Nielsen K
(2020)
Handbook of Disability, Work and Health
Nielsen K
(2020)
Job crafting as a work adjustment strategy for workers returning after long-term sickness absence due to common mental disorders.
in International journal of rehabilitation research. Internationale Zeitschrift fur Rehabilitationsforschung. Revue internationale de recherches de readaptation
McCann P
(2019)
Perceptions of regional inequality and the geography of discontent: insights from the UK
in Regional Studies
Kharlamov A
(2020)
Wellbeing and Productivity in the Business Enterprise Sector: The Curse of SMEs
in Academy of Management Proceedings
Huggins R
(2022)
Cities, innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems: assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
in Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society
Harris R
(2021)
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the level and distribution of intangibles investment in the UK
in Applied Economics Letters
Greene FJ
(2020)
A commentary on the impacts of 'Great Lockdown' and its aftermath on scaling firms: What are the implications for entrepreneurial research?
in International small business journal
Donald M
(2022)
A Research Protocol for Implementation and Evaluation of a Patient-Focused eHealth Intervention for Chronic Kidney Disease.
in Global implementation research and applications
| Description | The aim of the PIN was to change the debate around the UK productivity puzzle, and in particular, the UK regional productivity challenges, in both academic and policy circles. This was to be achieved was via a programme of capacity-building, whereby PIN's activities, investments and engagements would enhance the capability of the UK academy and its interactions with the private and public sectors in order to improve both our understanding of the nature of the challenge and also potential responses. This capacity-building programme spanning quantitative, qualitative and multi-method research approaches was explicitly intended to operate simultaneously on multiple levels, ranging from individual early career researchers, or teams of researchers working with businesses and organisations, to local government and enterprise bodies, through to city-region authorities, devolved administrations, and central government in Whitehall and Westminster. Our PIN work directly influenced the writing of the Levelling Up White paper with two PIN outputs being explicitly referred to on 3 occasions in Chapter 1 of the White Paper. We also helped with the correction of the data analysis in the Industrial Strategy Council report on UK regional inequalities, which itself is also referred to on three occasions in the White Paper, giving a total of 6 explicit contributions of PIN into the White Paper's arguments. PIN played a key role in framing the narrative that UK regional productivity inequalities are (i) very high by international standards and (ii) a national productivity problem (iii) requiring a comprehensive response. Moreover, the work of PIN is also subsequently directly contributing to the building the research programme of the UKRI The Productivity Institute, leveraging both academic inputs and policy engagements. To drive our research agenda, out of 133 applications, we funded some 47 research projects of which 32 were projects of some £10,000 while 15 were 'Pioneer' projects of the order of £40,000 each. We also produced three 400-page edited books with Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd: Productivity Perspectives (2020), Productivity and the Pandemic (2021) and Levelling Up Productivity (2022 Forthcoming), the first two of which have received very strong reviews from Sir Paul Collier, Dame Kate Barker and the OECD. Our website published 27 newsletters covering numerous publications, debates and activities, plus 35 detailed project reports, and linked to 341 email-list members, 1228 Twitter followers, and had some 60,000 views, with two-thirds being from the UK and one-third from overseas. To drive our engagement, we organised 38 in-person workshops with chambers of commerce, business breakfasts and industry fora, along with 6 high-level roundtables with BEIS and the Industrial Strategy Council, and a (200+) in-person conference including Lord Jim O'Neill, Dame Kate Barker, Sir Paul Collier, OECD (Paris), ILO (Geneva), Bertelsmann Foundation (Germany), and the New Zealand Government, plus a another (300+) online conference with keynotes from Andy Haldane, Lord Bob Kerslake, Chris Giles (FT Economics Editor) and the Brookings Institution USA. We engaged with 3 non-academic partners, 10 local and city-region bodies, 12 devolved and central government departments, over 100 businesses, 9 third-sector organisations, 8 high-level non-governmental bodies. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Financial Services, and Management Consultancy,Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Transport,Other |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | Call for evidence - Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) (14 June 2019) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | We would appreciate responses to the below questions from MHCLG. - What evidence is there that 'left behind' places/'struggling' places require more support to develop their capacity to identify and implement strategies to support local economic growth/prosperity? - What are the key challenges in capacity within these places? - What are the best ways to support LA/LEPs to develop their capacity/capability? This could be over the short and long run. Kindly submit responses via this Google form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd8Jjvq2xkLo37RPXjkvdesgRSaoAx-KNZespUN8RkYSEvg9A/viewform?usp=sf_link Background: This is to contribute to the evidence base around EU replacement funds, including the Stronger Towns Fund which will target places that have not previously shared in the proceeds of growth, through creating new jobs, training local people and boosting economic activity. |
| Description | Dr Katy Jones work has been picked up and is influencing UK Parliament |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
| URL | https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/175/economic-affairs-committee/news/147638/substantial-re... |
| Description | Government Inquiry Response (1 September 2020) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/business-energy-industri... |
| Description | House of Commons Select Review (17 May 2019) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | Inquiry into regional investment and growth launched PIN provided the Committee with responses to the questions below: - What is the role of the Government in addressing regional disparities for businesses across the UK? Does the devolution of powers, including City and Region Deals, the Northern Powerhouse, and Midlands Engine, provide LEPs and other bodies with the tools they need to deal with the issue? - Are there barriers to new businesses being established in less-productive areas? How does clustering affect other businesses in that region, for example: are Catapult Centres widening or limiting investment in their local areas? - Are businesses outside of cities able to access finance and attract investment? How has existing support from EU structural funds supported regional growth? Will new Government measures, such as the Stronger Towns Fund and Shared Prosperity Fund, provide effective support for growth in these areas? - How does the mobility of businesses to relocate within the UK and overseas affect their investment in local areas? Should local and national Government be seeking to reduce business relocation? - Is the Government prioritising the right areas for early Local Industrial Strategies? Will the Strategies enable areas to tackle productivity and growth disparities within regions? |
| URL | https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jek4wIX9XUMzSXnyRUS-UdDR5q3MnwqP |
| Description | Industrial Strategy Council |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | The Productivity Insights Network were invited to inform discussions in relation to the Industrial Strategy Council; this includes holding three subject matter roundtables on Places, Sectors and Skills held in April 2019. There have also been a number of follow up meetings as an outcome of this work. Including an informal meeting with Emily Rainsford BEIS in October 2019 in Sheffield and an upcoming Roundtable in December 2019. |
| Description | Industrial Strategy Roundtable: Places (25 April 2019) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | PIN-IS Council round tables: In order to assist with the IS Council Foundations Insight Projects on Skills, Sectors and Places, PIN was pleased to host three half-day round table events which convened academic experts on each project's theme in turn. Taking place over 24th and 25th April 2019 in Sheffield and London, each round table resulted in in-depth discussion between academic thematic experts and relevant members of the IS Council Secretariat. This report aims to provide a useful summary of key points raised in the round table event on Places. Round table: Places Thursday 25th April, 14.00 - 17.00, Sheffield University Management School Attendees Industrial Strategy Council Secretariat and guests: Sarah Hodgetts, Anjulie Patel, Ben Jones, Dr Emily Rainsford, Dr Robert Zymek Productivity Insights Network and partners: Professor Philip McCann (Chair, University of Sheffield), Professor Iain Docherty (University of Stirling), Ben Gardiner (Cambridge Econometrics), Professor Ron Martin (University of Cambridge), Professor Raquel Ortega-Argilés (University of Birmingham), Professor Tony Venables (University of Oxford), Professor Tim Vorley (University of Sheffield), Professor Don Webber (Swansea University), Kate Penney (University of Sheffield). |
| Description | Industrial Strategy Roundtable: Sectors (24 April 2019) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | PIN-IS Council round tables: In order to assist with the IS Council Foundations Insight Projects on Skills, Sectors and Places, PIN was pleased to host three half-day round table events which convened academic experts on each project's theme in turn. Taking place over 24th and 25th April 2019 in Sheffield and London, each round table resulted in in-depth discussion between academic thematic experts and relevant members of the IS Council Secretariat. This report aims to provide a useful summary of key themes raised in the round table event on 'Sectors'. Round table: 'Sectors' Wednesday 24th April, 15.30 - 18.00, London (BEIS Conference Centre, 1 Victoria Street) Attendees Industrial Strategy Council Secretariat and guests: Sarah Hodgetts, Anjulie Patel, Sam Cunnington and Hayley Lyons Productivity Insights Network and partners: Professor David Bailey (Aston University), Professor Richard Harris (Durham University), Professor Alan Hughes (Lancaster University), Professor Jill MacBryde (Strathclyde University), Professor Philip McCann (University of Sheffield), Professor Vania Sena (University of Essex), Professor Martin Spring (Lancaster University), Professor Tim Vorley (University of Sheffield). |
| Description | Industrial Strategy Roundtable: Skills (25 April 2019) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | PIN-IS Council round tables: In order to assist with the IS Council Foundations Insight Projects on Skills, Sectors and Places, PIN was pleased to host three half-day round table events which convened academic experts on each project's theme in turn. Taking place over 24th and 25th April 2019 in Sheffield and London, each round table resulted in in-depth discussion between academic thematic experts and relevant members of the IS Council Secretariat. This report aims to provide a useful summary of key themes raised in the round table event on 'Skills'. Round table: 'Skills' Thursday 25th April, 10.00 - 13.00, Sheffield University Management School Attendees Industrial Strategy Council Secretariat and guests: Sarah Hodgetts, Anjulie Patel, Sam Cunnington and Hayley Lyons Productivity Insights Network and partners: Professor Tim Vorley (Chair, University of Sheffield), Professor Anne Green (University of Birmingham), Professor Andy Henley (Cardiff University), Dave Innes (Joseph Rowntree Foundation), Professor Philip McCann (University of Sheffield), Professor Leaza McSorley (University of Sunderland), Professor Maria Savona (Sussex University), Dr Tommaso Ciarli (Sussex University), Chris Woolliscroft (Cambridge Econometrics), Kate Penney (University of Sheffield) |
| Description | Inquiry: Regional Imbalances in the UK Economy (July/August 2019) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | Scope of the inquiry The Treasury Committee has launched an inquiry into regional imbalances in the UK economy. There will be two strands to the inquiry. Firstly, the Committee will examine the nature of regional imbalances in economic growth which currently exist in the UK. Secondly, the Committee will establish what regional data is currently available in the UK, how it could be used more effectively in policy development, and whether there should be official regional economic forecasts produced. The Committee will accept written evidence until 2 August. Terms of Reference What are the most significant regional imbalances in the UK i.e. is it the imbalance between London/southeast and other regions; between towns and cities; or between urban and rural areas? How have these imbalances changed in the past decade (and potentially longer) and how are they likely to change in the future? How do imbalances present themselves in the UK, in terms of growth, wages, employment and other indicators? What are the main drawbacks of having significant regional imbalances? To what extent can regional imbalances explain the UK's poor productivity performance? What is the interaction between regional and income inequality? Is there greater inequality within regions or between regions? What light does new regional economic data being produced shed on regional imbalances? What lessons can be learnt from the success or otherwise of programs designed to promote regional economic growth so far? What are the future interventions that the UK should consider? How effective have regional bodies, for example combined authorities, cities, Local Enterprise Partnerships, been in promoting strong growth across all areas of the UK? To what extent can devolution of funding to regional bodies promote growth and reduce regional disparities? Regional economic data and forecasts How are national policy makers and policy makers at the local level (such as local authorities or local economic partnerships) currently using the available regional economic data to inform their policy decisions and could the application and use of regional economic data be improved? What is the quality of regional economic data such as economic growth/ income/public spending per capita/investment levels currently available in the UK and how does its quality and coverage differ from economic data available at the national level? Which regional economic data should the Government focus on e.g. is it GDP growth, or for regions, is unemployment data and other indicators that measure well-being more relevant? Should regional economic data currently produced by the ONS be given a higher profile e.g. should GVA growth be routinely published in documents such as the Government's Budget and Spring Statement and the OBR's Economic and Fiscal Outlook? The ONS produces regional statistics at different levels: regions/City regions/Combined local authorities/local authorities and sectors. How useful is it to produce statistics at all these levels? What are the main gaps in regional data for users? Should there be official regional economic forecasts produced for output growth and other economic indicators such as unemployment? What value would regional economic forecasts add to policy makers and how would they use them? What sort of forecasts would be the most useful? Are regional economic forecasts viable, given the quality of the regional output data at the moment? If regional economic forecasts are both useful and viable, who should be responsible for producing official regional economic forecasts and what level should they be produced? What would be the advantage of a government body producing official economic forecasts as opposed to private forecasters doing it? What can be learnt from other countries on the use of regional economic data and regional forecasts? How does devolution change the need for regional economic data? Please note that written evidence does not need to include responses to all the questions. |
| URL | https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/treasury-committee/inqui... |
| Description | Inquiry: Stronger Towns Fund - Response for Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) (August/September 2019) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | Via Andrew Paterson (BEIS). Co-Investigators and the wider Network were asked to provide bullet-pointed response on what we do know and don't know from evidence and/or your own work around the main issues that the funding aims to address -what do we think there needs to be evidence of? - Definitions and data availability. What sources are available to analyse towns? - What are the economic functions of towns (e.g. mobility, sectors, demography, history)? - What global trends are affecting towns? - How can we best think about classifying and creating typologies of towns? Which types should we be most concerned about? - What works in improving town performance, how does this vary by type and other factors? |
| Description | Katy Jones (MMU) at House Of Lords, 25 February 2020 |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | Early Career Researcher Dr Katy Jones from the Decent Work and Productivity Research Centre at Manchester Metropolitan University was awarded a PIN Small Project Fund in the second funding round. The research gathered insights from employers about the potential impact of (and their likely response to) the extension of conditionality to working Universal Credit claimants. Whilst only a small-scale pilot study, it highlights a number of important issues which policymakers in the Department for Work and Pensions should consider as their 'in-work offer' is developed. The research generated a lot of policy interest and Dr Jones has shared her findings providing oral evidence to House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, Feb 2020 as well as providing written evidence to House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, Feb 2020. based on the PIn Report; Jones, K., Berry, C., Rouse, J. and Whittle, R. (2019) Universal Credit and In-Work Conditionality - a productive turn? There was a lot of social media and media coverage of this activity. |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/app/uploads/2019/10/Project-Report-Universal-Credit-Produc... |
| Description | Katy Jones (Manchester Met) DWP Progression Evidence Workshop |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | On Monday 15th July DWP hosted a workshop with leading experts from academia, 'think tanks' and voluntary sector representatives as well as officials from other government departments to discuss the evidence base on in-work progression. This is part of ongoing work to engage with the external research community to support the development of in-work services under Universal Credit. During the workshop, DWP posed a number of questions to attendees around what was known, and where evidence gaps remained, on: progression trends in the UK labour market; effective policy responses and interventions; and who was best placed to deliver in-work support. The discussion covered a broad range of policy areas and disciplines, but some clear messages emerged, including the need to know more about how to effectively engage, and scale good practice among, employers; the importance of understanding motivation, decision-making and life course trajectories for individuals and households; and the need to develop and support multi-agency delivery and to upskill Work Coaches in providing in-work support. |
| URL | https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1XC1TSTRo4KqNIM849fC-5jxWdI8ShXGr |
| Description | Local Industrial Strategy Council and PIN Academic Roundtable on Regional Differences on 22 January 2020 (Sheffield) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | The Network were asked by BEIS to participate in a roundtable event in January 2020, with the aim of hearing from key Network members and their experiences of involvement in LIS development. BEIS representative presented preliminary findings from research so far and introducing the project and a presentation of summary themes, including an overview of the cases selected (deliberately diverse places at different stages of the process, different internal geographies etc.) BEIS have spoken to the LEPs and also did 'snowball sampling' - different between places in terms of who we got hold off. 30 interviews so far. On track for 50. Participants have differed. Similarly, we have also talked to businesses - difficult to get hold of smaller businesses. Composition of our sample is representative of the reality of the places we are looking at. Preliminary findings: There were the primary themes but there were also some secondary themes that came out. We want to know if this fits with your experience and knowledge. This would be useful for us to contextualise our findings. The aim of the roundtable was then to gain some understanding from the Network through a Q&A session and then to address some of the key questions as per the agenda. A summary of the agenda is below. Industrial Strategy Council and PIN Academic Roundtable, 22 January 2020, Executive Suite 3, Floor D, Sheffield University Management School 12.00-12.15 Arrival and tea and coffee 12.15-12.45 Presentation from Industrial Strategy Council on findings from Qualitative Places research. 12.45-13.15 Q&A from participants on ISC research 13.15-14.00 Lunch 14.00-15.00 Participants share their experiences guided by the following questions: 1. To what extent can you see similarities and differences between our cases and the places you have been involved in? 2. In the places you have been involved in, what are some of the 'place' characteristics that can shape the process of developing the LIS? And in what way do they shape the process? 3. What is your assessment of the availability and quality of evidence available to accurately capture the local economy? And what is your impression of the use of consultants to gather the evidence? |
| Description | Open consultation: Business productivity review: call for evidence June 2018. The PIN core network were asked to complete a coordinated consultation request from BEIS in June 2018. An overview of the call is described below; Consultation description Raising productivity is one of the government's key priorities and core to the UK's Industrial Strategy.. It aims to: • improve our understanding of high and low productivity businesses, and the practices driving the performance of each • improve our understanding of the market in which interventions operate • explore which interventions by the public sector and private sector are effective in improving the practices that drive business productivity, including the ways in which information is communicated |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | PIN contribution to Dan Jarvis MP - Westminster Hall Debate |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uWpBNn_o9IFllkWTOCsdbsdEYmS3uCx3/view?usp=sharing |
| Description | PIN response to Data and Evidence request for the Industrial Strategy |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | PIN/PMc/TV acknolegement in UK Regional Productivity Differences: An Evidence Review Industrial Strategy Council. Research Paper. by Robert Zymek and Ben Jones (February 2020) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | Co-Directors Professors Philip McCann and Tim Vorley were acknowledged as contributors to the UK Regional Productivity Disparities report produced by the Industrial Strategy Council. The Productivity Insights Network was also acknowledged in the report for hosting roundtables in both Sheffield and at BEIS with leading academics from across the country. The report, written by Robert Zymek and Ben Jones provides a comprehensive review of the evidence on both the causes of regional disparities and the effectiveness of policies to address them. Philip McCann was also in a six-week correspondence with the authors and also ISC Councillor Dame Kate Barker, because Philip had realised that there were serious data problems in their draft documents. Philip spent six weeks carefully checking, reconstructing and re-calculating the data in order to ensure that the final report was correct and to identify the source of the problem, which turned out eventually to have been a software problem at Eurostat. The report also referred to the PIN Co-Investigator evidence reviews by Professor Leaza McSorley (Inequality, wellbeing and inclusive growth) and Professor Richard Harris (FDI, Capital and Investments). The research of Philip McCann PI, Ben Gardiner Co-I and Robert Inklaar, IAB member is also referenced in the report. For the full report: https://industrialstrategycouncil.org/uk-regional-productivity-differences-evidence-review. |
| URL | https://industrialstrategycouncil.org/sites/default/files/attachments/UK%20Regional%20Productivity%2... |
| Description | Professor Iain Docherty-Scottish Infrasture Commitee; The Infrastructure Commission will provide long-term strategic advice to the Scottish Government on national infrastructure priorities, based on evidence and learning from good practice, to align investment with long term inclusive economic growth and low carbon objectives. This will support the Scottish Government's delivery of the National Infrastructure Mission and the development of the next Infrastructure Investment Plan for the 5 years ahead, by providing advice on key strategic investments in Scotland to be made to boost economic growth and support public service. |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://news.gov.scot/news/infrastructure-commission-appointed |
| Description | Professor Richard Harris; Member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority Local Industrial Strategy (LIS) Steering Group. It comprises the Economic Development managers of each of the LEPs local authorities, a member from BEIS, the head of RIS (Research and Innovation Services) at Durham University, a PVC from Teeside University, and RH. Monthy meetings since November 2018 and will do so until the autumn.Professor Harris, as a member of the PIN and Durham University, has completed a 150 page report for them mapping out a range of statistics, related to productivity, that can be used to underpin the LIS - none of which are in the public domain. All of this stemmed from the June 2018 launch of PIN in the North East that I undertook in Newcastle. |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Review of "Productivity Perspectives" |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Dame Kate Barker review of the first Edward Algar published PIN book "Productivity Perspectives" (https://spe.org.uk/reading-room/book-reviews/productivity-perspectives/) where she noted that " It contains many strands and details which policymakers need to be aware of, should explore further, but most importantly should act on. " |
| URL | https://spe.org.uk/reading-room/book-reviews/productivity-perspectives/ |
| Description | Sheffield City Region |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | The Sheffield City Region "Strategic Economic Plan 2020 - 2040)" made reference to the PIN Productivity Evidence Synthesis (2018) provided by the Network in order to enhance their understanding and make recommendations based on the knowledge and research provided. |
| URL | https://sheffieldcityregion.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/SCR-SEP-Final.pdf |
| Description | Tim Vorley at AMRC - "Economic impact, Productivity and the 2.4%" Roundtable event with UKRI, 26 February 2020. |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | Professor Tim Vorley and the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) collaborated to deliver a roundtable on the increased investment in research announced by the Government. The Government has committed to 2.4% GDP to be spent on research and development (R&D) by 2027. Tim chaired the discussion that outlined how this key ambition linked to the Local Industrial Strategy and the impact that this could have for the productivity of businesses within the advanced manufacturing sector. Further info: UKRI Strategy team visit AMRC/Nuclear AMRC February 26 th 10.00 - 10.10: Arrival at Factory of the Future. Greeted by AMRC Executive Director; Research Director and Commercial Director. Sign-in/badges/upstairs to main board room. 10.15 - 10:45 Brief overview of AMRC by Matt Farnsworth and Ben Morgan. 10.50 - 12.00 Machine room and composites shop-floor work and talk (15 mins at each stop): o Full Monty: Matt, Jon Stammers and Rab Scott ( video for pre-brief pack to UKRI). o Ceramic Matrix Composites Machining: Matt and Jamie McGourlay Rolls-Royce. o Digital propulsion: Elaine Arnold o Recycled composites: Ahmed Saadi Leave Factory of the Future and walk to Nuclear AMRC 12.15 - 12.30 Welcome from NAMRC Andy Storer and then balcony intro to the centre and key people ( Jay Shaw, Steve Jones) before working lunch. 12.30 - 1.30 Roundtable: Clean environment and sustainable growth (Net Zero) led by CEO Andy Storer - focus on nuclear energy; Richard Jones, aviation (Ben Morgan); electrification (Geraint Jewel); Rob Hewison/Clara Frias (lightweighting); Dave Latimer (Magnomatics); Andy Bell (circular economy), Steve Foxley, Martin Mayfield (Civil Engineering). [Jo Byron has booked the room and will help coordinate light working lunch] 1.30 - 2. 00 Leave nuclear for a trip round the 'industrial commons'/ innovation cluster on the AMP. Stop at the McLaren facility for 30 minute presentation and briefing with Luca Viadana. [Two mini buses for UKRI guests along with AMRC/UoS guides on-board] 2.10 - 2.15: Welcome to Factory 2050 by Dave Petley, Chris Greaves and Gemma Cowley 2.15 - 3.00 Shop floor walk and talk: o Artificial intelligence for resource efficiency: Kieran, Ryan, Vikki and Narcisa Pinzariu. o Modern Methods of Construction: James, Ryan and LoR. Chris Greaves in attendance. o Electric machines - Lloyd, Mateo, Ben Kitcher (Ben has specific ask of UKRI) o Martin Mayfield - Urban Flows 3.00 - 3.20 Return to Factory of the Future 3.20 - 4.30 Roundtable Economic impact, productivity and 2.4% Discussion led by Richard Jones - SCR CEO Dave Smith; Tim Vorley; Dave Petley; Steve Foxley; Richard Scaife; Luca Viadana; Jamie Hinton; Richard Wright 4.30 Leave AMRC - arrange taxis to take UKRI team to station Who is coming? From an initial proposal for Will Lord to lead a 10-strong UKRI strategy team visit to the AMRC/Nuclear AMRC, this has morphed into a proposal for some 21 members of the team to come up to Sheffield. This team includes three Deputy Directors. Kathy Magnay leads on cross research council funding; Ben Pledger has a key role in budget setting, investment and financials. He is also leading on a review of Catapults to see how they can help 'level up' the UK economy. Will Lord Strategy Coordination ISCF Samiha Chowdury Strategy, Balance and Narrative Parliamentary Questions and Briefing Hub Helen Cross Strategy Coordination Strategy Coordination David Rogers Investment Strategy Deputy Director, Investment Strategy Kathryn Magnay EPSRC Deputy Director, Cross-Council Programmes Freddie Jones Strategy Coordination Place & Commercialisation Caroline Batchelor Council Business Partnering Strategy Business Partner (NERC) Jade Ouimet-Fortin Research Culture EDI Jean Brown Analysis Appraisal and Evaluation Edward Neave Council Business Partnering Strategy Business Partner (IUK) Roxy Squire Comms and Engagement Parliamentary Affairs Lead Richard Tibenham External Comms PJ Taylor External Comms Will Broad Strategy Coordination Commercialisation Jonathan Dorrian Strategy, Balance and Narrative Stakeholder Engagement Ben Pledger UKRI Sponsorship (BEIS) Deputy Director, UKRI Sponsorship (BEIS) Bairbre Kelly Place Strategy (BEIS) Place Strategy (BEIS) Adam Crook Industrial Strategy Place Strategy (BEIS) Ishanee Roy Innovation Policy (BEIS) ISCF What they are interested in? Will's group is on a fact/ideas finding mission to help UKRI shape their proposals for the March Budget, and, more importantly, the longer term investment strategy that will form part of a soon-to-be announced Spending Review. They are expressly interested in two related themes (the two bullet points are their words): 1. Economic Impact: 'Understanding how to maximise the impact of science, research and innovation on productivity and growth. This could include the impact AMRC's work has both on businesses through developing new technologies and the wider Sheffield city-region (Dave Smith's insight would be useful there)'. 2. Net Zero: 'The commitment to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 is an increasingly big priority for UKRI. It would be great to see the great work businesses and researchers are doing at AMRC around clean energy, sustainable manufacturing etc. thatcould contribute to that'. Who are they are they and what influence do they have? Will reports directly to the Executive Director of Strategy, Isobel Stephen, who has expressed great interest in her team coming to see us. Isobel reports to Sir Mark Walport. https://bit.ly/2SnNc9a It should be noted that, before joining UKRI, she was Housing Director at HCLG and the Department's overall lead on housing strategy including the delivery of a number of multi billion pound market side housing supply programmes, including Help to Buy Equity Loan; the Home Building Fund and the housing guarantees schemes. For those of us interested in MMC, she was at a meeting last year with Laing O'Rourke headlined -- Housing market at offsite 'tipping point', says London housing boss. https://bit.ly/3bF8g2G 3 This is the team's first big visit and it's significant they have chosen us. Since Will's visit last year, he says the profile of, and interest in the AMRC, has grown significantly in Whitehall. Ben Pledger is Deputy Director local growth investment at BEIS. Linkedin profile found here: https://bit.ly/39Oaf2T. Understand his team also reviewing Catapult to see how they can 'level up' the economy using R&D spend as per Richard Jones's work in this area. Ben studied Maths at Lancaster University. Graduated in 2002. Entered civil service and became Private Secretary to Lord Heseltine. Was involved in the No stone unturned report https://bit.ly/2SXKO7V which is interesting in the light of current concentration of power in the hands of the PM, with striking parallels about a number ten led quest for growth. No surprise that Hezza turned up recently in the FT https://on.ft.com/32gHyZX. The former Deputy PM wrote: 'Word has reached me that Boris Johnson, the prime minister, has described himself as a "Brexity Hezza". Ben sits in the team under Simon Ridley, the DG for Decentralisation and Growth - so this has responsibility for Devo Deals and Mayors ( DD Mike Wiltshire leads on this). Kathy Magnay Deputy Director at EPSR. She works primarily on cross-council interfaces with oversight of EPSRC's Infrastructure and Connected Nation delivery plan priorities. Kathryn has a particular focus on Artificial Intelligence, working across UKRI and with external stakeholders to develop an AI research strategy. She has also worked closely with Jacqui Murray, a friend of the AMRC, on the Faraday Challenge and batteries. They were co-interim directors of Faraday. https://bit.ly/2SWeRgh. She was for a while Head of Energy and EPSRC. Her report EPSRC - Research Funding Landscape, can be found here: https://www.nuclearuniversities.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/PDFs/2016Presentations/NADM2016_Magnay_EPSRC.pdf Strong focus on fusion. David Rogers Deputy Director Investment Strategy UKRI. Until recently David worked in the private sector as Director of Policy at Deloitte. Investment Committee provides expertise, advice and assurance on major investment decisions, including assessment of business cases and the oversight of the portfolio of major projects across the organisation, chaired by the Chief Finance Officer.Before that David he was as a senior official in the BIS, where he advised Ministers on a range of policy areas, including financial services, business finance, tax, business investment and economic growth. He trained as an economist, before joining HM Treasury over a decade ago, later moving to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. David also has experience of the business world, as a Director of a small manufacturing business in the East of England where he was responsible for sales, exports and business development. For those who want to understand what UKRI does this Royal Society paper is good. https://bit.ly/3bPYpqM |
| URL | https://twitter.com/timvorley/status/1232691414053670912?s=20 |
| Description | Universal Credit and Employers: exploring the demand side of UK active labour market policy |
| Amount | £228,929 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ES/V004093/1 |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2021 |
| End | 01/2023 |
| Title | IGLOO Framework |
| Description | The IGLOO Framework was established by Prof Karina Neilsen and Dr Jo Yarker as outcome of their PIN funded Pioneer Research Project "Thriving at Work". Professor Karina Nielsen was funded in Round 1 of the competitive Open Call funding rounds. Karina is Chair in Work Psychology at Sheffield University Management School, University of Sheffield. The project is also lead by Dr Jo Yarker at Affinity Health at work. Affinity Health at Work is a niche occupational health psychology consultancy and research group. We focus on workplace health and wellbeing, and particularly the role of leadership and people management in these areas. The project aimed to explore how we can promote sustainable return to work among workers with Common Mental Disorders (CMDs) such as anxiety, depression and adjustment disorders, i.e. help workers sustain work and be productive at work after prolonged sickness absence due to CMDs. According to the OECD, 15% of the working population suffer from CMDs and 50% of workers with CMDs at some point go on long-term sickness absence. Despite remission, workers returning have poorer work functioning and are at risk of dismissals due to low productivity. Sustaining productive and high quality jobs for workers with CMDs is an overlooked problem. The project resulted in the creation of the 'IGLOO Toolkit', which helps workers sustainably return to work after a period of absence due to mental ill-health. Further to the outbreak of the COVID19 Pandemic, the tool was reviewed and re-addressed some of the impacts of C19. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The IGLOO Toolkit has already been implemented at RSSB, a company that provides guidance to the rail industry - opening up the tool to approximately up to 240,000 employees. • Michelle O'Sullivan, who is a clinical psychologist and lead the mental health strategy for the rail industry provided us with a testimony outlining how RSSB had implemented the IGLOO Framework within the company. "We have integrated and adapted various tools and resources from the IGLOO framework into our psychoeducational resources for industry. We included the checklists for absence conversations, preparing for return to work (RTW) conversations, and planning the RTW, as well as the walking in someone else's shoes exercise in our line manager training and resource pack. Over 100 rail line managers have now gone through this training, and we hope roll out will be wider in the coming year. We are also including these tools in a line manager resource pack, which will be published in February, which will be freely available to the whole industry, embedding the IGLOO tools in rail specific content. I think the IGLOO framework captures key behavioural strategies that can be applied systemically. What I find particularly helpful about the IGLOO model is how it simplifies what can be quite a complex topic, without over medicalising or making sweeping statements. It provides a common language and understanding of support for people that can have quite different perspectives (specifically thinking about the IGLOO guide for HR/employee/line manager). It helps demystify an intimidating topic for an industry that is only just beginning to get comfortable having these conversations. The supporting tools are concrete, tangible and easy to use. We are continuing to think about how we can translate learning from the IGLOO framework along with our own research on mental health in the industry into interventions to support mental wellbeing in the workplace. I think there is more that we can do with the framework that we haven't even got to yet!" The project team has showcased the outputs across a large number of events, spanning industry, civil service and academia including: • Boyes Turner HR Conference: Achieve Sustainable Productivity, October 2019 • The Home Office (Sheffield), January 2020 • Mental Health Conference in Manchester in January 2020 • Sheffield Solutions Seminar organised by CWP for DWP on 26 March 2020. • OSH South Yorkshire Branch on the SRTW project, 'Returning to and thriving at work following mental ill-health absence', October 2020 • In October 2020, it was noted that the Project Team are one of the finalists for the Vocational Rehabilitation Association Award. • In November 2020, The work, with Dr Jo Yarker (Affinity Health at Work), won a Vocational Rehabilitation award for VRA 2020 Innovation Research and Education Award - the Innovation Research and Innovation Award. An excellent example of how project funding makes a difference in the workplace. Find out more about Affinity Health at Work here: http://affinityhealthatwork.co.uk/our-research. |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/projects/. |
| Title | Dataset relating to the ESRC-funded Productivity Insights Network project: "Exploring the productivity narrative in manufacturing organisations" |
| Description | The dataset consists of 40 transcripts from face-to-face and telephone interviews undertaken with a range of employees across the organisational hierarchy in 19 manufacturing companies based in the UK. The data is commercially sensitive and is restricted to backend access. The data were generated as part of an ESRC-funded project: 'Exploring the productivity narrative in manufacturing organisations". The aim of the project was to understand how productivity was understood at different levels within the firm. The project was undertaken between September 2018 and July 2019 and funded as a Pioneer Project by the UK's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through the Productivity Insights Network Programme (Reference ES/R007810/1). The University of Strathclyde led the project, collaborating with co-investigators from the Universities of Aston, Bristol and York |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Description | Be the Business and Scottish Government Roundtable and collaboration |
| Organisation | Be the Business |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | We provided a roundtable for the Scottish gov with Be The Business (BtB).Colleagues from both PIN and BtB presented and chaired the session. A brief summary is below. A Roundtable Collaboration on Leadership and Management As a network we have had the privilege of collaborating with a high number of esteemed and highly respected colleagues from industry, academia, think tanks, independent researchers, and policymakers. This month we were delighted to collaborate with Be the Business for our monthly webinar with the Scottish Government. Our collaboration with the Scottish Government brings together the expertise from across the PIN network and the economic development team at the government to discuss the wide-ranging issues effecting the UK's productivity. Topics and themes address the breadth and complexity of challenges facing the UK, with a particular focus on Scotland and there is always lively discussion during the Q and A. This month we were delighted to change format and co-host a roundtable with Be the Business and two of the lead researchers from our Pioneer projects, Professor Kerrie Unsworth and Dr Lara Pecis. Professor Unsworth Dr Pecis were featured in last month's newsletter but if you missed it and would like to read their reports (and we suggest you do), you can find them respectively here; Sustainable and Productive? Helping SMEs to manage multiple goals and Inclusive Innovation: Sustaining productivity and socio-economic inclusion through innovation centres, hubs and districts. The Roundtable was chaired by Leader of Be the Business Sir Charlie Mayfield with an introduction of their recent publication - Productive Business Index - Edition Two the changing trends in SME Leadership & Management from CEO Anthony Impey. The importance of the relative small but significant changes that can be achieved by businesses through tech adoption was discussed by the head of digital and tech adoption Tom Gibson and Adam Hardy shared insights from their extensive survey of SMEs and the success factors that they will need to face the future and the relative small changes that they can take in order to do this. The research insights from Kerrie and Lara added to the report findings by introducing how businesses can think about the interdependencies of the multiple goals that they face in the future and how this can in fact support efficiency, staff morale and productivity. There was an engaging and thought-provoking closing discussion chaired by PIN's Professor Tim Vorley and Nicholas Young In which the panel and the audience discussed how SMEs can bring about the economic reset that will put many UK businesses in a stronger position for a post-covid world. |
| Collaborator Contribution | as above |
| Impact | Roundtable for Scottish Government based on BtB report and PIn research which highlights some of the gaps. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research (CEEDR) |
| Organisation | Middlesex University |
| Department | Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research (CEEDR) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Dr Robyn Owen received PIN Project funding for a Pioneer Research Project (up to £50K) on "Redefining SME Productivity Measurement and Assessment for a Low Carbon Economy Pioneer" with Robyn Owen, Theresia Harrer and Suman Lodh (Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research (CEEDR), and Middlesex University Business School), Rebecca Pates and Kadriann Pikkat (SQW), Simon Mair (the University of Surrey - Now Bradford) and also St John's Innovation Centre, Green Angel Syndicate. The Project focused on one of the emerging themes of 'Sustainability' which was identified by our International Advisory Board as a potential area or 'gap' within the learning of the network+. On completion of the project, Dr Owen and Harrer presented the fundings at the Entrepreneurial Finance Conference and Entrepreneurial Finance Special Interest Group AGM on 5 November 2020 which allowed the collaboration with CEEDR research centre to be showcased within another working group who could take the learning forward within their Networks. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Both CEEDR and the special Interest group provide an arena for the learning and knowledge to be transferred and disseminated more widely. CEEDR have published blogs related to the PIN funded research and the special interest group have shared the lessons learned more widely. CUSP also hosted a blog in relation to the research (https://www.cusp.ac.uk/themes/finance/blog-th-ro-pin-report2020/) which presents another partnership within this collaboration. Within the Research Team, Simon Mair (CUSP) has also disseminated the report within the networks at University of Bradford, gaining further traction for the report. |
| Impact | - Dissemination activities - event, blogs, sharing of publication and findings. - Knowledge transfer - Broader Engagement |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Clive Reynolds (Strategic Capability Ltd) and Productivity & The Futures off Work (Productivity GRP) at Warwick (11 January 2021) |
| Organisation | University of Warwick |
| Department | Warwick Business School |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Clive Reynold's Small project with Strategic Capability and Ryton Management funded by the Productivity Insights Network lead to links with the Productivity GRP and Productivity Institute. WE are keen to support Clive and Strategic Capability Ltd and hope that their work is disseminated more broadly in the coming months. Wee have showcased Clive and Colin's work, featuring ir in multiple newsletters and social media campaigns and we have an upcoming Workshop/Forum with Strategic Capability that we hope Productivity GRP members and Institute members will also be involved in ibn April 2020 to further the collaboration. |
| Collaborator Contribution | In collaboration with the Productivity Institute Monday 11th January @ 11am GMT How can you build a bedrock excellence for productivity? What leadership practices could firms develop to accelerate their journey to Supply Chain Productivity? In our first webinar of the 2021 series, Professor Jan Godsell, Professor Nigel Driffield and Clive Reynolds will provide reflections on value creation at firm level, what firms could do improve High Performance Working and Productivity and what this means for policy makers. 'From productivity to prosperity' Professor Nigel Driffield This project will report some findings from our ESRC project "from productivity to prosperity" - looking at the extent to which inward investment plays a role in driving productivity in the west midlands. We look specifically at which sectors benefit from inward investment, and the drivers of these gains, both in terms of the make up of sectors in the region, but also the types of inward investment that they attract. Relating Productivity to Organisational Context Strategic Capability Network Productivity Insights Network (PIN) Clive Reynolds Our previous work and others' research confirms widespread lack of engagement at both organisational and employee level with 'Productivity'. This project has used engagement as the trigger for an organisation to understand and establish its own unique value-adding, productive environment. In doing so it exorcised a few myths and created a model we will share with you that also has the potential to deliver Customer Intimacy - a key ingredient of Value Creation.' |
| Impact | - ongoing engagement - capacity building - upcoming Forum / Workshop in April 2021 |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Doncaster Manufacturing Forum Event, 16 January 2020 |
| Organisation | Doncaster Council |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Doncaster Engineering and Manufacturing Forum: Green Growth and Productivity (16.01.20) at Doncaster Rail College. The forum provided a key opportunity to engage with key businesses and SMEs in the Sheffield/Doncaster area with a keynote from Ed Milliband MP, Chair of the Doncaster Local Commission on Climate Change. PIN and Doncaster Council we key in liaising with the relevant speakers, guests and local business, and VIPs for the event. With thanks to Mark Lorraine, Andy Pattinson adn Phil Wallace in particular. 08.00 - 08.30 Coffee & Networking, 08.30 - 08.35 Welcome - The Mayor of Doncaster (Mark Loraine will MC - i.e. introduce each speaker. The Mayor will open the event - welcoming delegates, outlining how this is a key challenge of our times in which businesses play a key role, 08.35 - 08.50 Context Setting - Damian Allen, Short overview of the emerging Doncaster approach to green growth and sustainability. Outline the climate change challenge, clean growth agenda, the sustainable development goals, opportunities and challenges here for Doncaster. Green growth as a means to closing the productivity gap. 08.50 - 09.10 The Productivity Gap - Philip McCann, Introduce the network, outline the productivity issue and the national and regional context. Link into issues of sustainability and green growth - why this has been a consistently raised issue, 09.10 - 10.10 Panel 1: Realities of Green Business Growth - Chair: Alice Owen - Chris Saunders (ENGIE) - Andy Gouldson (University of Leeds) - Damian Allen (Doncaster Council) - SME representative (TBC), Alice Owen to provide context in introduction and smooth transition into Panel 1, i.e. we have aneed to reconcile economic growth with green growth - there is a role for productivity here. Each panelist speaks for 5 - 8 mins on the issues provided in briefing note. Followed by audience Q&A.10.10 - 10.30 Coffee Break 10.30 - 10.50 Key Note Speech: Responding to Climate Change and Ed Miliband MP, Chair of the Doncaster Local Commission on Climate Change - How Doncaster is rising to the climate change emergency. The opportunities for jobs, the opportunities for businesses & Biodiversity Crisis TBC businesses and for improving overall quality of life.10.50 - 11.50 Panel 2: Support available to businesses, Chair: Tim Vorley, - Lynn McGregor (Made Smarter), - Dan Hodges (Innovate UK), - Ben Morley (SCR), - Andy Hibbitt (Doncaster Chamber), Tim Vorley to provide context in introduction and connection to rest of event, and will wrap this section up. Opportunities available to business in the clean growth arena. What's coming up? Where could Doncaster be well placed? What part do skills play in this? 11.50 - 12.00 Closing comments - Damian Allen. Call to action based on a summary of what's been heard. Reiterate the challenge and opportunities we face in the UK. Reiterate the quick wins on sustainable practices. Reiterate the message on upcoming opportunities. Outline the support that is available to businesses and how to access it. Provide details of upcoming events - forum to continue to be an important point of shared ideas and support. |
| Collaborator Contribution | As above, the collaboration was shared between PIN and Doncaster council. |
| Impact | Colleagues made various contacts and engagements at the event, follow-up activity planned and attendance at the upcoming PIN2020 conference from attendees. Key Businesses reported a change in knowledge/behaviour following the event and some key media coverage from Ed Milliband MP involvement occurred gaining more traction for the Network. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | ESRC Workshop: TRANSFORMING PRODUCTIVITY RESEARCH Project Development Workshop 05-06 February 2019, Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | As below |
| Collaborator Contribution | .TRANSFORMING PRODUCTIVITY RESEARCH Project Development Workshop 05-06 February 2019, Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham CALL FOR APPLICATIONS Open to: researchers from ESRC managed investments Closing date for applications: Thursday 13 December 2018 (16.00) Introduction ESRC will be holding a 2 day workshop in early 2019 for researchers from ESRC managed investments to develop proposals for innovative productivity research. The workshop will be managed by the ESRC and facilitated independently. Participants will have the costs of the workshop itself met by the ESRC and will be able to claim travel, subsistence and other participation costs in line with UKRI policy. Participants will be eligible to apply for ring fenced ESRC funding after the workshop, subject to meeting a quality threshold. Addendum added 03 December: ESRC anticipates investing up to £2.2 million (RC contribution) in projects that arise from the workshop. Projects will have an earliest start date of 01 July 2019 and a latest start date of 01 October 2019. Projects are anticipated to have a duration between 12 and 18 months. Applications to join the workshop will be assessed by a panel, a subset of which will act as mentors to participants at the workshop itself. The workshop is organised around a set of productivity challenges. These are issues that have been identified in the academic literature and through stakeholder consultation that if tackled successfully, could lead to a substantial improvement in the UK's productivity record. The challenges selected for the workshop are as follows: • Understanding and improving innovation diffusion, particularly in and across supply chains, between small businesses and organisations with limited resources, • Understanding and improving regional and local productivities, • Creating and strengthening institutions that work for productivity. Applicants should be able to demonstrate an interest in one or more of these areas. Benefits of taking part in the workshop • Network and form collaborations with researchers outside your domain and across organisations, • Form collaborative teams and generate project ideas, • Receive guidance on developing strong proposals, • Potentially gain access to ESRC funding specifically allocated for this area of research with short turn around decision making process. Equality, diversity and inclusion ESRC actively encourages applications for this workshop from researchers representing the breadth of the social sciences. In addition, we would like to encourage applications from researchers at different career stages including appointees on fixed term and partial contracts. The workshop has been designed to require the minimum time necessary i.e. two days, to enable sufficient idea generation and collaboration to take place. Facilitation expertise will be on hand to ensure all participants are able to contribute as fully as possible during the workshop. We will consider requests for support and adjustments from any researcher who consider these would assist their participation in the workshop. Please use the email address productivity@esrc.ac.uk to seek guidance. Workshop details (indicative) The workshop will last two days, from 10am until 5.00pm on Day 1 (05 Feb) and from 9.30am until 4.30pm on Day 2 (06 Feb). There will be a dinner and evening activities after Day 1 which are optional. The event is likely to follow the following format: Pre event: Sharing of biographies Day 1: Clarify and Create Welcome breakfast before 10am, optional Getting to know each other: skills, experiences and interests Invited stakeholders present the issues underpinning the challenges Mapping the problem Idea formation for addressing the challenges through scholarly research Smaller group formation begins, self selection process First sharing of ideas for research proposals Wrap up of Day 1 (ends at 5.00pm) Dinner and evening activities, both optional Day 2: Develop and Review Small groups refine and test their ideas - mentor feedback Short sharp pitches mid morning to garner feedback - whole group Further refining and testing Resources requirements first stab: who, how much, how, when Pitches of proposals to invited panel (mentors involved) Panel meeting to discuss which should be invited to submit full proposals Feedback and invitation to apply for project funding (ends 4.30pm) Post event: Submit full proposals (if invited) - end of March 2019. Decisions due to be made early May 2019. Earliest award start dates 01 July, latest start dates 01 October 2019. Who is eligible? Applicants should be researchers with an affiliation (e.g. as Principal Investigator, Co-Investigator, researcher on contract, inward secondee from a non academic partner) with an ESRC managed investment listed in the Annex. This eligibility criteria is being applied to enable researchers from existing investments to collaborate actively with each other, which complements other capacity building activity that is underway. Researchers at early and mid career stage are especially welcome to apply. If you have any queries about eligibility, you are strongly advised to contact ESRC via productivity@esrc.ukri.org before applying. Application process and assessment Applications should be submitted electronically via the link here by no later 4pm, Thursday 13 December 2018. Please ensure that you attach: • an up to date CV, • copy of an email confirming that you have the support of your line manager or research leader (e.g. principal investigator) to apply for this workshop. As well as your academic track record, we will be seeking evidence of your ability to collaborate and develop proposals with other participants from a diversity of backgrounds. In addition, the strength of your interest in the area of productivity research will be taken into account when allocating places. We intend to inform applicants of their selection for the workshop around 07 January 2019. Annex 1: Background to the workshop challenges These have been informed by an analysis of our current portfolio of productivity research, the evidence reviews being developed by the Productivity Insights Network and stakeholder input: • Understanding and improving innovation diffusion, particularly in and across supply chains, between small businesses and organisations with limited resources: https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/app/uploads/2018/07/Productivity-Perspectives-Synthesis-updated-03.07.18-1.pdf, page 18 for a synopsis of the major gaps in the research base on the interplay between innovation, knowledge and technology with productivity. • Understanding and improving regional and local productivities: https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/app/uploads/2018/07/Productivity-Perspectives-Synthesis-updated-03.07.18-1.pdf, page 22 for a synopsis of the major gaps in the research base on regional and city productivities. • Creating and strengthening institutions that work for productivity: https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/app/uploads/2018/07/Productivity-Perspectives-Synthesis-updated-03.07.18-1.pdf, page 23 for a synopsis of the major gaps in the research base on the role of governance, institutions and organisations in addressing productivity challenges. Annex 2: Eligible ESRC investments (PIs, Co-Is, researchers employed with) (V2) Investment Research Organisation Principal Investigator Business and local government centre data research centre (BLG) Essex Professor Maria Fasli Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) London School of Economics Professor Stephen Machin Centre for Macroeconomics London School of Economics/UCL Professor Wouter Den Haan Centre for Research on Learning and Life Chances (LLAKES) UCL Professor Andy Green Centre for the microeconomic analysis of public policy (CPP) London School of Economics Professor Richard Blundell Centre for the Evaluation of Complexity Across the Nexus (CECAN) Surrey Professor Nigel Gilbert Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP) Surrey Professor Tim Jackson Centre on Micro-Social Change (MISOC) Essex Professor Mike Brewer Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE) Warwick Professor Nicholas Crafts Consumer Data Research Centre Leeds/UCL Professor Paul Longley Credit and Labour Market Foundations of the Macroeconomy (MacCaLM) Edinburgh Professor John Moore Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) Warwick Professor Stephen Roper From productivity to prosperity: inclusive growth in the W Mids research grant Warwick Professor Nigel Driffield National Centre for Research Methods Southampton Professor Patrick Sturgis Productivity Insights Network (PIN) Sheffield Professor Philip McCann Rebuilding macroeconomics network NIESR Dr Angus Armstrong The UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE) Glasgow Professor Ken Gibb Understanding Society Essex Professor Michaela Benzeval Urban Big Data Centre Glasgow Professor Nick Bailey Wales Centre for Public Policy Cardiff Professor Steve Martin Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods (WISERD) Cardiff Professor Ian Rees Jones What Works Local Economic Growth London School of Economics Professor Henry Overman |
| Impact | . |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Edward Elgar Publishing |
| Organisation | Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Agreed publication of "Productivity Perspectives" (March/April 2020), Productivity and the Pandemic (January 2021) and upcoming third publication, TBA (Late 2021) |
| Collaborator Contribution | Agreed publication of "Productivity Perspectives" (March/April 2020), Productivity and the Pandemic (January 2021) and upcoming third publication, TBA (Late 2021) |
| Impact | Two published volumes from the NW+ and its collaborators, with the potential of an upcoming third publication in late 2021 |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Jyldz Djumalieva/Stef Garasto: Workshop on Skills Mismatch - PPF Outcome - Nesta (13 June 2019) |
| Organisation | Nesta |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Measuring Regional Skill Mismatch and Access to Jobs-Nesta Workshops x2 Nesta has delivered 2 workshops to date as a follow up to the Pioneer funding that they received in Round one of the Productivity Projects funding. Workshop 1 on 13 June Embankment, London The following discussion was with a range of education and skills specialists Roundtable Discussion - led by Jen Rae. - How could you use these research findings in your work on skills, jobs and careers? - What further questions do these results raise? - Looking beyond data, what other factors are preventing you from addressing regional skill shortages? Workshop 2 on 17 July at PIN and RSAI day Shared the research findings with academics from a range of disciplines with an interest in productivity. Overview of the Nesta funded research - The project is being funded by PIN and is in collaboration with the West Midlands Combined Authority. - Skill mismatches are costly and can significantly hamper growth. - Nesta is developing an alternative approach to measuring regional skill mismatches. Research aims - Develop an alternative methodology for measuring skill mismatches to present an alternative picture to the one provided by surveys - Combine official labour market statistics with data on skill demands extracted from online job adverts to generate a comprehensive analysis of skill mismatch. - Enable granular analysis by geographic location and skill category. - Capture the impact of transport infrastructure on skill mismatch by measuring access to jobs in regions. Measures of skill mismatch - Composition of skill demands in online job adverts by skill category*. - Composition of skills supply by skill category. - Mismatch between supply and demand across skill categories. - Diversity of skills supply. Key insights - Composition of skill demand and supply varies noticeably across TTWAs. - There are large differences between the skill mismatches in the largest cities and those that persist in the rest of Great Britain. - Larger and more urban areas demonstrate a greater diversity of skill supply. We produced: - A novel methodology for measuring skill mismatches at a regional level using naturally occurring big data. - A range of measures for estimating access to jobs in a region, based on highly granular transport data We showed that: - There are large differences between the skill mismatches in the largest cities and those that persist in the rest of Great Britain. - Larger and more urban areas have greater diversity in the skills supplied by workers. - On its own, distance travelled to work may be a poor proxy for job accessibility in a region. Directions for future research: - Move from relative indicators of skill demand and supply to absolute indicators, enabling skills shortages to be measured in vacancies. - Link skills to qualifications which would allow mismatch indicators to be converted into recommendations on course provision. - Compare regional skill mismatches to the accessibility of jobs across regions. |
| Collaborator Contribution | as above |
| Impact | . |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Karina Nielsen at Boyes Turner LLP Conference re. HR/Legal Support (17 October 2019) |
| Organisation | Affinity Health at Work |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Following interest from Emma O'Connor, after she saw the work completed as part of Karina Nielsen, Jo Yarker and Hannah Evans' Pioneer Project, Emma requested PIN to co-lab with an upcoming conference in the HR/Legal Sector. Karina has therefore agreed to speak at Emma's upcoming in October 2019. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Emma approached the network after seeing work completed from the PPF Round 1 and was keen to collaborate based on the 'Thriving at Work' project (https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2019/07/thrivingatwork/) Emma is organising the full conference which has a number of additional speakers in related aspects of productivity and wellbeing which will provide great connection for the PIN Network and its members. |
| Impact | Upcoming event in October 2019 |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Karina Nielsen at Boyes Turner LLP Conference re. HR/Legal Support (17 October 2019) |
| Organisation | Boyes Turner LLP |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Following interest from Emma O'Connor, after she saw the work completed as part of Karina Nielsen, Jo Yarker and Hannah Evans' Pioneer Project, Emma requested PIN to co-lab with an upcoming conference in the HR/Legal Sector. Karina has therefore agreed to speak at Emma's upcoming in October 2019. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Emma approached the network after seeing work completed from the PPF Round 1 and was keen to collaborate based on the 'Thriving at Work' project (https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2019/07/thrivingatwork/) Emma is organising the full conference which has a number of additional speakers in related aspects of productivity and wellbeing which will provide great connection for the PIN Network and its members. |
| Impact | Upcoming event in October 2019 |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Meanings of Productivity Collaboration with ERC |
| Organisation | Enterprise Research Centre |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Making sense of productivity research across sectors and scales Tuesday 1st October 2019, 13.00 - 15.00 WBS @ The Shard - London In collaboration with the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) PIN delivered a session at the Shard, London, on Meanings of Productivity. Conversations with partners from different sectors has highlighted an inconsistency in how productivity is understood. A universal definition of productivity is not easily applicable in practice due to its varied interpretation across sectors and scales. Measures of productivity can become confused making it difficult to gain an accurate picture about the impact on individuals, firms, sectors, supply chains and regions. This session was jointly hosted by the Productivity Insights Network (PIN) and the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) to explore the different approaches and insights of productivity research on regions, sectors, supply-chains, firms and individuals. Through interdisciplinary conversations between researchers, civil servants, UKRI and business representatives, participants will help to develop an understanding of different perspectives on productivity. Contributors; Professor Philip McCann, Dr Vicki Belt, Professor Nigel Driffield, Professor Stephen Roper, Dr Temitope Akinremi, Dr Katy Jones, Professor Tim Vorley |
| Collaborator Contribution | as above, an event was held on 1 October 2019, however, the partnership and "meanings of productivity" is hoped to continue as an ongoing series throughout 2020. More detail to follow. |
| Impact | An ongoing series on "Meanings of Productivity" throughout 2020. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | OECD Spatial Productivity Lab Partnership |
| Organisation | Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD |
| Department | Spatial Productivity Lab |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Many thanks for the invitation to participate with the newly created Spatial Productivity Lab in Trento, and I can confirm that the Centre for Regional Economic and Enterprise Development at Sheffield University Management School would be delighted to cooperate. In leading the ESRC funded Productivity Insights Network (PIN) we can confirm our commitment to l contribute to the work of the OECD Spatial Productivity Laboratory. As you are aware the Productivity Insights Network is engaged in a wide ranging and collaborative programme of research and engagement. We are keen to ensure that insights from this research are share with those at the Spatial Productivity Laboratory, and with Joaquim Olivera Martins on our International Advisory Board already shaping the overarching priorities of Productivity Insights Network and our programme of work. There are also a number of opportunities to engage more directly with the Spatial Productivity Laboratory, as we have previously through the mutual participation in events and collaboration in the development of publications and thought leadership pieces. We are also keen to promote and participate in the exchanges of staff and researchers that would be supported by Sheffield University Management School. Beyond the work of the Productivity Insights Network, the Centre for Regional Economic and Enterprise Development and colleagues across Sheffield University Management School are also involved in a wider range of activities that align with the interests of the Spatial Productivity Laboratory. As such we would look to engage colleagues from OECD Trento Centre, and will actively contribute to peer-review and dissemination activities. We already have a strong relationship with colleagues in the Local Economic and Employment Development programme and so working with the Spatial Productivity Laboratory represents a logical extension of this work. We believe that this cooperation will help to push forward the research of the OECD Spatial Productivity Laboratory and the Centre for Regional Economic and Enterprise Development, as well as greatly enhancing the public and scientific visibility of both parties. We look forward to working with you. Yours sincerely Professors McCann & Vorley |
| Collaborator Contribution | The OECD LEED Trento Centre for Local Development was created in 2003 with a mission of building capacities for local development in OECD member and non-member countries. Capitalising on the achievements of the last 15 years, the Centre will continue to enhance its international role in capacity building for people, places and institutions and will develop a new policy-focused research agenda on issues related to spatial productivity through a newly created Spatial Productivity Lab. As an integral part of the OECD's broader work on productivity, the Spatial Productivity Lab at the OECD Trento Centre will focus on analysis around the concept of "spatial productivity", looking in particular, at mechanisms that policy makers can leverage to promote "catching up" of regions that are lagging behind in terms of productivity and to what extent aggregate productivity depends on the economies of agglomeration generated in cities. The Spatial Productivity Lab will work with a network of leading research institutions locally and internationally. With the present letter I would like to invite the Centre for Regional Economic and Enterprise Development at Sheffield University Management School to endorse and engage with the Spatial Productivity Lab initiative and join the network. In particular, we recognise the high-quality research and insight of the UK-wide ESRC-funded Productivity Insights Network (PIN) based at the University of Sheffield and with a nationwide network of partners are making an exceptional contribution to developing the concept of spatial productivity. Partners of the Spatial Productivity Lab commit to: - Contribute to the definition of the SPL research agenda; - Share knowledge and experience relevant to this concept; - Consider synergies between the SPL and their own activities (e.g. submit work in progress for discussion, organise joint events, etc.) - Peer-review the analytical work of the SPL; - Disseminate and enhance the visibility of the results of the SPL research in relevant events, medias or networks, including through their website; - Agree on being included in the list of strategic partners of the SPL, including on the OECD SPL web page and other means of communication. We look forward to hearing from you and, the OECD Trento Centre would like to thank you in advance for your commitment and contribution. |
| Impact | Selection of collaborative events; Further details on the OECD website. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | PIN Open Call for Round 3 Funded Projects |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The Open Call for Round 3 Applications ran from early December until 31 January 2020 and was to address some gaps identified by the International Advisory Board as topics that the Network should address that may not have yet had much or any research in that area. This call included new themes which were identified in the 4th Annual IAB meeting on 28 November 2019 and included: Skills, education and labour markets, Work and employment, FDI, capital and investment markets, Health, well-being, ageing and demographic change, Technology, innovation, competitiveness and enterprise, Organisations, institutions and governance, Land use, transport and infrastructure, Sustainability, Impact of market failures on productivity, Productivity in the peripheral (including rural), Impact of institutions on productivity, Drivers of short term and long term productivity, and other. |
| Collaborator Contribution | As above. |
| Impact | The network was successful in funding in each of the newly identified themes for the fianl open call round of funding. Responsive or Targeted funded can still be ade available to relevant research. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Pioneer Project - Aston |
| Organisation | Aston University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Promote, administrate and evaluate the application process. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Project Lead/s: Dr Soumyadeb Chowdhury Organisation: Aston University Project Theme: Health, well-being, ageing and demographic change Project Overview: The project will contribute to shaping the narrative of productivity debate in the following ways: (1) understanding the impact of mental health on business performance and providing evidence for business cases; (2) key influences that drive, hold back and enable the SMEs implementing management practices to improve workplace MH; (3) needs of SMEs - both in terms of capability and capacity building. |
| Impact | Not complete yet |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Pioneer Project - Edinburgh |
| Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Promote, administrate and evaluate the application process. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Project Lead/s: Dr Alessandro Rosiello Organisation: University of Edinburgh Project Theme: Technology, Innovation, Competition, Enterprise Project Overview:This project will tackle gaps in research by conducting primary firm-level research that advances understandings of how scale-ups finance, internationalise, use support, and learn to manage their growth. Building on our interdisciplinary research team and policy expertise, we also meet PIN objectives through an active engagement process (reports, consultations, workshops) with policy-makers and growing businesses in the four periphery areas. |
| Impact | Not complete yet |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Pioneer Project - Glasgow Caledonian |
| Organisation | Glasgow Caledonian University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Promote, administrate and evaluate the application process |
| Collaborator Contribution | Project Lead/s: Professor Sara Cantillon Organisation: Glasgow Caledonian Uni Project Theme: Work and Employment Project Overview: This project aims to combine i) a critical review of the literature on the pay-productivity conundrum ii) an empirical analysis of the decoupling in the UK economy over the period 1970-2018, iii) an interdisciplinary evaluation of the findings, with a particular focus on policy orientation and labour market outcomes, and iv) a detailed case study of Scotland. |
| Impact | Not complete yet. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Pioneer Project - Warwick |
| Organisation | University of Warwick |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Promote, administrate and evaluate the application process. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Project Lead/s: Dr Emma Duchini Organisation: University of Warwick Project Theme: Work and Employment & Technology, Innovation, Competitiveness and Enterprise Project Overview: To what extent does the gender pay gap influence firm productivity? Can policies designed to reduce this gap have an impact on firm performance? This project will give three important cross-disciplinary contributions. First, it will add to the growing number of studies from the economic and management literature analysing the impact of pay transparency policies on personnel management decisions and gender pay and promotion gaps. While the authors find that this measure is effective at augmenting women's promotion rate and narrowing gender pay differentials, it is unclear whether these results can extend to less egalitarian countries. This project will address this question by considering the UK setting and studying the impact of the 2017 pay transparency policy. |
| Impact | Not complete yet |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Pioneer Small Project |
| Organisation | University of York |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Promote, administrate and evaluate the application process |
| Collaborator Contribution | Professor Jillian MacBryde (University of Strathlyde) will lead a project entitled "Productivity - what do UK manufacturers really think?" |
| Impact | Not complete yet |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Productivity Funding Open Call Round 2 |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | An Open Call for the second round 2 closed in May 2019 and called for a number of collaborations to be established with various organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The research funded by the second open call will help to address various aspects of the productivity puzzle. |
| Impact | Following the open call for round 2 applications, an area of need/a gap was identified which the Network addressed with a responsive fund to a specific project tackling an identified aspect of research. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Professor Matthew Gorton, Rural Enterprise UK, Newcastle University (27 March 2019) |
| Organisation | Newcastle University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Due to the funding provided by the Network, a small project was completed on special variations in SME productivity, prepared by Professor Matthew Gorton, Dr Pattanapong Tiwasing, Prof Jeremy Phillipson, Dr Sara Maioli and Dr Robert Newbery, all from Newcastle University. Following the publishing of the report in January 2019, Matthew Gordon presented on the findings within the project and its related research. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Professor Matthew Gorton at Rural Enterprise UK, Newcastle University, presented the data from the Small Project fund that he received from PIN in the first round of PIN funding. He presented the findings at the UK Industrial Strategy: Progressing Rural Contributions conference to over 50 academics, policy makers, rural businesses and Charites. The focus of the input was: Localising the Industrial Strategy: Rural opportunities and Drivers of rural business productivity - evidence and reflections. |
| Impact | Following the event, another session was planned in September 2019. This event was to follow on from the topics discussed and was to take place in London. The impact of which would have been to broaden the discussion by opening up to a wider audience. To date, the Network has not attended the event and cannot confirm if this went ahead in September but will be following up with Professor Gordon and the team on their work and the outcomes of their research. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | RSA - Philip McCann webinar - SMARTER 2020 Conference Webinar series - Smart Specialisation Strategies for Sustainability - opportunities for economic recovery and competitiveness |
| Organisation | Regional Studies Association |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | RSA - Philip McCann webinar - SMARTER 2020 Conference Webinar series - Smart Specialisation Strategies for Sustainability - opportunities for economic recovery and competitiveness PIN is supporting the RSA on a number of upcoming Events as part of the SMARTER 2020 Conference and also furute engagments. in collaboration with Daniela Carl and Sally Hardy, PIN will provide inputs in to al upcoming events as far as possible. |
| Collaborator Contribution | General Information SMARTER 2020 Conference Webinar series on "Smart Specialisation and Territorial Development: Connecting grand societal challenges with local goals in place-based innovation policy" is co-organised by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre and RSA Europe. Six webinars organised between 17th September and 3rd December 2020 The Territorial Development Unit of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre and RSA Europe are delighted to present a webinar series based on selected themes of the SMARTER 2020 Conference. In line with the measures to contain the diffusion of COVID-19, the physical event will be replaced by a series of six webinars held between 17 September and 3 December 2020. Increasingly, innovation policies are framed around grand societal challenges and sustainable transformation. More traditional objectives of productivity enhancement, job creation and international competitiveness are accompanied by the search for solutions to environmental and social needs in line with the European Green Deal priority and the accomplishments of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, to be achieved through the mobilisation of science, technology and innovation. This transformation is also gaining momentum in local and regional policy making, raising a number of issues in relation to the capacity of place-based industrial innovation policies to meet these goals. What are the implications of this shift for place-based policy and instruments? What does the alignment of solutions to social and environmental problems with more traditional growth objectives imply? How can potential contradictions between different goals and dimensions (social, environmental and economic) can be resolved? Can we expect territorial policies to deliver on broad societal challenges, by providing solutions to those needs that are locally relevant? A dreadful pandemic is currently sweeping the planet causing dramatic health, social and economic consequences. We need coordinated policy initiatives at international, national and regional level to mitigate the COVID-19 economic crisis and promote a swift recovery. How can place-based policies play a role in tackling the severe socio-economic impacts of COVID-19? How can they help territories discover new opportunities for more sustainable and inclusive economies? Open to all, the SMARTER 2020 Webinar series is a forum for debating those issues. It seeks to foster a dialogue between practitioners, policy-makers and researchers. Smart Specialisation provides a unique entry point for such debate. Smart Specialisation is a place-based EU policy promoting economic transformation by designing targeted investment in research and innovation. Building on a growing interest in this policy, the main principles and mechanisms of Smart Specialisation are travelling fast, attracting attention outside the European Union. At the same time, the Smart Specialisation approach is evolving, incorporating evidence on what worked and what did not, embracing a larger policy scope than just research and innovation and enriching its policy toolbox. The SMARTER 2020 Webinar series will provide a comprehensive picture of the Smart Specialisation policy experience, including an evaluation of its results and an account of its recent developments both conceptually and empirically. The webinars will also offer an opportunity to discuss and compare different territorial development approaches, exploring how they engage with the European Commission's priorities for 2019-2024 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Webinar 2: "Smart Specialisation Strategies for Sustainability - opportunities for economic recovery and competitiveness", 6th October 2020, 9:30- 11:30 CEST 9:30 to 09:45 - Welcome address Mikel Landabaso, Director Growth and Innovation, Joint Research Centre, Spain 9:45 to 10:30 - Session 1: Opportunities for regions and cities Speakers: Introductory speech by Luc Soete, Free University of Brussels, Belgium co-author of "Place-based innovation for Sustainability" Reflections and comments by Daria Tataj, Tataj Innovation, and Luke Georghiou, University of Manchester, United-Kingdom Moderator: Johan Stierna, European Commission, Territorial Development Unit (B3), Joint Research Centre, Spain 10:30 to 11:00 - Session 2: Local trade-offs and early warning signals Speakers: Introductory speech by Philip McCann, University of Sheffield, United-Kingdom, co-author of "Place-based innovation for Sustainability" Reflections and comments by Jennifer Casingena Harper, Malta Council for Science & Technology Moderator: Karel Haegeman, European Commission, Territorial Development Unit (B3), Joint Research Centre, Spain 11:00 to 11:20 - Session 3: Questions and Answers 11:20 to 11:30 - Concluding remarks Alessandro Rainoldi, Head of the Territorial Development Unit (B3), Joint Research Centre, Spain |
| Impact | - Ongoing engagement and collaboration. - Dissemination of RSA conference App Toolkit |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Responsive Small Project:Mapping the Cognitive Landscape of Productivity in Northern Ireland: A Systems Approach to Understanding Productivity Policy |
| Organisation | Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Following the Round 2 funding call, a need was identified and a 'responsive' project therefore funded. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This project will focus on: "Mapping the Cognitive Landscape of Productivity in Northern Ireland: A Systems Approach to Understanding Productivity Policy". Lead ny Jen Nelles. Like the rest of the UK, Northern Ireland has experienced weak productivity growth since the 2008 Financial Crisis despite broader economic recovery. Consequently, boosting productivity has been a central goal of contemporary economic policy even to the extent that both UK and Northern Ireland industrial strategies have been described as productivity policies. Yet evidence shows that decades of Government productivity policies have not (yet?) resulted in predictable or positive impacts on productivity performance. We argue that developing policies to effectively influence productivity outcomes requires the kind of broad and multidimensional approaches advocated by both industrial strategies. However, we suggest that an institutional bias towards thinking in terms of policy silos has prevented policy makers from identifying and acting upon opportunities for joined-up policy design and governance. Instead, we argue that the productivity puzzle may be more effectively addressed by conceptualising using a systems approach in which the economy, and policy space, is conceptualised as a system whose functioning, interactions, and interdependencies should be understood as a whole as part of the policy process. This project is an exploratory attempt to apply a systems perspective in the context of Northern Ireland productivity policy to generate a map of how policy makers perceive the economic system. Through this process, we highlight gaps, biases, and potential opportunities for developing a more refined model of the system to underpin future policy interventions. |
| Impact | Following the initial funding of the project there has been an event in NI and also a webinar with CECAN to support the activity. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Responsive Small Project:Mapping the Cognitive Landscape of Productivity in Northern Ireland: A Systems Approach to Understanding Productivity Policy |
| Organisation | University of Sheffield |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Following the Round 2 funding call, a need was identified and a 'responsive' project therefore funded. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This project will focus on: "Mapping the Cognitive Landscape of Productivity in Northern Ireland: A Systems Approach to Understanding Productivity Policy". Lead ny Jen Nelles. Like the rest of the UK, Northern Ireland has experienced weak productivity growth since the 2008 Financial Crisis despite broader economic recovery. Consequently, boosting productivity has been a central goal of contemporary economic policy even to the extent that both UK and Northern Ireland industrial strategies have been described as productivity policies. Yet evidence shows that decades of Government productivity policies have not (yet?) resulted in predictable or positive impacts on productivity performance. We argue that developing policies to effectively influence productivity outcomes requires the kind of broad and multidimensional approaches advocated by both industrial strategies. However, we suggest that an institutional bias towards thinking in terms of policy silos has prevented policy makers from identifying and acting upon opportunities for joined-up policy design and governance. Instead, we argue that the productivity puzzle may be more effectively addressed by conceptualising using a systems approach in which the economy, and policy space, is conceptualised as a system whose functioning, interactions, and interdependencies should be understood as a whole as part of the policy process. This project is an exploratory attempt to apply a systems perspective in the context of Northern Ireland productivity policy to generate a map of how policy makers perceive the economic system. Through this process, we highlight gaps, biases, and potential opportunities for developing a more refined model of the system to underpin future policy interventions. |
| Impact | Following the initial funding of the project there has been an event in NI and also a webinar with CECAN to support the activity. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Round 3 Funded Projects (Pioneer and Small) |
| Organisation | Cambridge Econometrics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Following the final Open Call for funding application a number of projects have been sucessfully funded. |
| Collaborator Contribution | University of Leeds, Sustainable and Productive?! Helping Manufacturing SMEs to Manage Multiple Goals - Pioneer University of Sheffield*, Using Shocks to Construct New Perspectives on Productivity: Designing Systems Dynamic Model(s) of Productivity in Northern Ireland - Pioneer University of Sheffield*, Rethinking Capital Allocation in a Context of Financialization: Producing and Index of High Productivity/Low Financial Engineering Firms - Pioneer University of Strathclyde, Drivers and Productivity Impacts on Underemployment-Insights on labour Market Effects and Employers' Decision-Making in Contrasting Local Labour Markets - Pioneer University of Leeds, Access to Finance and Productivity Enhancing Investments in the UK: Does the Source of Finance Matter? -Pioneer Strategic Capability Ltd, Relating Productivity to Organisational Context: Meaning, Measures and Maximising Through Workforce Engagement -SPF Cambridge Econometrics, A Microscale Approach to Understanding Spatial Productivity Patterns in the UK - SPF Centre for Tendering, How Can Enterprise Ecosystems Enhance SME Capability to tender for Public Sector Contracts? - SPF The University of Sheffield, Quantifying Agglomeration Productivity Potential in Long-Term Infrastructure Planning - SPF Manchester Metropolitan University, Cashlessness: A Productivity Paradox - SPF |
| Impact | The projects will be complete in June and September 2020 and the outcomes and impact from these will be realised and reported on in due course. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Round 3 Funded Projects (Pioneer and Small) |
| Organisation | Centre for Tendering |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Following the final Open Call for funding application a number of projects have been sucessfully funded. |
| Collaborator Contribution | University of Leeds, Sustainable and Productive?! Helping Manufacturing SMEs to Manage Multiple Goals - Pioneer University of Sheffield*, Using Shocks to Construct New Perspectives on Productivity: Designing Systems Dynamic Model(s) of Productivity in Northern Ireland - Pioneer University of Sheffield*, Rethinking Capital Allocation in a Context of Financialization: Producing and Index of High Productivity/Low Financial Engineering Firms - Pioneer University of Strathclyde, Drivers and Productivity Impacts on Underemployment-Insights on labour Market Effects and Employers' Decision-Making in Contrasting Local Labour Markets - Pioneer University of Leeds, Access to Finance and Productivity Enhancing Investments in the UK: Does the Source of Finance Matter? -Pioneer Strategic Capability Ltd, Relating Productivity to Organisational Context: Meaning, Measures and Maximising Through Workforce Engagement -SPF Cambridge Econometrics, A Microscale Approach to Understanding Spatial Productivity Patterns in the UK - SPF Centre for Tendering, How Can Enterprise Ecosystems Enhance SME Capability to tender for Public Sector Contracts? - SPF The University of Sheffield, Quantifying Agglomeration Productivity Potential in Long-Term Infrastructure Planning - SPF Manchester Metropolitan University, Cashlessness: A Productivity Paradox - SPF |
| Impact | The projects will be complete in June and September 2020 and the outcomes and impact from these will be realised and reported on in due course. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Round 3 Funded Projects (Pioneer and Small) |
| Organisation | Manchester Metropolitan University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Following the final Open Call for funding application a number of projects have been sucessfully funded. |
| Collaborator Contribution | University of Leeds, Sustainable and Productive?! Helping Manufacturing SMEs to Manage Multiple Goals - Pioneer University of Sheffield*, Using Shocks to Construct New Perspectives on Productivity: Designing Systems Dynamic Model(s) of Productivity in Northern Ireland - Pioneer University of Sheffield*, Rethinking Capital Allocation in a Context of Financialization: Producing and Index of High Productivity/Low Financial Engineering Firms - Pioneer University of Strathclyde, Drivers and Productivity Impacts on Underemployment-Insights on labour Market Effects and Employers' Decision-Making in Contrasting Local Labour Markets - Pioneer University of Leeds, Access to Finance and Productivity Enhancing Investments in the UK: Does the Source of Finance Matter? -Pioneer Strategic Capability Ltd, Relating Productivity to Organisational Context: Meaning, Measures and Maximising Through Workforce Engagement -SPF Cambridge Econometrics, A Microscale Approach to Understanding Spatial Productivity Patterns in the UK - SPF Centre for Tendering, How Can Enterprise Ecosystems Enhance SME Capability to tender for Public Sector Contracts? - SPF The University of Sheffield, Quantifying Agglomeration Productivity Potential in Long-Term Infrastructure Planning - SPF Manchester Metropolitan University, Cashlessness: A Productivity Paradox - SPF |
| Impact | The projects will be complete in June and September 2020 and the outcomes and impact from these will be realised and reported on in due course. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Round 3 Funded Projects (Pioneer and Small) |
| Organisation | Strategic Capability |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Following the final Open Call for funding application a number of projects have been sucessfully funded. |
| Collaborator Contribution | University of Leeds, Sustainable and Productive?! Helping Manufacturing SMEs to Manage Multiple Goals - Pioneer University of Sheffield*, Using Shocks to Construct New Perspectives on Productivity: Designing Systems Dynamic Model(s) of Productivity in Northern Ireland - Pioneer University of Sheffield*, Rethinking Capital Allocation in a Context of Financialization: Producing and Index of High Productivity/Low Financial Engineering Firms - Pioneer University of Strathclyde, Drivers and Productivity Impacts on Underemployment-Insights on labour Market Effects and Employers' Decision-Making in Contrasting Local Labour Markets - Pioneer University of Leeds, Access to Finance and Productivity Enhancing Investments in the UK: Does the Source of Finance Matter? -Pioneer Strategic Capability Ltd, Relating Productivity to Organisational Context: Meaning, Measures and Maximising Through Workforce Engagement -SPF Cambridge Econometrics, A Microscale Approach to Understanding Spatial Productivity Patterns in the UK - SPF Centre for Tendering, How Can Enterprise Ecosystems Enhance SME Capability to tender for Public Sector Contracts? - SPF The University of Sheffield, Quantifying Agglomeration Productivity Potential in Long-Term Infrastructure Planning - SPF Manchester Metropolitan University, Cashlessness: A Productivity Paradox - SPF |
| Impact | The projects will be complete in June and September 2020 and the outcomes and impact from these will be realised and reported on in due course. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Round 3 Funded Projects (Pioneer and Small) |
| Organisation | University of Leeds |
| Department | School of Business |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Following the final Open Call for funding application a number of projects have been sucessfully funded. |
| Collaborator Contribution | University of Leeds, Sustainable and Productive?! Helping Manufacturing SMEs to Manage Multiple Goals - Pioneer University of Sheffield*, Using Shocks to Construct New Perspectives on Productivity: Designing Systems Dynamic Model(s) of Productivity in Northern Ireland - Pioneer University of Sheffield*, Rethinking Capital Allocation in a Context of Financialization: Producing and Index of High Productivity/Low Financial Engineering Firms - Pioneer University of Strathclyde, Drivers and Productivity Impacts on Underemployment-Insights on labour Market Effects and Employers' Decision-Making in Contrasting Local Labour Markets - Pioneer University of Leeds, Access to Finance and Productivity Enhancing Investments in the UK: Does the Source of Finance Matter? -Pioneer Strategic Capability Ltd, Relating Productivity to Organisational Context: Meaning, Measures and Maximising Through Workforce Engagement -SPF Cambridge Econometrics, A Microscale Approach to Understanding Spatial Productivity Patterns in the UK - SPF Centre for Tendering, How Can Enterprise Ecosystems Enhance SME Capability to tender for Public Sector Contracts? - SPF The University of Sheffield, Quantifying Agglomeration Productivity Potential in Long-Term Infrastructure Planning - SPF Manchester Metropolitan University, Cashlessness: A Productivity Paradox - SPF |
| Impact | The projects will be complete in June and September 2020 and the outcomes and impact from these will be realised and reported on in due course. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Round 3 Funded Projects (Pioneer and Small) |
| Organisation | University of Sheffield |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Following the final Open Call for funding application a number of projects have been sucessfully funded. |
| Collaborator Contribution | University of Leeds, Sustainable and Productive?! Helping Manufacturing SMEs to Manage Multiple Goals - Pioneer University of Sheffield*, Using Shocks to Construct New Perspectives on Productivity: Designing Systems Dynamic Model(s) of Productivity in Northern Ireland - Pioneer University of Sheffield*, Rethinking Capital Allocation in a Context of Financialization: Producing and Index of High Productivity/Low Financial Engineering Firms - Pioneer University of Strathclyde, Drivers and Productivity Impacts on Underemployment-Insights on labour Market Effects and Employers' Decision-Making in Contrasting Local Labour Markets - Pioneer University of Leeds, Access to Finance and Productivity Enhancing Investments in the UK: Does the Source of Finance Matter? -Pioneer Strategic Capability Ltd, Relating Productivity to Organisational Context: Meaning, Measures and Maximising Through Workforce Engagement -SPF Cambridge Econometrics, A Microscale Approach to Understanding Spatial Productivity Patterns in the UK - SPF Centre for Tendering, How Can Enterprise Ecosystems Enhance SME Capability to tender for Public Sector Contracts? - SPF The University of Sheffield, Quantifying Agglomeration Productivity Potential in Long-Term Infrastructure Planning - SPF Manchester Metropolitan University, Cashlessness: A Productivity Paradox - SPF |
| Impact | The projects will be complete in June and September 2020 and the outcomes and impact from these will be realised and reported on in due course. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Round 3 Funded Projects (Pioneer and Small) |
| Organisation | University of Strathclyde |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Following the final Open Call for funding application a number of projects have been sucessfully funded. |
| Collaborator Contribution | University of Leeds, Sustainable and Productive?! Helping Manufacturing SMEs to Manage Multiple Goals - Pioneer University of Sheffield*, Using Shocks to Construct New Perspectives on Productivity: Designing Systems Dynamic Model(s) of Productivity in Northern Ireland - Pioneer University of Sheffield*, Rethinking Capital Allocation in a Context of Financialization: Producing and Index of High Productivity/Low Financial Engineering Firms - Pioneer University of Strathclyde, Drivers and Productivity Impacts on Underemployment-Insights on labour Market Effects and Employers' Decision-Making in Contrasting Local Labour Markets - Pioneer University of Leeds, Access to Finance and Productivity Enhancing Investments in the UK: Does the Source of Finance Matter? -Pioneer Strategic Capability Ltd, Relating Productivity to Organisational Context: Meaning, Measures and Maximising Through Workforce Engagement -SPF Cambridge Econometrics, A Microscale Approach to Understanding Spatial Productivity Patterns in the UK - SPF Centre for Tendering, How Can Enterprise Ecosystems Enhance SME Capability to tender for Public Sector Contracts? - SPF The University of Sheffield, Quantifying Agglomeration Productivity Potential in Long-Term Infrastructure Planning - SPF Manchester Metropolitan University, Cashlessness: A Productivity Paradox - SPF |
| Impact | The projects will be complete in June and September 2020 and the outcomes and impact from these will be realised and reported on in due course. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Scottish Government Webinar Series 2020-21 |
| Organisation | Government of Scotland |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | In Collaboration with the Scottish Government and following on the series which began in 2019 but had to pause due to weather complications and the impacts of COVID19 cancelling the final events of the series. When the opportunity for Scottish Gov to reengage after directing all of their resource in to COVID19 actions, PIN have reengaged and redeveloped the partnership with the Scottish Government in order to provide a series of virtual, internal to the Scottish Government only, workshops and discussions in line with the learning development activities for the Government - including senior members and in order to provide an ongoing resource for learning and development. The series is running November 2020 - May 2021, with the potential to continue should PIN be able to go beyond this date. There is an opportunity to maintain the working relationship via existing channels should this be an option the ESRC is willing to undertake with ongoing investments. The series of events is listed below for information: - FDI, Capital and Investment Markets - Richard Harris (16 November 2020) - Inclusive Productivity Growth? Reframing the productivity debate post Covid-19 - Leaza McSorley, 14 December 2020. - Productivity Perspectives: Observations from the UK and the International Arena - Philip McCann, 18 January 2021. - Socially distant in more ways than one: the impact of Covid-19 on the self-employed" - Andrew Henley (with co-authors Darja Reuschke (University of Southampton) and Elizabeth Daniel (Open University) and Business angel investment activity during Colin Mason (with co-author Dr Tiago Botelho (UEA)), 15 February 2020 - Small businesses and their productivity challenges - Johnathan Cook and Osman Anwar (SQW Ltd), 15 March 2021. - Human Capital, Skills and Productivity - Maria Abreu, 19 April 2021 - Implications and impacts of the Covid-19 crisis on micro-business resilience - Andrew Henley and Tim Vorley.17 May 2021 |
| Collaborator Contribution | The online talks were scheduled for 90mins with approximately 55mins dedicated to a presentation and the remaining time for Q&A to engage with the Government audience and raise any issues or considerations in line with the research presented in a Scottish Government context. Feedback has been conducted throughout the series in order to develop it in line with the needs of the Government and in order to adapt the series as appropriate. The Scottish Government has hosted the events and have also co-directed the development in order to ensure that the needs have been addressed within the topics covered. By providing the environment for learning and engagement with research and academic expertise in order to implement the knowledge presented within the webinars to the Scottish Government; they are taking research-informed learning to the forefront in developing policy and practice, The potential for positive impact is therefore inevitable if not already evident. There is an ongoing dialogue which suggests the need and wants to engage in Knowledge Transfer ensuring that the appetite to continue learning and including this learning in their work going forward will continue. |
| Impact | The potential and opportunity to broaden the series is an ongoing discussion and there remains the appetite to broaden the collaboration beyond the current format, linking with other investments such as the Propel hub lead by the University of Strathclyde, or potentially the Productivity Institute, in order to maintain momentum and use research to influence policy. Due to the high numbers of attendees and range of government employees at a range of levels of seniority and in various professional roles, the reproach is being disseminated and acted upon throughout the Government and the knowledge transfer is going directly to the relevant parties. The Scottish Government are keen to continue and engage with Research-based learning and will use this to influence their policies going forward. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Small Project - Manchester Metropolitan |
| Organisation | Manchester Metropolitan University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Promote, administrate and evaluate the application process. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Project Lead/s: Dr Katy Jones Organisation: Manchester Metropolitan University Project Theme: Work and Employment Project Overview Universal Credit and 'in-work conditionality' - a productive turn? The DWP has stated that Universal Credit will help 'business to grow' and 'improve productivity' (DWP, 2018). However, the mechanisms through which this is to be achieved are unclear. Furthermore, employers have been largely absent from policy discussions. As a policy with implications for workplace social dynamics, which impact productivity (McCann, 2018), this is an important omission. This project helps to address this, asking: Will Universal Credit lead to more productive work? |
| Impact | Not complete yet |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Small Project - University of Kent |
| Organisation | University of Kent |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Promote, administrate and evaluate the application process. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Project Lead/s: Dr Anthony Savager Organisation: University of Kent Project Theme: FDI, Capital & Investments Project Overview: The project intends to describe the relationship between market concentration in the UK and productivity performance using new data from the Department of Business (BEIS) and the inter-departmental business register (IDBR). |
| Impact | Not complete yet |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Small Project - University of Lancaster |
| Organisation | Lancaster University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Promote, administrate and evaluate the application process |
| Collaborator Contribution | Project Lead/s: Dr Lara Pecis Organisation: University of Lancaster Project Theme: Work and Employment and Institutions, governance & organisations Project Overview: How are public and private sector organizations working together in innovation hubs to build inclusion in urban contexts and broader regions? The project aims at understanding how hubs can best promote inclusivity in entrepreneurship and act as formal support channels for specific groups including women and BME. The project will address the research question: how are public and private sector organizations working together in innovation hubs to build inclusion in urban contexts and broader regions? |
| Impact | Not complete yet |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Targeted Small Grant: Financialization and Productivity |
| Organisation | University of Sheffield |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Financialization and Productivity lead by Adam Leaver will look to directly addresses the PIN priority area of 'UK business investment (including financialisation) behaviour'. It complements existing analyses of the role of shareholder value pressures in encouraging corporate short-termism and low investment (Stockhammer 2006; Tori & Onaran 2018), specifically that i) shareholder distributions compete with investment (Lin and Tomaskovic-Devey, 2013), ii) excessive discounting disincentivises investment (Haldane 2015), and iii) higher returns from finance lead to a switching of investment from productive to financial sources (Orhangazi, 2008). To assess this, our project takes an interdisciplinary approach which bridges accounting and political economy to examine the accounting and law innovations used within the UK water industry before and after the financial crisis; so chosen because of its weak productivity performance post-crisis (Frontier Economics 2017; Riley et al 2018). These accounting insights may add a missing piece to the productivity puzzle: that when financial engineering proliferates, productivity declines. |
| Collaborator Contribution | as above |
| Impact | The report from this collaboration is expected in March 2020 and the impact and outcomes will be reported as appropriate. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Targeted Small Grant: The relationship between firm financing and investment in productivity in a very low interest rate environment |
| Organisation | Manchester Metropolitan University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "The relationship between firm financing and investment in productivity in a very low-interest-rate environment" Lead by Craig Berry. The Productivity Insights Network has identified business investment behaviour as a 'gap' in our understanding of what is driving, or impeding, productivity growth. This project looks directly at this issue, by considering the circumstances in which large firms elect to invest in enhancing their productive capacity (through investment in skills, equipment, processes, etc.) or instead expanding their production (generally by employing more workers, without improving productivity) - and indeed how these strategies are balanced. The project lead, Dr Craig Berry, is a member of the Productivity Insights Network, as well as deputy director of Future Economies (at Manchester Metropolitan University), and formerly a member of the Industrial Strategy Commission (alongside Dame Kate Barker, Professor Diane Coyle, Professor Richard Jones and Professor Andy Westwood) and deputy director of the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (University of Sheffield). He has also worked in public policy, including for HM Treasury and the Trades Union Congress. |
| Collaborator Contribution | As above |
| Impact | The project will start in late March/April 2020 and the report from the project is expected in July 2020, the impact and outcomes from the research will be identified in due course. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Targeted Small Grants Funding Round |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Following the 3rd Annual IAB in April 2019, the network launched a Targetted Small Grant funding round, which was to specifically address a small number of themes as identified by the International Advisory Board. This ran for an extended period throughout the Summer months and closed in September 2019. |
| Collaborator Contribution | as above |
| Impact | The Targeted Small Grants received less interest than the broader open call and was perhaps affected by the summer and new term timing in terms of University applications. There were however two successfully funded projects which are expected to submit in March and June 2020. The impact of this research will be reported on as and when these come in. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | The OECD Spatial Productivity Lab (SPL) - with two Events with OECD SPL (May 2020 and Feb 2021) |
| Organisation | Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The OECD Spatial Productivity Lab (SPL) - The world changed by COVID-19: Policy, economy, society | 8th SPL meeting PIN Co-Organised event with the OECD; Featuring Philip Mccann (PIN Co-Director), Joaquim Oliveria MArtins (PIN IAB Member and Raquel Ortefa-Argiles (PIn Network Member) and OECD Trento Centre for Local Development & Productivity Insights Ntework Spatial productivity in the post-COVID-19 world The webinar represents the 12th Meeting of the OECD Spatial Productivity Lab 4 February 2020 15.00-18.15 CET (Rome time zone) Remote participation |
| Collaborator Contribution | The world changed by COVID-19: Policy, economy, society | 8th SPL meeting 7 May 2020 14.00 -16.00 CEST Remote participation Tweet #spatialproductivity Organised by the OECD Trento Centre The OECD Spatial Productivity Lab (SPL) The OECD Spatial Productivity Lab (SPL) is a dedicated research laboratory that works with local and global partners to advance knowledge about the ways regional policy and a better understanding of spatial links can improve productivity growth and thereby the creation of better jobs and well-being. The OECD Spatial Productivity Lab is a part of the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development, which is an integral part of the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities. The mission of the Trento Centre is to build capacities for local development in OECD member and non-member countries, working directly with policy makers at all levels of government. Focus of this meeting The world changed by COVID-19: Policy, economy, society The impacts of the global Covid-19 pandemic are highly localised. What are the regional dimensions of the crisis - from economy to policy to society - and how will regions emerge from the current crisis? Profound economic effects of the spread of coronavirus are already sorely felt across the world. The geographic pattern of the impacts on regional economies will not necessarily follow the pattern of the virus hot spots. Indeed, both geography and sectoral specialisation play a key role. We will present analyses of the pandemic's labour impacts and regional policy responses together with a discussion of the ways to shape people's expectations. This information was used as a background for a conversation about structural spatial implications of the crisis going forward: What will be the most important economic consequences of the pandemic and what is the role of geography? How will the policy landscape change after the crisis in general and for the place-based policies in particular? What are the ways (for firms, industries, places) to manage the crisis and to seize the new opportunities? Participation The event was open to civil society and all people interested in the topic upon free registration. Speakers Joaquim OLIVEIRA MARTINS Deputy Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE), OECD Philip MCCANN Chair in Urban and Regional Economics, The University of Sheffield, UK Mattia CORBETTA Policy Analyst, OECD Trento Centre for Local Development Raquel ORTEGA-ARGILES Chair of Regional Economic Development, University of Birmingham, UK Alessandra PROTO Acting Head, OECD Trento Centre for Local Development Mirco TONIN Professor of Economic Policy and Vice Dean for Research, The Free Univesity of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy Alexandra TSVETKOVA Economist and Policy Analyst, OECD Trento Centre for Local Development Paolo VENERI Head of Regional Analysis and Statistics Unit, CFE, OECD --- OECD Trento Centre for Local Development & Productivity Insights Ntework Spatial productivity in the post-COVID-19 world The webinar represents the 12th Meeting of the OECD Spatial Productivity Lab 4 February 2020 15.00-18.15 CET (Rome time zone) Remote participation Website • Agenda • Registration • Contact WHO WE ARE The OECD Spatial Productivity Lab (SPL) is a dedicated research laboratory that works with local and global partners to advance knowledge about the ways regional policy and a better understanding of spatial links can improve productivity growth and thereby the creation of better jobs and well-being. The OECD Spatial Productivity Lab is a part of the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development, which is an integral part of the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities. The mission of the Trento Centre is to build capacities for local development in OECD member and non-member countries, working directly with policy makers at all levels of government. The Productivity Insights Network is a multi-disciplinary network of social science researchers engaged with public, private, and third sector partners. Its aim is to change the tone of the productivity debate in theory and practice. It is led by the University of Sheffield, with co-investigators at Oxford Brookes University, Cambridge Econometrics, Cardiff University, Durham University, University of Sunderland, SQW, University of Cambridge, University of Essex, University of Glasgow, University of Leeds and University of Stirling. WHAT WILL BE DISCUSSED As the world is changed by the pandemic, the mechanisms defining productivity of firms and regions are likely to be reshaped. What will stay the same and what will be different? How the crisis can be used as an opportunity to leap forward to a more productive, but also more inclusive, world with no places left behind? The webinar will offer an opportunity to explore these and other pressing questions through the lens of labour markets, regional innovation systems and resilience. SPEAKERS (in speaking order) Nadim AHMAD Deputy Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE), OECD Tim VORLEY Pro Vice-Chancellor & Dean of Oxford Brookes Business School & PIN co-director, UK Ekkehard ERNST Chief Macroeconomist, ILO Anne GREEN Professor of Regional Economic Development, University of Birmingham, UK Jen NELLES Visiting Associate Professor at Hunter College CUNY, US Rudiger AHREND Head of Economic Analysis, Statistics and Multi-Level Governance Section, CFE, OECD Igor LINKOV Senior Science and Technology Manager, US Army Corps of Engineers and Adjunct Professor, Carnegie Mellon University, US Philip MCCANN Chair in Urban and Regional Economics, The University of Sheffield, UK PARTICIPATION The event is open to civil society and all those interested in the topic upon free registration. To participate, please register here. Link with log-in details is sent to all registered participants. The webinar will be recorded. OECD Spatial Productivity Lab Partners |
| Impact | - Ongoing relationship - Recording of event (s) - Further collaboration in 2021 - event in Feb 2021 and ongoing support and engagement. - Promotion of our new book via OECD - IAB members within OECD |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | #PIN2019; BEIS Roundtable - 'Systems' (15 March 2019, London) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Following the #PIN2019 Conference on 13 March 2019, there were a series of additional events in Sheffield and further afield including the #PIN2019; 'BEIS Roundtable - Systems' held on 15 March 2019 in London in collaboration with Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Murray Sherwin (Chair of the New Zealand Productivity Commission) who provided one of the Keynotes at the Conference chaired the roundtable with BEIS. During this this workshop; the first provocation was provided by Jonathan Cook of SQW, he will reflect on a review of productivity in policy over the last 20 years. He highlights how the productivity narrative has waxed and waned, shifting from a goal implicit across sectoral policies to an explicit agenda embedded in the Industrial Strategy. Jen Nelles (City University New York), explores the prospect of a systems approach towards addressing the productivity puzzle in the second provocation. She argued that systems approaches can provide a way of understanding the intersections and interdependencies that influence productivity outcomes, and focuses on how this can be approached through experimental governance and policy. Murray Sherwin, the chair of the New Zealand Productivity Commission and former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, discussed productivity policy from an international perspective and share his thoughts on what UK productivity policy design needs to consider. Following the BEIS Roundtable, a tweet was circulated by one of the attendees at the roundtable, which caught the attention of a colleague within the Northern Ireland Department of Education, which went on form the basis of a Tobin event with the NI DfE in September 2019. Further impact from this event is expected. As a project, 'systems' was funded as a targeted responsive project and will be in duration for four months, with the support of an intern to work with Jen Nelles on this topic. From the interesting discussion within the September Tobin Event, it is hoped that this will form the basis of an impact case study. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/portfolio/pin2019/ |
| Description | #PIN2020 Reframing the Debate Conference/Webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | PIN were due to host the second annual conference in Sheffield on 1 April 2020. Before the national lockdown was announced, the team made the decision to move the event online, which proved to be the right call given the circumstances which followed. "Reframing the Debate" - PIN2020 Webinar on 1 April 2020, 12:00 - 14:00 (GMT) We are delighted that many of the key speakers expected for the PIN2020 Conference, including Lord Jim O'Neill (Chair of the PIN International Advisory Board), Andrew Haldane (Bank of England) and Robert Atkinson (ITIF), as well as panellists Tera Allas CBE (McKinsey & Company), Lord Bob Kerslake (Chair of the UK2070 commission, member of the House of Lords), Ashwin Kumar (Economist. Professor of Social Policy at Manchester Metropolitan University, Former Chief Economist at Joseph Rowntree Foundation) and Chris Giles (Financial Times), have kindly agreed to deliver an online discussion on 1 April 2020 from 12:00 - 14:00 (GMT) that you will be invited to participate in digitally so please keep the date in your diary. Details of this exciting event are provided below; You are invited to a Zoom webinar. When: Apr 1, 2020 12:00 (London GMT) Topic: "Reframing the Debate" - PIN2020 Webinar Please register in advance for this webinar: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8vcVJRyBQGeNp5M0_Yv4nQ After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. We do hope to see as many of you as possible at the online event in place of the conference and look forward to confirming more speakers and panellists from our lineup in due course. Many of the Panel members were able to commit to joining the online event and the Webinar reached 380+ attendees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://youtu.be/GollYSnklv0 |
| Description | 2 day ECR Sandpit event #1 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On 18th and 19th October 2018 the Productivity Insights Network will host a 'sandpit' style event for ECRs to develop proposals for new directions in productivity research. The two-day event will include roundtable debates and panel discussions with leading academics, policymakers and business leaders about the big questions and emerging issues for productivity researchers. The broad aims of the sandpit are to generate research proposals from ECRs which can: • advance understanding of the productivity puzzle in the UK • address the key research challenges that are identified • identify a common and cross cutting approach in the social sciences • facilitate interactions between ECRs The sandpit is aimed at ECRs working in the field of productivity from across the social sciences, but would welcome applications from other disciplines. Early Career Researchers are broadly defined as within 4 years of PhD submission or having held an academic position for less than 4years (full-time equivalent). We are open to applications from PhD candidates writing up (with written permission from their PhD supervisor). Anyone funded through the ECRC is not eligible for PIN funding. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | 2 day ECR Sandpit event #2 March 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | ECR Sandpit 1 (18th & 19th Oct) Input and coaching from: ESRC, OECD, Managing Partners Forum, PIN Co-Directors and CO-Is Pitches led to seedcorn funding for 5 individuals/teams The broad aims of the sandpit are to generate research proposals from ECRs which can: • advance understanding of the productivity puzzle in the UK • address the key research challenges that are identified • identify a common and cross cutting approach in the social sciences • facilitate interactions between ECRs ECR Sandpit 2 (13th & 14th March) Sandpit Aim To enable ECRs to make a contribution to the UK's productivity puzzle by supporting their bid preparation ability, sharing cutting edge research and bringing together a network of promising academics. Sandpit Objectives • Highlight the range of issues contributing to the productivity puzzle through input from international experts • Facilitate discussion on how personal research interests align with the themes and issues presented during the conference • Provide guidance from leading academics in the field on best practice for preparing bids • To provide information on future funding opportunities, including PIN's upcoming open funding call. Sandpit Outcomes • Participants will gain input and insights from internationally acclaimed thinkers within the productivity field • Participants will align their own research interests to the emergent and topical productivity research areas • Participants will take part in one to one and small group discussions about personal research interests and bid preparation |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Andy Henley/Colin Mason - Scottish Government Seminar (18 December 2019, Glasgow) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Andy Henley/Colin Mason provided the forth seminar on 'Small Business Growth and Productivity', and 'Productivity and the UK's deficiency in scale-ups' in the Scottish Government Series. Further to the seminar itself. Andy and Colin were also invited to meet with Colin MacBean (Deputy Director for Enterprise and Innovation, Scottish Government) in advance of the seminar. This is an interesting opportunity for both colleagues and for the Network in general. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | April 2020 Newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | April 2020 Contents: We hope you are all keeping well given the current climate. We hope you enjoy this update from the ESRC-funded Productivity Insights Network. If you would like further information on any of the updates below, please do get in touch. Just a reminder that the discount code offer will end tomorrow, Thursday 30th April 2020. If you want to order a copy of the Productivity Perspectives book at the discounted price of only £15 with code 'CANN15' - Please order soon! Further details on ordering your copy here - Previous Events - Reframing the Debate - PIN2020 Webinar Thank you to all those who attended including our fabulous line up of speakers which included: Andrew G Haldane (Chief Economist at the Bank of England), Dr. Robert D. Atkinson (President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation), Lord Jim O'Neill (Chair of the Productivity Insights Network's International Advisory Board), Chris Giles (Economics editor, Financial Times), Tera Allas CBE (Director of Research and Economics in McKinsey's UK and Ireland Office), Lord Bob Kerslake (Chair of the UK2070 Commission) aand Professor Ashwin Kumar (Professor of Social Policy in the Policy Evaluation Research Unit at Manchester Metropolitan University and former Chief Economist for Joseph Rowntree Foundation). The PIN2020 Webinar was a huge success on 1 April 2020 with over 325 registered attendees. Requesting Feedback - We would appreciate your time in completing the short feedback questionnaire via Google Forms, using the following link. There are less than 10 questions for your attention, if you have a few minutes to spare - your views would be greatly received. If you were unable to make it or want to listen in again, the recording will be available soon! Keep an eye on our twitter feed for details. - Upcoming Events PIN International Advisory Board Member, Dr Joaquim Oliveria Martins and Productivity Insights Network's co-director, Professor Philip McCann are speakers at the upcoming "Spatial productivity for regional and local development" Webinar on the 7 May 2020. What are the regional dimensions of the COVID19 crisis - from economy to policy to society - and how will regions emerge from the current crisis? Join the 8th OECD Spatial Productivity Lab meeting on 7 May at 14:00 CEST. Register by 5 May. - Fancy joining us for a virtual Coffee? Join leading experts in the field for a virtual coffee in our upcoming webinar sessions, launching in May 2020. We will be hosting a number of webinars with various members of the Network providing a forum for online discussion relating to key topics and themes within their area(s) of interest. More details to follow. - Recent Publications - Recent Blogs: In response to the current climate, some of our Co-Investigators and International Advisory Board members have prepared some of their personal* insights into the situation. UK - one of the most unequal countries when it comes to regional productivity - Ben Gardiner (Cambridge Econometrics) Regional capital stocks - a missing piece in the productivity puzzle - Ben Gardiner (Cambridge Econometrics) Explainer: the economics of the Coronavirus pandemic - Richard Lewney (Cambridge Econometrics) The return of the Fourth Horseman: How the current pandemic might re-shape our world - Ekkehard Ernst Lessons of Covid-19 - Lord O'Neill How will COVID-19 affect productivity in the UK? - Richard Harris (Durham University) Lessons from the past: how might productivity policy learn from the policy changes of the past 20 years - Jonathan Cook (SQW Ltd) One Way Ticket? - Iain Docherty (University of Stirling) and Tom Forth (ODI Leeds) - Upcoming Blogs: Continuing the response to the pandemic and the economic and social impacts, we continue to publish material from within the network. Comments from Andrew Henley (Cardiff University) on Small Business in the Time of Covid-19 - coming soon! claim to be the opinion of their relevant University, the Network or our funder, the ESRC. - New Project Reports: Adam Leaver's Targeted Small Grant Executive Summary and Full Project Report have been published and are now available along with their supporting data. Read the documentation here. There is also a blog by Richard Murphy to support the project work; link available here. - Call for Papers: Social Work & Social Sciences Review - An International Journal of Applied Research. Call for Papers for the Special Issue: Reforming the Public Sector: Professionalism, Productivity and Entrepreneurship. Please see the call flyer here. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/575acc14a45c/april-696000 |
| Description | April 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The PIN newsletter has over 330+ subscribers and monthly updates are sent. In 2021, we started a number of 'feature' articles to showcase some of our successful projects and the impacts from them. In April 2021 the newsletter feautured; - feature on Hadi Arbabi - new report and blog from Alan Hughes and Martin Spring on Management Practices and Productivity in SMEs. - shared blog from commonwealth which comments on the work of Craig Berry which was a targetted small project. - details of the next Scottish Governement collaboaraion in May with Andrew Henley and Tim Vorley on Implications and impacts of the COVID-19 on Micro-Business Resilience and Tiago Botelho and Colin Mason on Building Back Greener: Business Angel Investing in Green Ventures. The events are internal only to the Scottish Goverment as part of their staff development programme. - Details of the upcoming OECD SPL event in May. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/8c67f4f98a48/april2021 |
| Description | Association of American Geographers (AAG Annual Meeting) - 3 April 2019, in Washington DC, USA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Network attended the AAG Annual Conference in Washington in April 2019 and some of the PIN Co-Is alongside the Co-Directors provided some insights within two sessions as part of the event. The schedule and session titles are included below. Rethinking the Productivity Puzzle Session 1 Professor Philip McCann 08:00 Regional Productivity Inequalities and the Geography of Discontent Professor Leaza McSorley 08:20 Regional Productivity: Wage Inequality and Inclusive Growth Professor Duncan Maclennan 08:40 Pressured Metropolitan Housing Markets; Evidence for the Productivity Consequences of Housing Affordability Difficulties. Professor Raquel Argiles Ortega and Dr Tasos Kitsos 09:00 Digital economy in the UK regions: the effects for early adopters Rethinking the Productivity Puzzle Session 2 Professor Gary Dymski 09:55 The contradictory spatial logic of macro austerity and industrial strategy: Regional fiscal crisis, the care economy, and the UK productivity paradox Professor Vania Sena 10:15 Innovation and UK High-Growth Firms Professor Simon Collinson 10:35 Inputs, outputs and impacts: how relevant are regions to firm-level productivity (and vice-versa)? Professor Tim Vorley 10:55 Factors Affecting SME Productivity: A Systematic Review and Research Following the event, the Network was also involved in a number of additional opportunities in Washington including collaboration with the Brookings Institute, and World Bank meetings. Which were key in spreading the PIN name and aims to wider, international audiences within an international Research institute and international financial organisation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://news.aag.org/event/aag-annual-meeting-washington-dc-2019/ |
| Description | August 2020 Newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | August 2020 Contents: Welcome to PIN's August newsletter. We have some interesting reads for you this month, including PIN Co-Director Philip McCann's piece in The Economist on 'Why Britain is more geographically unequal than any other rich country'. We have three highly topical reports to share with you from our funded projects including the impact of mental health on the business performance of SMES, how do high growth firms stay resilient and the relationship between non-standard work and productivity. The reports make for interesting reading and you can find the most recent publications in the newsletter below and also on our webpages here: https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/publications/ You can also listen again to our responsive Covid-19 webinars (link below) that cover a range of fascinating and far-reaching topics affecting productivity. We hope that you enjoy this month's newsletter and that you continue to keep and safe and well. We would like to thank everyone whose work is featured here and we hope that you enjoy reading and listening! Previous Events - - f you missed these the first time around, or want to listen again, they are available on our YouTube Channel - subscribe to be kept up to date. COVID Webinars Playlist (Feedback - We would appreciate your time in completing the short feedback questionnaire regarding the webinar(s), via Google Forms, using the following link. There are fewer than 10 questions for your attention, if you have a moment to spare - your views would be greatly received.) - The next webinar - We will be back in September with the next webinar. Join Professor Mirko Draca and Dr Emma Duchini for their upcoming webinar on 24 September 2020 at noon. "Future Shocked? AI, Skill Demand and Employment in the UK Labour Market" With Mirko Draca*, Emma Duchini*, Arthur Turrell^ and Giulia Vattuone* *Warwick University ^Bank of England. Presenter: Mirko Draca How extensively have artificial intelligence (AI) technologies been adopted by UK firms? And what effects might the adoption of AI be having on the UK labour market? In this work, we use the Burning Glass online job vacancies database for the UK to measure the demand for AI skills over the period from 2012-2019. We relate AI adoption to occupational structure at the company level to test whether the adoption of AI follows a distinct pattern relative to other high-skill technologies. As part of this, we contrast AI to software and robotics, as well as testing for employment effects of AI adoption. - upcoming OECD Webinar - During the Covid-19 outbreak work from home has spread from an occasional to a mass solution. How has this affected mobility, productivity & wellbeing? Join The Spatial Productivity Lab at the OECD Trento Centre & The Regional Studies Association for the upcoming webinar; "The new reality of teleworking: People, firms, places | 9th SPL meeting", 3 September 2020, 15.30 -17.00 CEST. - Recent Publications, Recent project reports - Analysing Resilience in High Growth Firms at the Onset of the Covid-19 Crisis. In this project, the research team from the University of Edinburgh, with project lead Alessandro Rosiello, investigated the characteristics of high growth firms that make them more resilient to the economic downturn caused by COVID-19. Are those with experience of sustained growth, innovation, able to avoid disruption to their supply chain, and exporting better placed to deal with the effects of the pandemic? The research team engaged with over 565 participants and used both qualitative and quantitative data to uncover important findings. - Non-Standard Work and Productivity-Is there a Connection? Productivity growth rates in the UK have long been a focus of public policy and academic debate, but the flatlining of labour productivity since 2010 and the current pandemic has brought new urgency to the subject. This report from Peter Nolan and Nikolaus Hammer from the University of Leicester, Sian Moore from the University of Greenwich and Kirsty Newsome and Edward Yates at the University of Sheffield examines how recent structural changes in labour markets and workplaces, and `new' labour utilisation practices, may have impacted productivity. The specific aim is to illuminate the nature, diversity and significance of non-standard work in three industries - fast fashion, retail and service delivery. - Understanding the Impact of Mental Health and Wellbeing on Business Performance in Small and Medium Enterprises. A team of interdisciplinary researchers led by Soumyadeb Chowdhury from Aston University aimed to better understand the link between individual wellbeing, SMEs and productivity. They adopted a three-stage approach and mixed methods for the project which involved a total of 9 researchers from 5 universities in the UK. After the three stages of research, they found that mental health and wellbeing do indeed have a very significant impact on productivity. Find out more about the projects and read additional supporting documentation on our Productivity Insights Network Webpages here. - In Other News Professor Philip McCann featured in the Economist in a recent article "Regional inequality in Britain. Why Britain is more geographically unequal than any other rich country" Read the article in full here: https://www.economist.com/britain/2020/07/30/why-britain-is-more-geographically-unequal-than-any-other-rich-country Productivity Institute The ESRC has now announced its new £37 Million investment the 'Productivity Institute'. Read the announcement in full. Opportunity with BEIS We would like to bring your attention to the following opportunity for 3x 6-month secondment to BEIS (October 2020 onwards). BEIS is offering 3 secondments for academic researchers, to provide expert input into the work of the Industrial Strategy Council, in the following areas: Building the evidence on successful local growth policy The role of the Industrial Strategy in driving behavioural change to deliver Clean Growth An evidence review: Trade, Investment, and Industrial Policy The specification and full details are available here. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/89ac7cd23f44/august |
| Description | August 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The PIN newsletter has over 330+ subscribers and monthly updates are sent. In 2021, we started a number of 'feature' articles to showcase some of our successful projects and the impacts from them. The August newsletter featured; - reports and working papers for you to read from our Co-Investigators; Global Supply Chains, Skills and Resilience After Covid-19 Graduate retention rate across UK cities and regions - a longitudinal analysis Entrepreneurial Innovation and the Pandemic: Cities, Competitiveness and Resilience Business Angel Investing During the Covid-19 Economic Crisis: Evidence from Scotland - link to the upcoming PrOPEL Hub event |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/161eb555a2f2/august2021 |
| Description | Blog: Daniel Kopasker and Catia Montagna (University of Aberdeen): Employers and Employees Can Benefit from Reducing Insecure Employment (18/12/2019) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Daniel Kopasker (University of Aberdeen) and one of the Network's ECR success stories, provides a blog on 'Employers and Employees Can Benefit from Reducing Insecure Employment' which discusses the findings of their recent Productivity Insights Network project which conveys a very clear message: job security is good for business. There have been a number of similar findings, such as referenced by Daniel in that the Business in the Community hosted a roundtable event that brought together employers and HR professionals to discuss the incentives to provide secure employment. The title of the event, like their findings demonstrates that the link between job security and productivity is evident. Daniel's work also alludes to many of the other topical projects within the Network portfolio such as mental health at work and the impact of job security on employees wellbeing which closely links to the work of Professor Karina Nielsen's PIN funded Pioneer, 'Thriving at work'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2019/12/employers-and-employees-can-benefit-from-reducing-... |
| Description | Blog: Advancing the Debate (#PIN2019) - Phil Wallace (University of Sheffield) March 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Following the #PIN2019 conference on 13 March 2019 - Phil Wallace (University of Sheffield) provided a blog on the key findings from the conference and 'Advancing the debate'. The blog provided a key summary and overview of the diverse audience, the keynotes and also provided a link to the live commentary on the Twitter Wall. The Summary of the Keynotes and discussions within the blog also presented some key videos of the live-action on the day. The blog also reiterates the theme of creating connections and multi-disciplinary working to break down silos, by announcing the second round of the #pieceofthepuzzle campaign, which launched at the conference and notes the upcoming book publication "Productivity Perspectives". The blog also takes time to provide delegate conversations on the topics discussed and ongoing conversations advancing the productivity debate; This included comments from Sonali Parekh (Head of Policy, Federation of Small businesses) and Andrew Williams (Partner, Maisha & co). The intended purpose of the blog was to provide an overview and summary of the PIN Conference, high light the key topics and discussions within as well as advertising the upcoming funding opportunities launched within the conference and highlight the upcoming publication from the network of the upcoming book; featuring chapters written by the pin Co-Directors and the PIN Co-Investigators on their thematic gap analysis of 'Productivity'. The main impact of the blog was that it reached all attendees and those who were unable to attend the conference and outlined the main actions and matters arising from the conference; leading to more interest in the Network (for example more newsletter sign-ups, more clicks on the website and the twitter feed and more requests to link with the Network from relevant parties that may or may not have existing links within the Network and the wider audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2019/04/advancing-the-debate-pin2019/ |
| Description | Blog: Are Britain's Regional Divides Large or Small? A Response to Chris Giles - Philip McCann (Univrsity of Sheffield) May 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Following the release of Chris Giles' piece "Britain's Regional Divide is Smaller than it First Appears", Financial Times 9 May 2019. Philip McCann provides a blog in response. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2019/05/britains-regional-divides/ |
| Description | Blog: Being an early career researcher within the Productivity Insights Network - Daniel Kopasker (University of Aberdeen) May 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Following his involvement in the Network's Early Career Researchers' opportunities, Daniel Kopasker provides a blog his ECR experience as part of the Network, drawing on his engagement with the PIN2019 Conference and also the events for ECR colleagues led by Professor Leaza McSorley which have provided a 'sandpit' to develop research proposals with researchers from various disciplines and a grant-writing workshop, was designed to ensure that research ideas were communicated in a way, which would maximise the chances of acquiring funding. Daniel notes that the the aim of the ECR engagement was to provide an open forum to progress in the relevant areas using the expertise of researchers in these areas and the opportunities to provide feedback from experienced colleagues. The success of the events is highlighted as many of the ECR colleagues, including Daniel, have gone on to be funded as one of the portfolio of projects (Small and Pioneer) and these projects have had significant impact for the Network and for the Productivity Puzzle. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2019/05/being-an-early-career-researcher-within-the-produc... |
| Description | Blog: Distorting Local Productivity Data? Reflections on Fothergill and Beatty - Maria Abreu (University of Cambridge) and Tim Vorley (University of Sheffield) July 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Following the publication of a controversial report by Steve Fothergill and Christina Beatty (available here), Maria Abreu (University of Cambridge) and Tim Vorley (University of Sheffield) respond to, review and scrutinise their conclusions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2019/07/distorting-local-productivity-data-reflections-on-... |
| Description | Blog: Dr Lara Pecis (Lancaster University) Harnessing productivity through inclusive innovation in the North West (19/02/2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Based on her PIN Small Project, Dr Lara Pecis (Lancaster University) provide us with a blog discussing the regional growth, its variations and inequalities. Focusing on the North West Lara provides some interesting insights in to these issues as well as more complex issues within inclusive innovation and indeed entrepreneurship, in terms of gender and race. Lara also produced a series of blogs throughout the duration of the project which are also available to view: http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/inclusive-innovation/ |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/02/harnessing-productivity-through-inclusive-innovati... |
| Description | Blog: Dr Vicki Belt - The time has come to sharpen the focus on productivity (October 2019) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Dr Vicki Belt (Deputy Director, Enterprise Research Centre) provided a blog following the PIN/Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) event held at The Shard in London on 1 October 2019. The blog addresses some of the key issues surrounding productivity and context it sits within. Dr Belt provides an overview of the event and its speakers and an insight into the key discussion that took place within the event. #The blog also directs the reader to the workshop presentations in order to gain more information on the talks that took place on the day from speakers including, Philip McCann (PIN Co-Director), Nigel Driffield (Warwick Business School), Stephen Roper (Director of the ERC), Remitope Akinremi (Research Fellow at the ERC) and Katy Jones (Manchester Metropolitan University, and also one of the project leads on a PIN funded project). Following the event and the blog, the network are looking to develop with work with the ERC further in order to continue the work which is looking at the 'meanings of productivity and 'Making sense of productivity research across sectors and scales'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2019/10/sharpeningthefocus/ |
| Description | Blog: Early Career Researchers Changing the Tone of the Debate - Kate Penney (University of Sheffield) April 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Following the #PIN2019 Conference and related events week including an ECR event, Kate Penney (University of Sheffield) provided a blog on the role of the Early Career Researcher (ECR) in 'changing the tone of the debate'. The blog provides an overview of the second ECR workshop in Sheffield following the Conference and the range of insights, lively debate and discussion the sandpit attendees heard from Lukas Nüse and Armando García Schmidt from the Inclusive Productivity project at Bertelsmann-stiftung, an organisation whose programmes deal with the challenges that result from globalization, demographic change and the growing diversity of Germany's population. The event went on to include a bid writing development workshop. As a Network, applications for funding have been received from ECR colleagues in the first round of open funding and therefore wanted to provide additional support for ECRs to help to assist bid writing as it can be difficult for early career colleagues when they are bidding against those with far more experience in the field and in bid writing. This was a key area that the Network wanted to address in order to encourage further applications for the recently launched second round of funding for Pioneer and Small projects and indeed any other funding that may open in due course. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2019/04/ecrs2/ |
| Description | Blog: Iain Docherty on HS2; "All aboard the great high speed experiment" (3 March 2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Iain Docherty provides a topical commentary on the proposed High-Speed Rail 2. Referencing some of the work by one of our funded researchers' Tom Forth, the blog highlights some key points on this topic which is wider-reaching across the broad network as it is of interest to the public as a known topical, societal issue as well as experts in transport and infrastructure. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/03/all-aboard-the-great-high-speed-experiment/ |
| Description | Blog: Katy Jones - Universal Credit and In-Work Conditionality - a productive turn? (October 2019) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Dr Katy Jones provided a blog with respect to Universal Credit and In-Work Conditionality - the basis of Katy Jones' research and PIN funded projects. The blog was published at the time of the release of the Executive Summary and the final report for the PIN funded project. This was also tweeted which has increased the 'traffic' to the blog, and the reports. In addition, Katy Jones also provided a workshop at similar time which also opened up more requests for the newsletter and for information in line with the release of the reports and blog. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2019/10/blog-universal-credit-and-in-work-conditionality-a... |
| Description | Blog: Neha Prashar on the Productivuty Insights Netowrk 'Speical Sessions' in Cambridge, 17 July 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Productivity Insights Network was thrilled to provide a special session within the Regional Science Association International - British and Irish Section (RSAI-BIS) Conference, held in Cambridge 16-18 July with the PIN sessions on the 17th July 2019. Neha Prashar provides an overview of the session by PIN and it's associated projects and also breaks down each of the aspects presented by Network members into the key analysis points from each individual talk with an overall round-up of the sessions to end the blog. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2019/08/cambridge-special-sessions-rsaibis2019/ |
| Description | Blog: Solving the productivity puzzle: What is needed to support workers with common mental disorders stay at work and be productive after long-term sickness absence? Karina Nielsen (University of Sheffield) July 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Following the pioneer project funded by the Productivity Insights Network and in partnership with Affinity Health at work, Karina Nielsen 9University of Sheffield) prepared the following blog which links to the findings from this project. This also links to a Vlog prepared by Jo Yarker (Affinity Health at Work). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2019/07/thrivingatwork/ |
| Description | Blog: Stephen Boyd (Scottish Government) Beyond the silver bullet approach to raising productivity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Stephen Boyd (Scottish Government) provided us with a blog to highlight some of the key findings from the internal series of events in collaboration with the Scottish Government. Initiated by Leaza McSorley and Iain Docherty. The seminars are providing an excellent opportunity to consider ways in which current research and analysis can help inform policies aimed at raising productivity growth in a manner that is consistent with the Scottish Government's wider policy priorities on sustainability, wellbeing and fair work. All have stimulated much useful discussion and debate. The seminars have been running from October 2019 and will run through to March 2020 initially, however, talks are ongoing opportunities are continuing, with a number of our Co-Is including Gary Dymski, and others who also has links in the Scottish Government. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/02/beyond-the-silver-bullet-approach-to-raising-produ... |
| Description | Blog: The value of adopting a systems approach to the productivity puzzle - Tim Vorley (Univeristy of Sheffield) and Jen Nelles (University of Sheffield) May 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Linked to the Evidence Review 'From Silos to Systems: Insights and Implications for Productivity Policy' prepared by Professor Tim Vorley and Dr Jen Nelles (University of Sheffield/City University of New York), a blog was prepared on the systems approach to productivity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2019/05/the-value-of-adopting-a-systems-approach-to-the-pr... |
| Description | Blogs: Hadi Arbabi: Reframing Inter-City Transport and Agglomeration Potential |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The purpose of this blog was to engage with the existing research of one of the Network's Early Career Researchers (Dr Hadi Arbabi, in the Department of Civil & Structural Engineering at The University of Sheffield). Dr Arbabi presents some of the latest comments on productivity in terms of Reframing Inter-City Transport and Agglomeration Potentials'. This reached a wide audience through the Network's webpages and through tweeting that the post had been listed. The impact from this post was that more research in this area was then noted and developments in this area have been made. Dr Arbabi has also been involved in submitting a number of proposals for funding, As yet, his proposals have not been funded but we hope to engage Hadi further through support for ECRs by the Network to give guidance on submitting proposals and developing his research so that if another funding call is opened another submission can be welcomed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2019/04/reframing-inter-city-transport-and-agglomeration-p... |
| Description | Blogs: Jill McBryde - Let's talk productivity (August 2019) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Professor Jill MacBryde (Stratchclyde) and one of the Networks Porject leads oon a PIN funded project, provides a blog in relation to the completed project by her team; Pioneer Project team: Professor Jillian MacBryde (University of Strathclyde), Dr. Helen Mullen (University of Strathclyde)Professor Peter Ball (University of York), Professor Palie Smart (University of Bristol), Professor Ben Clegg (Aston University). Dr. Stella Despoudi (Aston University), Dr. Donato Masi (Aston University). With a focus on Manufacturing, the team have completed a project in relation to "Unpicking the productivity narrative in manufacturing organisations". The blog goes on to explain the nature of the research and some of the methodology employed in order to question the narrative of productivity within the specific industry of manufacturing. th blog complements the Project Report provided and published around the same time by the team by providing an overarching summary of the work completed and a hint at the findings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2019/08/lets-talk-productivity/ |
| Description | Blogs: Jonathan Boys - Getting rich slowly: how to achieve sustainable earnings growth (September 2019) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Jonathan Boys (Labour Market Economist at the CIPD) provides a blog for the network with regards to 'Getting rich slowly: how to achieve sustainable earnings growth'. Jonathan Boys uses the data from the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures from September 2019 to provide a commentary on sustainable growth and related matters; such as average earnings, compound interest and workplace focus. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2019/09/getting-rich-slowly-how-to-achieve-sustainable-ear... |
| Description | Blogs: Kate Penney - Calling all researchers; a new PIN funding opportunity (August 2019) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Kate Penney provided a blog on the open call for Targeted Small Grants (TSG). The blog provides an overview of the network, its aims, it' funded projects to date and the areas of research that have been focused on so far. The blog explains that the gaps and themes for the projects are also provided from the International Advisory Board. The areas that the TSG are to focus on are; Sustainability, infrastructure and/or land use, and, UK business investment (including financialisation) behaviour. The Network welcomes applications from interdisciplinary and inter-organisational research teams. Kate goes on to describe the themes in more detail and provides the deadline of the call (30 September 2019) and the value and duration of the call which is £10K projects over 4months ideally. Queries are directed to the productivity@sheffield.ac.uk. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2019/08/targetedfunds/ |
| Description | Book Launch - Productivity Perspectives (Online 01.04.2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The first publication from the NW+ the 360+ Page book written by the PIN Co-Investigators and edited by the Co-directors Philip McCann and Tim Vorley was released in March/April 2020. The launch was scheduled for the PIN 2020 Conference, where the publishers Edward Elgar were to attend and have a table stall with copies of the book and pre-orders available. However, due to the impacts of the pandemic and the move to host the PIN2020 Conference online, the book launch was also moved online. The book was referenced throughout the conference and a dedicated page added to the PIN Webpages and a social media campaign set up regarding the book launch and the promotional discount offered by the publishers was vastly advertised. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/portfolio/productivity-perspectives/ |
| Description | Brookings Institute Meeting in Washington DC (8 April 2019) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As part of the Productivity Insights Network visit to Washington for the Association of American Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting in Washingon in April 2019, the team who attended; Leaza McSorley (University of Sunderland), Vania Sena (University of Essex), Tim Vorley (University of Sheffield), Kirsty Newsome (University of Sheffield) and Philip McCann (University of Sheffield) also were able to schedule both a meeting with the Brookings Institute and also the World Bank, whilst in the US. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | CBI Dinner (13 May 2019) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Take the opportunity to get informed first-hand about the very latest policy, political and business insights impacting your business at this exclusive event. Attend and you will: • Join Matthew Fell, CBI Chief Policy Director and be part of an expert led discussion that will address the key issues and challenges affecting the economy • Access up-to-the-minute intelligence from compelling senior speakers • Connect with like-minded individuals that are experiencing similar challenges in today's business environment Why you should attend? This event is strictly for CBI members, with a maximum of 20 places. All tickets will be allocated by the CBI. Simply make your interest to attend known by 'booking a ticket'. We apologise in advance if we cannot accommodate your request to attend on this occasion. The CBI will confirm ticketing allocations by personal email. --- Attendees included: Andrew Hartley (Business Development Director, The Sheffield College), Andy Clarke (Public Affairs Adviser, ASDA Stores Ltd), Angela Foulkes (Principal, The Sheffield College), Bill Walker (Director, Strategic Relationships, University of Hull), Craig Chorley (Head of Sales Construction, Omya UK Limited), Dave Dalton (Chief Executive Officer, British Glass Manufacturers' Confederation), John Sutcliffe (CEO, Henry Boot Plc), Julia Szajdzicka (Managing Director, ND Metering Solutions) Lee Collinson (Corporate Director, Barclays Corporate) Pat Woodfield (Director of People and Culture, Dimensions), Paul Wainwright (Head of Customer Banking, Yorkshire Bank), Rufus Meakin (Head of Business Development, MSC R&D Ltd) Tom Draper (Employment Director - Sheffield, Freeths Solicitors) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.cbi.org.uk/events/in-discussion-with-matthew-fell-cbi-chief-policy-director-2/ |
| Description | Capital Shocks and Cities: Unifying Mills, Wheaton and Zipf a new paper introduced by Professor Philip McCann in lunchtime webinar (October 2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Capital Shocks and Cities: Unifying Mills, Wheaton and Zipf a new paper introduced by Professor Philip McCann, Our lunchtime webinar this month was presented by PIN Co-Director Professor Philip McCann who introduced his latest research on Capital Shocks and Cities: Unifying Mills, Wheaton and Zipf Mills argued that economic structure should influence how cities are perceived by investors, and this implies that risk-return profiles should favour growth in particular localities. In contrast, Wheaton has argued that efficient capital markets correctly price these issues in, so that structure does appear to really matter. In addition, Zipf's Law suggests that city growth is independent of size. How are we to reconcile these three differing views? In order to demonstrate how these three views are interconnected, this paper examines the patterns of real estate investment risks across US office clusters and cities between 2000-2014. Using a uniquely-detailed dataset we see that during the years prior to the global financial crisis real estate risks were distributed across places in a manner which was broadly consistent with an efficient market driving interregional convergence. Investment risks were largely equivalent in large and small places, and in core and peripheral locations. In contrast, the shock effects of the crisis sent everything into reverse. During the post-crisis period, investment yields rose for smaller, economically weaker, and non-core locations, as investor strategies became dominated by a 'flight to safety'. The biggest 'winners' from these capital shocks were the city centres of the largest and most prosperous cities, and these capital reallocations provide a rationale for why the major cities have become so economically dominant in the US interregional system. Philip was joined by his collaborators Michiel Daams, Paolo Veneri, and a lively Question and Answer chaired by PIN Co-I Dr Ben Gardiner followed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc5qXRzgoksbxpCd9vjKvwgQ878at07bk |
| Description | Cardiff Business School, Business Breakfast: Professor Andrew Henley; Tuesday 13th November |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | In this Breakfast Briefing, Professor Andrew Henley, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Economics at Cardiff Business School, shared some of the work of the ESRC funded Productivity Insights Network of which Cardiff is part of along with six other leading universities led by the University of Sheffield. He was joined by Katherine Kent, Head of Productivity Statistics at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Allan Meek, Director of SCS Group and Cardiff Business School Entrepreneur-in-Residence. Together they explored the different dimensions of the UK Productivity problem and then they will begin to suggest what we can collectively do about it. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.eventsforce.net/cbs/frontend/reg/thome.csp?pageID=100612&eventID=413&traceRedir=2 |
| Description | Centre for Tendering News Release |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Centre for Tendering had a news release in June 2020. Use procurement to ease small firms' COVID woes, government urged 25 June 2020|Press release News release 23 June 2020 ? Coronavirus shock to small and medium-sized enterprises could be mitigated through smarter business support for tendering ? But despite Government ambition to spend a third of procurement budgets with SMEs, 'labyrinthine complexity' of processes deters small firms ? Report finds enterprise ecosystem in Greater Manchester fails to equip firms with the skills and support to learn successful tendering ? Centre for Tendering offering free webinars for procurement and regional development professionals to tackle systemic problems National and local government should use their spending power to help struggling small firms recover from the shock of COVID-19, enterprise experts have urged. But in a new report, the Centre for Tendering has warned that public bodies must do far more to streamline "labyrinthine" procurement processes and equip small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the skills needed for successful bids. Despite a government target to spend one-thirdof public procurement budgets with SMEs by 2022, the report's authors, looking in detail at the situation in Greater Manchester, found that practical support for small firms eager to tender was "sparse" and split across dozens of public bodies. Similar problems existed nationwide, they added. According to the report, commissioned by the national Productivity Insights Network, procurement is unduly complex and fails to support firms to navigate the process, instead offering mainly "fragmented pieces of dry technical help". Firms are typically unable to engage in dialogue with public bodies to ask questions and a lack of formal peer support made tendering a "lonely journey". Together, these barriers mean that most SMEs are effectively excluded from public sector supply chains, limiting firms' growth and stifling competition and innovation. This serves to hamper regional economic and social development, the report argues. The Centre for Tendering is holding a free webinar for regional development and public procurement professionals next week to address the problem. The session will explore the issues faced by SMEs, highlight examples of best practice among successful firms and suggest areas of improvement for public bodies and commissioned business support. The plight of SMEs was highlighted by a recent survey of 3,700 UK firms by business insurance brokers Simply Business that estimated the total cost to smaller firms from coronavirus disruption at £69bn, with as many as two-fifths of firms at risk of permanent closure. A report earlier this year by procurement analysts Tussell found that across the UK public sector buyers spent £93bn with private suppliers in 2019. But the study found that only 12% of overall contract value went to SMEs - with 34 large 'strategic suppliers' receiving more in cash terms than 9,000 SMEs. Julia Rouse, Professor of Entrepreneurship at Manchester Metropolitan University and co-founder of the Centre for Tendering, said: "Small firms have been knocked sideways by the economic impact of COVID-19. As a country, we're now facing a long recovery period which many SMEs are unlikely to survive without active help. "Public bodies can be part of the solution. But for that to happen, we need central government, local and combined authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and others to reform overly-complex procurement practices and equip small firms with the capability to tender. "Our dashboard of priorities makes recommendations for how regions can review and improve their enterprise ecosystems to be small-business friendly." Dr Paula Turner, co-founder of the Centre for Tendering, added: "Greater Manchester has a well-developed enterprise ecosystem by national standards, but even here we found fragmentation and confusion, with only very patchy support for SMEs looking to tender for public contracts. "The government has made clear that it wants to spend £1 in every £3 of procurement with smaller firms. But this quite simply will not happen if those firms are put off by the labyrinthine complexity of the process." "It's a different language" - case study Chris Townsend, 26, who founded his Salford-based marketing agency What Marketing in 2016, said the public sector tender documents he'd encountered were often so complex they appeared to be "in a different language". Despite delivering projects for big brands including Boohoo and Coca Cola, the quality of past work sometimes seemed to have less weight than complying with policies such as gender pay gap reporting, which he said was not an issue in his seven-strong firm where staff are paid equally based on performance with no gender distinction. "It can be quite a dehumanising experience," said Chris, citing a recent experience of an NHS contract the firm had considered applying for. "When one of my colleagues asked what the KPIs [key performance indicators] for the contract were, she didn't get any response and then a few days later they just added a KPI sheet to the tender documentation. So you end up searching through pages and pages trying to see what's changed. It's a really old-fashioned way of doing things. They don't seem to want any kind of dialogue." In the end, after concluding the tender document alone would take up to two weeks' work, he decided not to bother applying. "We were deflated by all the red tape and that's time we need right now on client projects," said Chris. "We've lost work due to coronavirus and have had to furlough staff, so every hour has to be spent on building the business back up." He believes public bodies could make simple changes to streamline the process, for example asking firms to submit credentials in advance and advising whether they have a chance of winning a contract based on their experience. In the post-COVID period, contracts could be split into smaller parts to support more SMEs: "Contracts don't have to be for £250,000 - they could be smaller and spread out to a range of companies." ENDS Notes to Editors 1. Webinars The Centre for Tendering is offering two free webinars on Monday, June 29th (Greater Manchester) and Tuesday, June 30th (national) aimed at academics, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), small business advocacy organisations, growth support agencies and corporate sponsors of start-up/scale-up programmes and incubation space. 29th June 1-2pm: Greater Manchester Business Support for SME Tendering: A Dashboard of Priorities https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/6715918638235/WN_S28ktjlcRTeSvacWFXn4mw 30th June 1-2pm: Enhancing Business Support for SME Tendering: A Dashboard of Priorities for Regions https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8815918639780/WN_hu_4r4zuRka3ruOw-9A0Cw 2. About the Centre for Tendering The Centre for Tendering (www.centrefortendering.com) is a private consultancy and training company housed within the Manchester Barclays Eagle Labs. It was established by academics Dr Paula Turner and Professor Julia Rouse who have a long history of supporting and researching small businesses. We draw on experience and research to propose that competitive tendering for public sector contracts demands a complex set of capabilities from small firms. Working with procurers, we seek to make supply chains more accessible to small businesses by raising awareness of the capabilities that tendering demands and helping to streamline processes. Working with the business support community and small firms directly, we seek to build capability to tender for public sector contracts. Working with procurers and small businesses, we help to maximise value from public sector tendering by enabling economic and social development and supply chain innovation. Contact For more information, please contact James Tout on 07989 610 276 or email james@researchcomms.co.uk Share this post: Categories All Posts Press release competitive tendering Recent Posts LEPs and SME Tendering Capabilities - Your Regional Dashboard 18 Jun 2020 Event: Enhancing Business Support for SME Tendering 12 Jun 2020 Event: Greater Manchester Business Support for SME Tendering 11 Jun 2020 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://centrefortendering.com/blog/f/use-procurement-to-ease-small-firms%E2%80%99-covid-woes-govern... |
| Description | Centre for Tendering webinar 30th June 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Funded Project Event: Enhancing Business Support for SME Tendering - 30 June 2020, 13:00 - 14:00~ Our Round 3 funded Small Project; 'How Can Enterprise Ecosystems Enhance SME Capability to Tender for Public Sector Contracts?', with Project Lead: Dr Paula Turner, (Co-Founder, The Centre for Tendering), present their upcoming free webinar. Details below: Tendering capabilities firms need have evolved - so must business support. What are those capabilities, where do small enterprises go to learn and what needs to happen in regional/Local Enterprise Partnership business support ecosystems? Our webinar presents a Dashboard of Priorities for Regions from new research findings to tackle a long-standing policy problem: how resource-constrained firms can build public sector tendering capability. LEPs, Growth Hubs, Small business policy makers, researchers, business support programme professionals and small business leaders are invited to join The Centre for Tendering for this free online event on Tuesday 30th June, 1pm-2pm. Join us and pose questions to our experts plus a 30-minute Q & A panel with a wider panel of policy makers and industry experts who have guided project outcomes and impact. Registered participants will be given downloadable access to: The Centre for Tendering research report with a digital dashboard of eco-system priorities (funded by the prestigious Productivity Insights Network) A Supplier Guide to Competitive Tendering |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/portfolio/funded-project-event-enhancing-business-support-... |
| Description | Challenges of balancing productivity and sustainability in businesses 04.08.2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Challenges of balancing productivity and sustainability in businesses by Leeds University Business School - Research Impact and Engagement Are you intrigued by new government funding or COVID-related changes that will make your company more "green"? Date And Time: Tue, 4 August 2020, 16:00 - 17:00 BST Challenges of balancing productivity and sustainability in businesses by Leeds University Business School - Research Impact and Engagement Are you intrigued by new government funding or COVID-related changes that will make your company more "green"? About this Event Is your organisation or business trying to be more sustainable? Right now, 2050 seems a long way off, but have you thought about how your company will fit into the UK's Net Zero economy? There's some great news: 71% of companies surveyed reported that the last environmental improvement they had carried out had reduced costs (MAKE UK sustainability report). But we also know that it involves challenges and trade-offs. In this webinar we will be discussing the challenges of balancing both productivity and sustainability. We'll be sharing ideas from research and SMEs and we want to hear your stories. We're hoping that this webinar event will be the first of many that can connect you with other firms going through similar experiences. Our research in this area aims to develop materials and advice based on psychology and management research that could be used to help tackle these challenges and make juggling competing goals a little easier. We are funded by the Productivity Insights Network and would love to hear from any other members of PIN. Speakers & Panel Members: Professor Kerrie Unsworth (Leeds University Business School) Mr Mike Rimmer (Brandon Medical Company) Ms Tracey Dawson (Daletech Electronics) Professor Alison McKay (Engineering, University of Leeds) Facilitator: Associate Professor Matt Davis |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/portfolio/upcoming-webinarty-in-businesses/ |
| Description | Changing the Tone of the Debate: Productivity Insights Network Conference 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Raising productivity is a central economic challenge in the UK. The Productivity Insight Network (PIN) conference brings together researchers, policymakers, intermediaries and businesses working to identify, advance and implement new insights to address the productivity puzzle in the UK. Join us for an engaging day of talks and expert panel discussions. The conference will be hosted by Lord Jim O'Neill, Chair of PIN's International Advisory Board. Key note speakers include: • Sir Paul Collier, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. • Professor Jennifer Rubin, Executive Chair of the Economic and Social Research Council and Professor of Public Policy at King's College London. • Murray Sherwin, Chair of the New Zealand Productivity Commission and former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. The Keynote speakers addressed the topics of 'Restoring Convergence: Productivity and Prosperity in Britain's Regions', 'In Pursuit of Productivity: Institutional Form and Practice' and 'The Economic and Social Research Council's Productivity Portfolio'. The conference also engaged with a number of panel discussions including; "Productivity in Places", "Productivity in Practice", and "Productivity Prospects". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/portfolio/pin2019/ |
| Description | Covid19 Responsive Webinar Series (June/July 2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A Series of webinars responding to C19 impacts was set up and ran online by the Network throughout June and July 2020. Our first International webinar, in place of the second international conference, was a masjor success on 1st April 2020. Whilst 'Reframing the debate' was not intentionally set up to address the COVID-19 context and its impacts, due to the timing of the conference and decision to take it forward as an online discussion, the conversation inevitably included thoughts on the past, present and future in response to the pandemic. A full recording of the event is available here: https://youtu.be/GollYSnklv0 Due to the success of the initial webinar and In response to COVID-19, our co-investigators and the wider network are providing thought leadership on the important questions and concerns emerging from the global pandemic. We will bring this thinking together in a comprehensive book to be published this summer. In the meantime, we are hosting a series of webinars discussing the pandemic and productivity. A number of upcoming webinars will be set up from Network members (including Co-Investigators, and project leads throughout May and perhaps beyond as appropriate) Further dates, titles and speakers to follow. • Confirmed: 5 June, 12:00 - 13:00 BST 'The Future of Innovation in a post-COVID world', Jonathan Cook (SQW Ltd), Robert Hugggins (Cardiff University) with guests; Steve Roper (University of Warwick), Jen Rae (Nesta) and Dan Hodges (UKRI). Chaired by Prof Tim Vorley (Oxford Brookes University) • Confirmed: 18 June 2020, 12:00 - 13:00 BST 'Transport, the economy and sustainability post-Covid19' Prof Iain Docherty, Tom Forth (ODI Leeds) Chaired by Adam Borwn (Cambridge Econometrics) • Confirmed: 26 June 2020, 12:00 -13:00 BST 'Frontier and Laggard Firms: will there by significant changes to the distribution of productivity post-Covid19?' Prof Richard Harris (Durham university) and Prof Philip McCann (University of Sheffield) Chaired by Prof Vania Sena (The University of Sheffield) • Confirmed: 2 July 2020, 12:00 - 13:00 BST 'Market Concentration in the UK and the Effect of Covid19 on Business Creation' Dr Anthony Savagar (University of Kent), Chaired by Prof Vaia Sena (University of Sheffield) • Confirmed: 16 July, 12:00 - 13:00 BST 'Good Work and Mental Helath in the Post Covid Era' Dr Daniel Kopasker (HERU, University of Aberdeen), Fabien Wallace-Stephens (The RSA Future Work Centre), Chaired by Dr Katy Jones (Decent Work and Productivity at Manchester Metropolitan University) • Confirmed: 23 July, 12:00-13:00 BST 'How will the effects of Covid19 on macroeconomic demand and supply affect firm-level productivity?' Prof Gary Dymski (University of Leeds) and Prof Don Webber (University of Sheffield) • Confirmed 30 July 2020, 12:00 - 13:00 BST 'Sectoral and spatial impacts of the pandemic and subsequent recovery' Prof Robert Huggins (Cadiff University), Dr Ben Gardiner (Cambridge Econometrics)& Richard Lewney (Cambridge Econometrics) - Also chair for the session. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91Uqm6sAdHM&list=PLc5qXRzgoksbxpCd9vjKvwgQ878at07bk |
| Description | December 2020 Newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Our December Newsletter featured a note to all regarding the challenges of 2020 and highlighting the support and commitment of the Network. The Newsletter than went on to share the 'op 10' of 2020, in no particular order and not an exhaustive list. 1. Novel methods to rethinking Productivity 2. Responses to COVID19 3. Going Green: Productivity and the Green Agenda 4. A More Inclusive Approach to Productivity 5. Pioneering Practice in Productivity 6. Furthering the Conversation 7. Influencing Policy 8. High Profile speakers join us in the debate 9. Early Career Researchers leading the way 10. Hot off the Press Under each topic heading he projects and activities which have highlighted how these have been addressed and impact made was noted. Recent Publications -Funded project report - Sustainable and Productive?! Helping Manufacturing SMEs to Manage Multiple Goals - Kerrie L. Unsworth, Rebecca Pieniazek, Matthew C. Davis, Lynda Jiwen Song, Alison McKay, Naomi Booth-Wade & Chesta Ahuja (University of Leeds) - including link to the blog and August 2020 event. - Funded project report - The Pay and Productivity Dilemma: A Critical Theoretical Review and Empirical Analysis for the UK Economy - Selim Cakmakli (Department of Economics, Rutgers University, USA), Sara Cantillon (WiSE Centre for Economic Justice, Glasgow Caledonian University), Lutfi Ucal (WiSE Centre for Economic Justice, Glasgow Caledonian University) - Funded project report - Rethinking place to understand spatial productivity patterns - Adam Brown (Cambridge Econometrics), Jen Nelles (The University of Sheffield), Elvis Nyanzu (The University of Sheffield) and Tim Vorley (Oxford Brookes University) Other news - - PIN Principal investigator Professor Philip McCann and colleagues within the ESRC funded project Rebuilding Macroeconomics have realised the follwoing blog anf working paper. • Final blog: https://rebuildingmacroeconomics.ac.uk/post/uk-regional-and-urban-inequalities • Final Working Papers: https://rebuildingmacroeconomics.ac.uk/long-run-consequences - Research and innovation in the North of England Adam Brown (Cambridge Econometrics), Jen Nelles (University of Sheffield) and Dieter Kogler (University of Dublin) presented the results from a forthcoming report prepared for Transport for the North on the state of and potential for development of research and innovation in the North of England. This research focused on exploring the factors that can meaningfully influence productivity growth in the North through a series of questions: • How does innovation happen within a geography and how does that knowledge and technology diffuse throughout the economy? • What are the drivers, enablers, and barriers to these processes? • What do key indicators tell us about how Northern LEPs perform relative to each other and the rest of the UK? • What questions do these results raise and how might they be tested to deepen our understanding of the North's innovation landscape? Watch the recording to catch up on the action from the event. The Wider Network Upcoming event with Productivity GRP at Warwick - We are thrilled that Clive Reynolds (project Lead on Round 3 Small Project Relating productivity to Organisational Context will join the Productivity GRP team for the upcoming event on 11 January 2021. Upcoming - New Book publication - Productivity and the Pandemic with Edward Elgar. - Upcoming Devolution Webinar series. - Further Scottish Government Engagement and further updates from funded projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/91df28db31b4/december |
| Description | Doncaster Manufacturing Forum Event Media Coverage, 16 January 2020. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In line with the Doncaster Engineering and Manufacturing Forum event on Green Growth and Productivity (16.01.20) at Doncaster Rail College; The Network had media coverage on the University of Sheffield Webpages highlighting some of the key topics from the event and broadening the reach of this aspect of productivity to a wider audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/nr/tackling-climate-crisis-can-boost-doncaster-productivity-study-b... |
| Description | Duncan MacLennan - at RSA Winter Conference 14-15 November 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Duncan Maclennan - University of Glasgow, United Kingdom, Julie T. Miao - University of Melbourne, Australia "Reductionism, Regulation and the Real Economics of Metropolitan Housing Challenges" Linda Christie - University of Glasgow, United Kingdom, Duncan MacLennan - University of Glasgow, United Kingdom, New Thinking on the Role and Impact of Housing on Regional Growth and Productivity at the RSA Winter Conference, November 2019. (based on the research that was funded from their PIN Pioneer award) Further information given in the narrative impact statement) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | ESRC Festival of Social Science-Saturday activity with general public in Sheffield City Centre |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As part of the ESRC's Festival of Social Science we were challenging the general public to pick the top 3 issues they think we should be focussing on. After only a brief introduction to the productivity puzzle and our work with PIN, we were delighted with the depth of conversation that soon flowed. Reflections on a decline in manufacturing skills became one of the key themes of the day. Perhaps not surprising, considering the region's history. Another common theme arose in variations of a question posed to us, along the lines of 'why do you want to make people more productive? Doesn't that just mean making people work harder?'. And is there a more important question? Indeed members of our invaluable International Advisory Board have always provided a strong steer that our work be underpinned by principles of wellbeing and a vision of inclusive productivity. However, it was a pertinent and welcome reminder to receive the same steer from the Sheffield public. By the end of the day, skills & education, work & employment (the theme led by Professor Kirsty Newsome at Sheffield), and health & wellbeing were ranked as the most important by the surprising number of individuals who took up our Saturday challenge. The real value of the exercise for us was in the rich stories that were shared in the process, bringing to life the themes of our work and strengthening our desire to find productivity insights that are accessible for all. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2018/11/ |
| Description | Exploring the Connections Between Infrastructure and Productivity: Business Challenges and Policy Agendas |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Productivity is the policy issue of the moment. The Productivity Insights Network (PIN) aims to unpack the sources of the UK productivity puzzle, and infrastructure improvements are regarded by many as vital to improving the UK's poor productivity performance. Within the different categories of infrastructure, transport infrastructure has emerged as one of the key areas of interest both for academics and policy makers seeking to deliver productivity improvements quickly. New technologies such as advanced sensing, real time information and connected and autonomous vehicles offer the potential to radically improve the operating reliability of transport infrastructure systems, and to enable existing infrastructure to meet future mobility demands more effectively, and thus contribute directly to better productivity. The Infrastructure theme of the PIN is led by the University of Glasgow, which will host one-day workshop to explore the connections between infrastructure, 'smart' mobility and productivity. The workshop will address the following connected issues: • How well does current infrastructure provision support the economy? • What are the key 'smart' and disruptive technologies that will shape the future operation of key infrastructures? • How will mobility trends change in response to the roll out of 'smart' technologies? • What are the new governmental, policy and regulatory challenges that will emerge? • What are the priorities for the policy agenda arising from these innovations and challenges? The event will take place on Tuesday 13th November 2018 in the University of Glasgow between 10.00 am and 4.00pm. It is designed to be of interest to policy makers, businesses and academics working in the fields of infrastructure, transport and productivity. Travel bursaries are available for Early Career Researchers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Exploring the Connections Between Non- Standard Work and Productivity: A Policy Agenda? Professor Kirsty Newsome 27/09/18 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Productivity is the policy issue of the moment. The Productivity Insights Network (PIN) aims to unpack the sources of the UK productivity puzzle, to better understand why output per worker hour has flat-lined since the 2008 economic crisis and propose policy remedies. Although productivity has failed to grow, employment, hours worked, and output have increased broadly in line since 2012. A significant proportion of the new jobs created have taken the form of non-standard and sometimes informal work (e.g. zero hours contracts (ZHC), temporary work, 'bogus' self-employment). The Sheffield-led PIN is hosting a one-day workshop to explore the connections between the growth of non-standard work and productivity. The workshop will address the following connected issues: The labour market conditions that may be inhibiting the return to a higher productivity trajectory. The relationship between the growth of non-standard contracts - zero hours, temporary and `bogus' self-employment - and workplace practices that may be inimical to productivity gains. The significance of fissured workplaces and non-compliant business models. The sources and dimensions of workplace inequalities. The elements of a new policy agenda. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/exploring-the-connections-between-non-standard-work-and-productivity-... |
| Description | Facilitator: Professor Richard Harris Description: Business breakfast format, networking and informal discussion, PIN presentation followed by discussion. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Business Breakfast: introducing the Productivity Insights Network Date: 8.30 - 9.30am, Thursday 21 June 2018 Venue: Copthorne Hotel, Newcastle What it aimed to achieve: Begin a dialogue on how PIN can be relevant to the North East business/LEPs, through hearing from them about what drives productivity in the North East and what national/local policy needs they might have. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | February 2021 Newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The PIN newsletter has over 330+ subscribers and monthly updates are sent. In 2021, we started a number of 'feature' articles to showcase some of our successful projects and the impacts from them. February 2021 Newsletter contents: - Feature on Dr Katy Jones, - What were the key findings from your research? - How could this make a difference?- How will you build on this research? (in her newly funded ESRC project). - Leaza McSorley's Blog 'Rebuilding a Resilient Britain' - Upcoming Webinars for the PIN Book Launch Series supporting Productivity and the pandemic, uocming Webinar 5 & 6 (Webinar 5: Enterprise and entrepreneurship Post Covid-19 Friday 5th March, 09:00 (GMT) Please register in advance: http://ow.ly/b5lc50DfJHQ, Webinar 6: Finances and Efficiency in a Post Covid-19 environment Friday 12th March, 09:00 (GMT) Please register in advance: http://ow.ly/M9Tw50DfJW0) - Buy a copy of the book - Catch up on the previous webinars. - Continued collaboration with the Scottish Government. - OECD Collaboration on 4 Feb, catch up on the recording and read the summary. - #PERN Event - Upcoming PrOPEL Hub webinar - recent activity from the ERC - recent activity from the Productivity Institute - links to PIN web, Twitter, Youtube and LinkedIn. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/8b6ba0b9523f/february2021 |
| Description | IS Council report launch (Aston), 4 February 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Industrial Strategy Council: Addressing Regional Productivity Disparities, 04 February 2020, 12:00 - 14:30. Panel Discussion Hosted by Aston University in Birmingham. Members of the Industrial Strategy Council address regional productivity disparities. The Industrial Strategy Council is an independent non-statutory advisory group established in November 2018. It is tasked with providing impartial and expert evaluation of the government's progress in delivering the aims of the Industrial Strategy. Its membership is comprised of leading men and women from business, academia and civil society. The Council's latest publication will examine the nature and causes of differences in economic performance across UK regions. Andy Haldane, Chief Economist, Bank of England and Chair, Industrial Strategy Council Andrew G Haldane is the Chief Economist at the Bank of England. He is a member of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee and Chair of the Government's Industrial Strategy Council. Among other positions, he is Honorary Professor at University of Nottingham, a Visiting Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford, a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. He has authored around 200 articles and 4 books. Andrew is the founder and trustee of 'Pro Bono Economics', a charity which brokers economists into charitable projects, a trustee of National Numeracy and Patron of the charities Reach and Speakers for Schools. Emma Bridgewater, Founder, Emma Bridgewater and Member, Industrial Strategy Council Emma Bridgewater is a household name recognised for her popular kitchen pottery. Based in Stoke on Trent the company employs over 350 workers in a dedicated factory and warehouse. Having resisted outsourcing to low wage countries Emma is deeply committed to raising the real commercial value of work carried out in Britain. Emma was educated at Oxford High School and at London University where she read English Literature. She has honorary doctorates from Keele and Staffordshire University and in 2015 received a CBE for services to British Industry. Emma was chairman of the English Heritage Foundation and is President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE). Rotha Johnston, Commissioner, Belfast Harbour Commission and Member, Industrial Strategy Council Rotha Johnston has had a career spanning both the private and public sectors. A Queen's University Belfast graduate and post-graduate, Rotha has had a career in the textile, the economic development and the food sectors. She currently has various investment interests primarily in the property sector. Rotha is currently Chair of Northern Ireland Screen, the lead agency for the screen industry in Northern Ireland. In addition, Rotha holds several non-executive positions including Director of Northern Ireland Electricity Networks, Member of KPMG NI Advisory Board, QUBIS and a Belfast Harbour Commissioner. Previously she was a shareholder and director of Variety Foods Ltd, a food service company supplying the Irish market; Head of Marketing in Moygashel Textiles, part of Lamont Holdings and Business Development Director, LEDU. Rotha was also a BBC Trustee, Pro Chancellor and Chair of Senate at Queen's University Belfast and Deputy Chair of Invest Northern Ireland. In 2006 she was awarded the CBE in recognition of her contribution to industry in Northern Ireland and in 2016 was made a Dame. Dr Robert Zymek, Lecturer in Economics, University of Edinburgh Robert obtained his MSc and PhD in Economics from Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. He completed his undergraduate studies at King's College, University of Cambridge. His research interests are International Economics and Macroeconomics. His work to date explores the interplay between international goods trade and international capital flows, and the role of country risk in shaping the patterns of both. The event launched the relevant paper, in which the Network, Philip McCann and Tim Vorely, as well as other Co-Is and funded projects, are referenced. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://industrialstrategycouncil.org/sites/default/files/attachments/UK%20Regional%20Productivity%2... |
| Description | Iain Docherty/David Waite: Scottish Government Series (3 December 2019, Glasgow) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Iain Docherty/David Waite provided the third seminar on 'Infrastructure and Productivity' in the Scottish Government Series. A formal Feedback request was able to be circulated for this session and the responses indicate a change in opinion from the audience. The feedback was positive with some constructive comments to suggest that 'digital' could be explored more fully and on a broader scale (although other comments suggest that a wide range of issues were covered. The feedback suggested a high percentage of attendees now had a better understanding and new insights on the topic and the open comments suggest that as a whole the series is varied and thought-provoking with interesting discussion. The informal feedback from Stephen Boyd also suggests very positive impact and outcome from the session. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | January 2021 Newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The PIN newsletter has over 330+ subscribers and monthly updates are sent. In 2021, we started a number of 'feature' articles to showcase some of our successful projects and the impacts from them. January 2021 Contents: - The New PIN Book Publication - Productivity and the Pandemic: Challenges and Insights from Covid-19 (including blurb about the book, quotes from Sir Paul Collier CBE, University of Oxford and Tony Danker, Director-General, Confederation of British Industry (CBI). As well as link to the promotional leaflet and to buy the book) - New project report from Dr Emma Duchini (Warwiock) 'Pay Transparency and Cracks in the Glass Ceiling' with the two poloicy briefings also from the project. - OECD collaborative Event on 4 February @Spatial Productivity in the post Covid-19 world' - Book Launch Webinar Series schedule, and registration for the first event. Previouis event - Clive Reynolds (Strategic Capability) joined the 'productivity, Performance and Inward Investment' Panel with Productivity GRP at Warwick on 11 January 2021. - Leaza McSorely's past event with CURS Newcastle University in November 2020. - The Scottish Government Collaboration, ongoing with since 2019 moved to on online format, with Richard Harris kicking off the internal only series as part of the Government Learning and development. Leaza said: "We are delighted to be working with the Scottish Government again. The opportunity to deliver findings from our research at this time of significant economic and social challenge demonstrates how academic-policy engagement can effectively support senior policy-makers. Equally, it has been insightful for PIN co-investigators to discuss these issues with frontline policy-makers as we reflect on the future of productivity research, which must now provide new solutions to new and different productivity challenges". Leaza held an event on inclusive growth in December. - The wider Network, PIN IAB member, Ekeehard Ernst's 'Rethinking the world of work' featured in IMF News on 10 January. - Feature on Strategic Capability Ltd: The voice of Industry - noting how this small project has been making a difference in the 'real world' with a link to their final report and findings. Since the Newsletter went out, Strategic capability Ltd have received a number of interested parties contacting them for further detail. An event (Workshop/Forum) is going ahead in April 2021 in collaboration with the Network, with LEP and Business Engagement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/4ac1af4e9e97/january2021 |
| Description | Jen Nelles Meeting: Chief Economist at MHCLG 03.02.2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Jen Nelles Meeting: Chief Economist at MHCLG to discuss NI project in particular how to frame a seminar that she will be delivering at MHCLG in May. -------- Forwarded message --------- From: Date: Sat, Jan 18, 2020 at 6:01 AM Subject: INVITATION TO SPEAK To: Jen My apologies for the e-mail out of the blue. To introduce myself, XXXXXX the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. My reason for writing is that I've recently come across your work on applying systems thinking and a systems approach to productivity improvement. As you say, in many parts of the country, it has proved challenging to raise productivity improvement and to close at least some of the gap with London. If a systems approach could deliver fresh insights about how to do this, it would be very useful. I'm therefore keen to invite you to speak about this issue at one of the regular seminars I organise in the Ministry. We hold these seminars roughly monthly, they last strictly one hour (usually at lunchtime - though we can be completely flexible about the time) and they take place at the Department's offices at 2 Marsham Street, London. Speakers typically talk for about 20-30 minutes with the rest of the time available for questions and discussion. Previous speakers have included Raghuram Rajan (Professor of Finance, University of Chicago); Andrew Haldane (Chief Economist, Bank of England), Anthony Heath (Professor of Sociology, University of Oxford), Tim Besley (Professor of Economics, London School of Economics); Martin Wolf (Principal Economic Commentator, Financial Times) and many others. We can be totally flexible about the date - perhaps in the spring. Typically, we have up to 50-100 attendees, sometimes more - a mixture of government economists/analysts and policymakers (including some from other government departments). I do hope this might be possible. If so, I'll ask one of my team to arrange a date, time and other arrangements with you. I look forward to hearing from you. With very best wishes |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Jen Nelles and CECAN Webinar - Mapping the Cognitive Landscape of Productivity in Northern Ireland: A Systems Approach to Understanding Productivity Policy Confirmation (12 February 2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | CECAN Webinar: Mapping the Cognitive Landscape of Productivity in Northern Ireland: A Systems Approach to Understanding Productivity Policy Wednesday 12th February 2020, 13:30 - 14:30 GMT. Presenter: Jen Nelles, Centre for Regional Economic and Enterprise Development (CREED), University of Sheffield Management School, Productivity Insights Network (PIN) . You are warmly invited to join us for the following CECAN Webinar... Webinar Overview: Like the rest of the UK, Northern Ireland has experienced weak productivity growth since the 2008 Financial Crisis despite broader economic recovery. Consequently, boosting productivity has been a central goal of contemporary economic policy even to the extent that both UK and Northern Ireland industrial strategies have been described as productivity policies. Yet evidence shows that decades of Government productivity policies have not (yet?) resulted in predictable or positive impacts on productivity performance. This webinar argues that the siloed nature of productivity policy may be hindering the development of an effective productivity programme and that adopting a systems approach to policy may provide new insights into the productivity puzzle in Northern Ireland (and beyond). It presents the results of a research project supported by the ESRC and Productivity Insights Network (PIN) and executed in partnership with the Department for the Economy of Northern Ireland that applies a systems approach to mapping how policymakers perceive the economic system and how that is reflected in policy. Session Objectives: To unpack the productivity puzzle in the UK and Northern Ireland;To understand the value of adopting a systems lens to understanding policy inefficiencies; To present and invite critique on an innovative methodology for developing a cognitive map of an economic system; To present and debate the results of the mapping project. Presenter Biography - Jen Nelles, Centre for Regional Economic and Enterprise Development (CREED), University of Sheffield Management School, Productivity Insights Network (PIN): Jen Nelles is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Regional Economic and Enterprise Development (CREED) at the University of Sheffield Management School and holds affiliations with the CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities and the CUNY Institute for Urban Systems in New York City. Her recent work with the Productivity Insights Network (PIN) focuses on applying systems theory to productivity policy and governance. Her other research includes work on metropolitan and regional governance, infrastructure, and spatial inequalities. How to Join: This talk will take place via a Zoom Webinar - please click here to register for a place. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. In case you are unable to attend, a recording of the webinar will be uploaded to our website following the event. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.cecan.ac.uk/videos/cecan-webinar-mapping-cognitive-landscape-productivity-northern-irela... |
| Description | Jill MacBryde - Article |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As part of her project, Jill MacBryde was featured in an Article in Engineering News, the newsletter of the Faculty of Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. Title: "Productivity - what do UK manufacturers really think?" January 2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Jill MacBryde - Roundtable |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | As part of her Project, Jill MacBryde participated in round-table discussion event at The Industry Strategy Council, London. Short presentation and discussion. April 2019 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Jill McBryde - Presentations |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As part of Jill MacBryde'ss project, Jill made a number of presentations, including; - Presentation at event hosted by The University of Strathclyde and Productivity through People, Glasgow: "Addressing Scotland's Productivity Challenge." Title: "Unpicking the productivity narrative: what does productivity mean to different people?" April 2019 - Presentation at event hosted by the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), Design and Production Sector meeting, London. Title: "Unpicking the productivity narrative: what does productivity mean to UK manufacturers?" May 2019 - Presentation at event hosted by EY and the Scottish Life Sciences Association (SLA), Edinburgh. Title: "Unpicking the productivity narrative in manufacturing organisations." June 2019. - Presentation at event hosted by The Research Centre for Social Sciences: "Good Work: People and Productivity." Title: "Unpicking the productivity narrative in manufacturing organisations" July 2019 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Jill McBryde - Press release |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As part of her project, Jill McBryde was successful in gaining a press release via University of Strathclyde website and Scottish media. Title: "Pioneering research explores industry view of productivity." in March 2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | July 2020 Newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | July 2020 Contents: Welcome to PIN's July newsletter. It may not be the holiday read that many of us had in mind six months ago but we hope that you are continuing to stay well and that our updates will provide you with some highly relevant and interesting information. It's been a busy month so there is a lot to share with you thanks to the ongoing commitment of our network. We hope you enjoy this update from the ESRC-funded Productivity Insights Network. If you would like further information on any of the updates below, please do get in touch. Previous Events As you may recall, in June we launched a series of webinars on productivity post Covid-19. This month we have been in the fortunate position to share a breadth of insights on this hugely important topic from our leading experts across the network. During our webinars, we have discussed the importance of spatial considerations for an effective recovery, from regional imbalances, the sectors and places that have been the hardest hit and the relationship between community culture and productivity. (Lewney, Gardiner and Huggins). We discussed how macroeconomic demand and supply affect firm-level productivity and how moving from a one dimensional to a two dimensional model of firm level productivity could make a difference (Dymski and Webber). Mental health levels have shown increases during the pandemic with worrying trends for workers facing financial insecurity. The advantages of flexible working still tends to sit with the employer and not the employee and greater autonomy for workers and their data was also raised as an important area being developed (Kopasker, Wallace-Stephens and Jones). Fabian Wallace-Stephens (The RSA Future Work Centre), who was one of our speakers at the recent 'Good Work' Webinar earlier in July, shared a really interesting report from the RSA which we would like to bring to your attention. Please see the report in full here: https://www.thersa.org/discover/publications-and-articles/rsa-blogs/2020/06/social-contract-good-work - If you missed these the first time around, or want to listen again, they are available on our YouTube Channel - subscribe to be kept up to date. COVID Webinars Playlist (Feedback - We would appreciate your time in completing the short feedback questionnaire regarding the Webinar, via Google Forms, using the following link.) - The next Webinar: We will be back in September with the next webinar. Join Professor Mirko Draca and Dr Emma Duchini for their upcoming webinar on 24 September 2020 at noon. Further details to follow in due course. - In Other News - Challenges of balancing productivity and sustainability in businesses by Leeds University Business School - Research Impact and Engagement Are you intrigued by new government funding or COVID-related changes that will make your company more "green"? Professor Kerrie Unsworth (Leeds University Business School) Mr Mike Rimmer (Brandon Medical Company) Ms Tracey Dawson (Daletech Electronics) Professor Alison McKay (Engineering, University of Leeds) Facilitator: Associate Professor Matt Davis Date And Time - Tue, 4 August 2020, 16:00 - 17:00 BST - We would like to bring your attention to the following opportunity for 3x 6-month secondment to BEIS (October 2020 onwards). BEIS is offering 3 secondments for academic researchers, to provide expert input into the work of the Industrial Strategy Council, in the following areas: Building the evidence on successful local growth policy The role of the Industrial Strategy in driving behavioural change to deliver Clean Growth An evidence review: Trade, Investment, and Industrial Policy The specification and full details are available here. - PIN Making a Difference. Dr Katy Jones' work has been making a real difference - read the proposal which notes that substantial reform of Universal Credit needed to protect the most vulnerable here: /committees.parliament.uk/committee/175/economic-affairs-committee/news/147638/substantial-reform-of-universal-credit-needed-to-protect-the-most-vulnerable/> - Productivity Perspectives - "As an insight into current debates on this topic the book is invaluable, and hard to do justice to in this review... This is an important set of papers and a testament to the range and depth of the work of the Productivity Insights Network... It contains many strands and details which policymakers need to be aware of, should explore further, but most importantly should act on." Dame Kate Barker, British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme We are thrilled to announce that Dame Kate Barker has written a review of our book publication, Productivity Perspectives. Read the full review for The Society of Professional Economists here: https://spe.org.uk/reading-room/book-reviews/productivity-perspectives/ - Recent Publications - Recent Blogs: -In response to the current climate, some of our Co-Investigators and International Advisory Board members have prepared some of their personal* insights into the situation. We also continue to have blogs written by our Project Leads on matters related to their PIN Funded Research projects. - What value can Universities add to Economic Recovery planning? - Prof Andrew Brown and Prof Gary Dymski (Leeds University Business School) - Understanding the impact of mental health and wellbeing on business performance in Small and Medium Enterprises - Dr Soumyadeb Chowdhury (Aston University) and the Project Team. - Potential Productivity Premiums Locked in Spatial Organization of Cities - Dr Hadi Arbabi (University of Sheffield) and the Project Team - Firm Creation in the UK During the Covid-19 Lockdown (June 2020) - Dr Anthony Savager (University of Kent) and Colleagues. - Recent Project Reports: - How Can Enterprise Ecosystems Enhance SME Capability to Tender for Public Sector Contracts? A Case Study of Greater Manchester & Dashboard of Priorities for Regions - Dr Paula Turner (Centre for Tendering) - Quantifying Agglomeration Productivity Potential in Long-Term Infrastructure Planning - Dr Hadi Arbabi - Mapping the Cognitive Landscape of Productivity in Northern Ireland: A Systems Approach to Understanding Productivity Policy - Dr Jen Nelles, Adam Brown and Prof Tim Vorley - Relating Productivity to Organisational Contrext - Clive Reynolds (Strategic Capability Ltd) - Find out more about the projects and read additional supporting documentation on our Productivity Insights Network Webpages here. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/5434ee483c6c/july |
| Description | July 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The PIN newsletter has over 330+ subscribers and monthly updates are sent. In 2021, we started a number of 'feature' articles to showcase some of our successful projects and the impacts from them. The July 2021 newsletter featured; - request for network members to provide feedback on any of the PIN events or activities. - Recent publications from Jonathan Cook et al at SQW form the final round of funding - Recent publications from Andrew Henley et al from the final round of funding - Recent publications from Adam Brown et al from the final round of funding. - Recent publications from Richard Harris et al from the final round of funding with supplementary material. - Recent publication from Jen Nelles from round 3 of the competitive funding. - Summary of the Roundtable event with Be the business for the Scottish Government. - link to the media interest on Adam Leavers Round 3 project with a focus on Financialization - picked up by the Mail on Sunday. - information on the upcoming event from colleagues at the Centre for Tendering on Inclusive procurement - OECD webianr series information on accessing the recordings from early July - links to the latest podcasts from the institute and ERC |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/efdc7d9bd02b/july2021 |
| Description | June 2020 Newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | June 2020 Contents: Welcome to June's newsletter. Like many people at the moment, here at PIN, we are adapting to new ways of working and increasingly drawing on technology to continue in our mission of changing the tone of the debate. Supporting that mission is our network of highly respected academics and professionals and the insights they bring across a broad range of issues affecting productivity. Our latest series of webinars will draw on the expertise of our Co-Investigators and experts from across the wider PIN network to bring you engaging, topical and timely discussions on how the UK's productivity may be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The effects of low levels of productivity are far-reaching, complex and persistent. The productivity puzzle is one that has been of predominant interest for governments, academics and industry for some time. And so, as the UK faces a global pandemic, the full impact of which we do not yet know, it seems pertinent that we discuss the issues that are likely to be important, the questions that may need to be asked and considerations to be made around productivity in a Post-Covid world. There will be a breadth of knowledge required to steer our way back to some kind of normality and questions remain on whether we want to return to "business as usual". Could some of the forced changes be improvements; are there greener, fairer ways of working that benefit the many and not the few. See the full programme of webinars here, listen to any that we have already delivered and if you can, spare a few minutes to leave us some feedback. We hope you enjoy this update from the ESRC-funded Productivity Insights Network. If you would like further information on any of the updates below, please do get in touch. Previous Events As you may know, the network is running a series of COVID19 responsive webinars throughout the coming months. To date we have has three webinars; if you were unable to join us, or simply want to watch them again we have video recordings of each available. You can view them on our webpages here and they are also included below. The future of innovation in a post-Covid world On our first of the Covid-19 webinar series, Professor Stephen Roper, Aston University, Jonathan Cook, PIN Co-Investigator at SQW and Jen Rae, Head of Innovation at Nesta and Professor Robert Huggins at Cardiff University raised important questions on the role of innovation in the Post Covid-19 recovery. PIN Co-Director Professor Tim Vorley introduced the discussion and Dan Hodges from UKRI shared his views as discussant. Professor Roper started the discussions by asking if there is anything that we learnt after the 2008 financial crash that could help us in going forward. Many firms saw sharp, exogenous shocks with reduced liquidity for the firms that survived. There are indicators that show how firms were innovating at different times relative to the recession period and they highlight the importance of firms continuing to invest in Research and development. Although some firms show examples of innovating, process and product innovators dropped by around a third since 2008 and took a long time to recover. What do we take from that? Undertaking innovation did recover but really slowly: Post Covid it would suggest that this will also be a slow recovery. Service sectors never got back to R & D spend post-recession point and there is an uneven spread across sectors. North Korea in contrast appear to have quickly bounced back and continued to invest in R & D. In the UK we still have around a third of sectors that have not recovered beyond 2008 trends. Recovery is likely to be slow and uneven, and this is likely to affect regions as well as sectors. Why is the unbalance in the ecosystems across the UK? There are no counterbalances in the UK system-it remains centralised. Countries that have more balanced recovery seem to have less centralised governance systems. Jonathan described how innovation policy can play a role in recovery and resilience. For the past thirty to forty years the role of knowledge and innovation has become important for growth. This includes networks and connections to support competitiveness and geographic clustering, although not exclusively has helped this. Business adaptation is important and short term adaptions could lead to longer terms shifts as businesses gain confidence in the use of technology. But can they adapt? Do they have the right management skills? This is a need across the UK but there will be a need to be investmest in technology for example, not just the appetite. In terms of policy, it needs to be more focussed on supporting the adopting of technology. Changes to collaboration models are necessary and there have been examples of good practice overcoming constraints as businesses share risk. Proximity may be change in the context of collaboration and policy needs to understand the changes to collaboration models and may need to support more remote models. Jen Rae raised what she saw as three important questions for innovation policy; Where should it focus? What should it focus on? Who benefits? She stated that R & D policy is not right at the moment-we are an outlier in the UK in terms of spending and deciding geographically where it goes. We need think differently about where we prioritise. The intervention level has been too small. We would need to spend additional £4 billion in order to level this up across the country. Deciding how to spend is a series of trade-offs-the decisions you might make depend on where the focus of R & D should be-where it is strongest and weakest, where jobs are created in the economy, where sectors will feel the sharp end. But we need to think hard about who benefits from innovation policy and how is it solving social problems across the UK? Professor Rob Huggins stated that the role of cities continues to be important for the innovation environment. Changes have been happening over time enhanced by the forces of globalisation and increased connectivity. There are also debates to be had around globalisation and an increase in localisation. What is the role of innovation in driving productivity? There is a need for proximity and connectivity amongst innovation actors. Cities remain important; where there is a density of people there tends to be a density of innovation. There is a commitment from the current administration to level up. There is an important role for the social sciences to help us recover from the pandemic in business innovation. It's not just where the spend happens that is important but where the impact of that spend happens. Please provide feedback Our transport, infrastructure and sustainability webinar was hosted by PIN Co-Investigator Professor Iain Docherty, University of Stirling and Dr Tom Forth, co-author of the recently published report the Missing 4 Billion. Tom is the Head of Data at The Open Data Institute Leeds and a Director and co-founder of The Data City. Professor Docherty opened the discussions by sharing his thoughts on how people's attitudes to travel changed during the pandemic. Although usage has dropped across all modes of transport, the usage is variable with car travel down by about three quarters. The public services have seen an extraordinary decline to about 3% of normal usage and interestingly, in the week before lockdown the public service use reduced by a quarter. By implication, the public has already stared to lose confidence. At present, public transport was recovering by about 10-15 percent per week with bus use growing more quickly than rail and car travel up by 80-90% already. Tom spoke about the importance of good data to help us to understand the transport and infrastructure changes, especially for workers and productivity and noted the low levels of this for the UK. The increase in employees working from home creates a new culture of remote work as the necessity to travel decreases. Most transport for the purpose of work is generally not something that workers enjoy with data showing that commuters tend to be miserable when commuting. In this contest, a better alternative will be chosen. This raises important questions about whether culture will adapt to this and the importance of seriously considering what jobs can be done remotely over the long term. So that's buses, trains and cars but what about bikes? It is difficult to know at this stage whether the increase in cycling is linked to exercise and recreation or as an alternative means of traveling to work during lockdown. This is an important distinction but even so, we are not going to cycle everywhere and cities aren't set up for it even if we were so it looks as though people will be returning to cars in the short term whether we like it or not. All of this of course has massive implications for sustainability and a greener economy. The policy intervention at this point seems to be to make sure that people can work from home continue to work from home. Other important questions and discussion included; - How to social distance on transport? It is not just being on the transport but safely getting people on and off. - Confidence in public transport remains low, echoing other sectors such as hospitality. We don't know much about this yet but Iain Docherty is investigating this further - What happens if and when we have a second wave; will measures be the same or modified? - How much will working at home stick? Will there be a spatial restructuring of the economy? - How do we justify the future investment in infrastructure; How do we pay for the upkeep of the infrastructure that we already have? - Is transport economics dead? Does it need starting from scratch? You can listen to the webinar here. If you do, please take a few minutes to complete our short feedback form that can be found here. Please provide feedback 'Frontier and Laggard Firms...', 26 June 2020 PIN Co-Investigator Professor Richard Harris, Chair of Economics at Durham University and PIN Principal Investigator Philip McCann, Professor of Urban and Regional Economics at the University of Sheffield discussed the distribution of productivity across frontier and laggard firms across the UK in light of the COVID19 pandemic. Professor Harris discussed the factors that contribute to Total Factor Productivity and outlined the implications for the UK in a post-COVID19 context. The UK has high levels of productive global value chains compared to other countries in the EU BUT the long tail across the UK is longer than in other countries. For firms to benefit from best practice technology they need sufficient absorptive capacity. But what are the implications for this for laggard firms? Will the COVID19 pandemic make this worse? Philip McCann went onto state that the debate between the long tail & the wrong tail continues and bring us back to the levelling up the agenda. A particular feature of long tail doesn't seem to be a shock on the large firms, but, on the firms in the non-core regions of the UK. Place and governance remain of critical importance for policy post-COVID19. Whether rhetorically or politically, the way that we need to think about these issues does still appear to be through a place-based lens. The response can't just be decentralisation but more like devolution BUT devolution did well so that places don't become cut off from each other. The lively discussion, including the audience Q&A chaired by PIN's Data Manager and Co-Investigator Professor Vania Sena included; - How does knowledge spread across the economy and influence all aspects of the economy? - Will further de-globalisation affect the innovativeness and overall efficiency of firms? - What are the implications of the current subsidy response of governments to the pandemic? - What are the key things that inhibit knowledge diffusion and allow it to be acted on? You can hear the full webinar and their responses here. If you do listen, please do spare a few minutes to leave us some feedback via our short questionnaire. Please provide feedback The next Webinar in the series: Market Concentration in the UK and the effect of COVID-19 on Business Creation In many advanced economies, product market power and market concentration appears to be rising. I will present results from a small PIN-funded project on the level of market concentration in the UK and its relationship to productivity. I will finish the presentation with a look at how COVID-19 has affected business creation in the UK across regions and industrial sectors. Absence of business creation can lead to long-run consolidation of market power. What to expect Grab a drink and a sandwich and join our one-hour webinar on 2ndJuly 2020 at 12:00-13:00 to hear expert insights and stimulating discussion about Market Concentration in the UK and the effect of COVID-19 on Business Creation. The webinar will include an online discussion from our speakers before an interactive Q&A session. Speakers: Prof Vania Sena, University of Sheffield Dr Anthony Savagar, University of Kent Please register in advance Interested in more of the upcoming COVID19 responsive Webinar events? View the full programme Upcoming Events Our Round 3 funded Small Project; 'How Can Enterprise Ecosystems Enhance SME Capability to Tender for Public Sector Contracts?' with Project Lead: Dr Paula Turner (Co-Founder, The Centre for Tendering) present their upcoming free webinar. Details below: Tendering capabilities firms need have evolved - so must business support. What are those capabilities, where do small enterprises go to learn and what needs to happen in regional/Local Enterprise Partnership business support ecosystems? Our webinar presents a Dashboard of Priorities for Regions from new research findings to tackle a long-standing policy problem: how resource-constrained firms can build public sector tendering capability. LEPs, Growth Hubs, Small business policy makers, researchers, business support programme professionals and small business leaders are invited to join The Centre for Tendering for this free online event on Tuesday 30th June, 1pm-2pm. Join us and pose questions to our experts plus a 30-minute Q & A panel with a wider panel of policy makers and industry experts who have guided project outcomes and impact. - Registered participants will be given downloadable access to: - The Centre for Tendering research report with a digital dashboard of eco-system priorities (funded by the prestigious Productivity Insights Network). - A Supplier Guide to Competitive Tendering. Register to attend. - In Other News. We are thrilled that the report from our Round 3 commissioned Small Project; 'How Can Enterprise Ecosystems Enhance SME Capability to Tender for Public Sector Contracts?' by Dr Paula Turner and Prof Julia Rouse, (Co-Founders, The Centre for Tendering) has been picked up in the news. A press release has been issued. Read the press release in full here. Don't forget to register for their upcoming event featured above! - Recent Publications - Recent Blogs: In response to the current climate, some of our Co-Investigators and International Advisory Board members have prepared some of their personal* insights into the situation. - Small Firm Public Sector Tendering Capabilities - A Regional Dashboard of Priorities for LEP Business Eco-systems (£1 in £3) - Paula Turner (Centre for Tendering) - A New Green Shovel? Options for the transport stimulus package - Iain Docherty (University of Stirling) and the CREDS network - What can we learn from previous recessions about the COVID-19 economic crisis? - Richard Lewney (Cambridge Econometrics) - The Usefulness of Applying Macro-Sector Results to Regional Levels - Ben Gardiner (Cambridge Econometrics) * Please note these are personal opinions from the relevant Co-Investigator and do not claim to be the opinion of their relevant University, the Network or our funder, the ESRC. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/0f3924fd899f/june |
| Description | June 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The PIN newsletter has over 330+ subscribers and monthly updates are sent. In 2021, we started a number of 'feature' articles to showcase some of our successful projects and the impacts from them. The June 2021 newsletter featured - - A recent publication from Adam Leaver et al on Financialization - 'assessing the impact of stakeholder primacy and value extraction: performance and financial resilience in the FTSE350 /and supporting interactive index. - Financialization report from Sandra Lancheros et al. and the supporting blog. - a review of the two PIN publishes books - productivity perspective and productivity and the Pandemic by Bark Van Ark (Productivity Institute) and links to purchase both. - upcoming Scottish Gov roundtable with Be the Business on managing multiple goals with Lara Pecis and Kerrie Unsworth supporting the event from the wider pin network. - Productivity Podcast featuring Philip Mccann available from the Institute. - OECD webinar series is upcoming in July. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/1bc287813c9e/june2021 |
| Description | Karina Nielsen a presentation about the Sustainable return to work project at the Home Office (Sheffield), 8 January 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Karina Nielsen provideda presentation about the Sustainable return to work project at the Home Office (Sheffield) on 8 January 2020, this comes from colleagues at the home office reading the research from the PIN/ESRC funded "Thriving at Work" project and requesting more information/a presentation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Kirsty Newsome/Tim Vorley: Scottish Government Seminar (24 October 2019, Glasgow) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Kirsty Newsome and Tim Vorley provided the second seminar of the Scottish Government Series, based on their book chapter, 'Contemporary Work and Employment and the Productivity Puzzle'. Again, the formal feedback form was not able to be circulated amongst attendees as Stephen has been short-staffed due to the departure of his colleague. However, once again the informal comments passed on to him noted the engagement and eagerness from Government colleagues in the topics raised by Tim and Kirsty. Tim Vorley commented that the discussion following the short presentation was very beneficial with many interesting and insightful comments and questions being fielded in relation to their chapter and the work of the network on various related themes. The feedback seems to suggest that the Government are very keen for the network's work to influence their own work and therefore reported a change in their options/expected behaviours following the session. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CIeX03iIJdpYzizb_u2MIAGTHQaOMgHW/view?usp=sharing |
| Description | Leaza McSorley: ESRC Research in Productivity and Well-Being - Mapping workshop, CUSP Project (11 September 2019) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Wellbeing and Productivity: Leaza McSorley will be involved in an initial mapping workshop to be held in London on the 11th of September 2019 around the CUSP project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.cusp.ac.uk/themes/s2/funding-productivity-puzzle/ |
| Description | Leaza McSorley: Scottish Government Seminar (4 October 2019, Glasgow) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Leaza McSorley is the lead contact with the Scottish Government and was paramount to setting up the series of seminars for the Network. The Scottish Government, Economic Policy Unit, Economic Policy and Capability Division want to organise a series of seminars based around the forthcoming PIN 'productivity perspectives' book? All the chapters are relevant and interesting but they are hoping we might be able to prioritise some including; Leaza McSorley's chapter on Inequality, Well-being and (inclusive) productivity growth, Kirsty Newsome and Tim Vorley's on Quality of Work, Employment satisfaction and Firm-Level productivity, Iain Docherty and David Waite's on infrastructure, and some others. (please note that the chapter headings will have changed since the initial liaison with the Scottish Government due to the ongoing publishing editing process). The seminars will be for around 25 senior SG policymakers and is a closed internal only event for Scottish Government colleagues only. They can pay travel and, if necessary, accommodation costs. Format: Around 2 hours. Approx. 45 minutes presentation from PIN member, followed by discussion. One chapter/topic per session is probably best. However, it would be good to have a few other PIN team members there to support the discussion. Location: Scottish Government offices in Glasgow. Dates: Starting in September 2019 and ongoing throughout the remaining months and start of 2020. Leaza kicked-off the series with a session on 4 October, at Atlantic Quay, Glasgow. The seminar/formal working group for Government employees only was linked to her chapter 'Inequality, Well-Being and (Inclusive) Productivity Growth' within the forthcoming "Productivity Perspectives" book which will be released in early 2020. Following the initial seminar, Leaza provided positive feedback during a co-investigator catch up on the engagement of the government and the level of detail that they expect and the format of the day which is to inform the rest of the series. Though the feedback survey for this session was unable to be circulated amongst attendees due to a staffing issue within the Government team, some informal feedback from our main contact within the Scottish Government provided comments that were also positive and echoed those made by Leaza on the level of engagement and the enthusiasm for the series. With our contact, Stephen Boyd noting that many of the upcoming seminars were already booked to capacity with some requiring a larger space to be booked to accommodate all interested parties. The series to date has received very positive feedback and meaningful conversations with the Scottish Government. Various other Co-Is have links within the Government including Gary Dymski, who unfortunately was unable to do a seminar this time around. The sessions have led to a number of related meetings within the Government related various themes and specialisms. Further activity is expected with Leaza heading up a number of activities. A further series in a discussion, which would link to further Co-I work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HqCxhZqk8SDEG8wDdKgFhX0fufglV4e3/view?usp=sharing |
| Description | Mail on Sunday interest in funded project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Professor Richard Murphy spoke to the Mail on Sunday about his new Productivity Insights Network project report with Professor Adam Leaver, which examines the effects of financialization on UK productivity. The final report from the project is available on the pin website, and the Mail on Sunday article is available: https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-mail-on-sunday/20210725/283841511455466. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-mail-on-sunday/20210725/283841511455466 |
| Description | March 2020 Newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | March 2020 contents: We hope you are all keeping well given the current climate. We hope you enjoy this update from the ESRC-funded Productivity Insights Network. If you would like further information on any of the updates below, please do get in touch. Upcoming Events - Reframing the Debate - PIN2020 Webinar You are warmly invited to join us for the "Reframing the Debate "- PIN2020 Webinar on 1 April 2020, 12:00 - 14:00 (GMT) via Zoom, with Professor Philip McCann and Professor Tim Vorley. Please register in advance for this online discussion: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8vcVJRyBQGeNp5M0_Yv4nQ After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Special Guests & Panel Discussants include: Andrew G Haldane - Chief Economist at the Bank of England. Dr. Robert D. Atkinson - President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). Lord Jim O'Neill - Lord O'Neill is Chair of the Productivity Insights Network's International Advisory Board Chris Giles - Economics editor, Financial Times Tera Allas CBE - Director of Research and Economics in McKinsey's UK and Ireland Office, Former Deputy Head of the UK Government Economic Service Lord Bob Kerslake - Lord Kerslake is Chair of the UK2070 Commission and former Head of the UK Civil Service Professor Ashwin Kumar - Professor of Social Policy in the Policy Evaluation Research Unit at Manchester Metropolitan University and former Chief Economist for Joseph Rowntree Foundation. -Round 3 Funded Projects Pioneer Projects: - University of Leeds, Sustainable and Productive?! Helping Manufacturing SMEs to Manage Multiple Goals - University of Sheffield, Using Shocks to Construct New Perspectives on Productivity: Designing Systems Dynamic Model(s) of Productivity in Northern Ireland - University of Sheffield, Rethinking Capital Allocation in a Context of Financialization: Producing and Index of High Productivity/Low Financial Engineering Firms - University of Strathclyde, Drivers and Productivity Impacts on Underemployment-Insights on labour Market Effects and Employers' Decision-Making in Contrasting Local Labour Markets - University of Leeds, Access to Finance and Productivity Enhancing Investments in the UK: Does the Source of Finance Matter? - University of Middlesex, Redefining SME Productivity Measurement and Assessment for a Low Carbon Economy Small Projects: - Strategic Capability Ltd, Relating Productivity to Organisational Context: Meaning, Measures and Maximising Through Workforce Engagement - Cambridge Econometrics, A Microscale Approach to Understanding Spatial Productivity Patterns in the UK - Centre for Tendering, How Can Enterprise Ecosystems Enhance SME Capability to tender for Public Sector Contracts? - The University of Sheffield, Quantifying Agglomeration Productivity Potential in Long-Term Infrastructure Planning - Manchester Metropolitan University, Cashlessness: A Productivity Paradox More information - Recent Publications - New Blogs: UK - one of the most unequal countries when it comes to regional productivity - Ben Gardiner (Cambridge Econometrics) - Regional capital stocks - a missing piece in the productivity puzzle - Ben Gardiner (Cambridge Econometrics) Upcoming Blogs: In response to the current climate, some of our Co-Investigators have prepared some of their personal* insights into the situation. Please look out for the upcoming blogs - Insights from Richard Harris (Durham University) - coming soon! - Comments from Andrew Henley (Cardiff University) - coming soon! * Please note these are personal opinions from the relevant Co-Investigator and do not claim to be the opinion of their relevant University, the Network or our funder, the ESRC. - New Project Reports: - Adam Leaver's Targeted Small Grant findings are being published presently, keep an eye on our webpages and Twitter feed for news on the released publication. - Interesting Reading: Productivity Insights Network: Our Network members responding to Policy. See how our funded projects are gaining traction and being viewed by policymakers with the following overview. - Call for Papers and or calls for responses: Social Work & Social Sciences Review - An International Journal of Applied Research. Call for Papers for the Special Issue: Reforming the Public Sector: Professionalism, Productivity and Entrepreneurship. Please see the call flyer here. Responses required: Join Expert Database relating to COVID-19 and its impacts. Please see the full detail from the UK Parliament here. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/83c070007dd1/march-680300 |
| Description | March 2021 Newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The PIN newsletter has over 330+ subscribers and monthly updates are sent. In 2021, we started a number of 'feature' articles to showcase some of our successful projects and the impacts from them. March 2021 Newsletter contents: - Feature on Centre for Tending - How public sectors services are being supported to improve the tendering process - Scaleups in 2018 in the UK: An Analysis of Spatial Differences (with particular reference to the North East) By Richard Harris and John Moffat (Durham University) - A Report to the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, July 2020 - Scottish Government Collaboration - information on the upcoming internal to Scottish Government audience only event by Maria Abreau upcoming in April 2021. - Recap on the 'Productivity and the pandemic book launch series - link to re-watch the events and to also purchase the book. - upcoming publication from Professor Hughes and Spring on performance measurement coming soon! - links to PIN web, Twitter, Youtube and LinkedIn. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/ea13c96bf634/march2021 |
| Description | May 2020 Newletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | May 2020 Contents: Welcome to May's newsletter. We know that many of you will be juggling the responsibilities of work and family, changes to work patterns and dealing with the ongoing uncertainty around the pandemic. But, we hope that this newsletter finds you well and that you can take some time out, grab a cup of something nice and hear about what we are doing across the network. We hope you enjoy this update from the ESRC-funded Productivity Insights Network. If you would like further information on any of the updates below, please do get in touch. Previous Events - Reframing the Debate - PIN2020 Webinar After much anticipation, we are delighted to announce that our #PIN2020 'Reframing the Debate' Webinar which included our highly esteemed speakers and panellists: Andrew G Haldane (Chief Economist at the Bank of England), Dr Robert D. Atkinson (President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation), Lord Jim O'Neill (Chair of the Productivity Insights Network's International Advisory Board), Chris Giles (Economics Editor, Financial Times), Tera Allas CBE (Director of Research and Economics in McKinsey's UK and Ireland Office), Lord Bob Kerslake (Chair of the UK2070 Commission) and Professor Ashwin Kumar (Professor of Social Policy in the Policy Evaluation Research Unit at Manchester Metropolitan University and former Chief Economist for Joseph Rowntree Foundation). Requesting Feedback We would appreciate your time in completing the short feedback questionnaire regarding the #PIN2020 Webinar, via Google Forms, using the following link. There are fewer than 10 questions for your attention, if you have a few minutes to spare - your views would be greatly received. - Upcoming Events In response to COVID-19, our co-investigators and the wider network are providing thought leadership on the important questions and concerns emerging from the global pandemic. We will bring this thinking together in a comprehensive book to be published this summer. In the meantime, we are hosting a series of webinars discussing the pandemic and productivity. All webinars will require pre-registration. Our first session is The future of innovation in a post-COVID world; chaired by Professor Tim Vorley (Productivity Insights Network), with Jonathan Cook (SQW Ltd) and Robert Huggins (Cardiff University), with special guests; Jen Rae (Nesta), Professor Stephen Roper (Warwick) and Dan Hodges (Innovate UK). Please register in advance for this webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. For full details on the event content and speakers; please click on the image below. Look out for further events from the network in the coming weeks and months! - In Other News - Remember the levelling up agenda? PIN International Advisory Board Chair, Lord Jim O'Neill featured in the Financial Times reigniting the "levelling up agenda". The FT reported that Jim O'Neill is in talks with the government to chair a new Northern Powerhouse "growth board" to help deliver on Boris Johnson's election promise to narrow the UK's north-south wealth gap. Read the full story here. - Latest economic data looking "a shade better" Our recent key note speaker Andrew Haldane, Chief Economist at the Bank of England, also featured in The Times on 26th May and said that the latest economic data looked "a shade better" than the scenarios mapped out by the Bank this month, but warned that the economic outlook was still "ugly." He further advised that policymakers would have to introduce targeted interventions to help those at the sharp end of the joblessness crisis, including young people, low-skilled workers and women. For the full article please see here - PIN Pioneer project helping businesses to support staff in lockdown. Awarded in the first competitive round of PIN funding, this research looked at productivity and wellbeing. Conducted in collaboration with Professor Karina Nielsen (University of Sheffield) and Affinity Health Care, the research explored the resources required to support employees returning to work following mental ill-health sickness absence. The researchers developed the IGLOO framework - that considers individual, group, leader and organisational resources - to identify the resources that can help people to stay mentally healthy at work and has recently been adapted by the team to include a COVID-19 toolkit. Full details can be found here - The Missing £4 Billion. As previewed by the Financial Times and also now available on the Nesta webpages, a report by Tom Forth (Head of Data at the Open Data Institute Leeds, and lead on the project on Real City Size, from our first round of competitive PIN funding, and Richard Jones (University of Manchester), explore where the UK invests in innovation, (specifically research and development) and how they think it could do even better. One of our International Advisory Board members, Jen Rae (Nesta) wrote the foreword for the report and will be speaking about regional imbalances at the upcoming webinar on 5 June 2020 (details above). Read the report in full here. - Recent Publications - Recent Blogs: In response to the current climate, some of our Co-Investigators and International Advisory Board members have prepared some of their personal* insights into the situation. - Why Cleantech Investment Should be a High Priority Now and after COVID-19 Dr Robyn Owen (Middlesex University London) and Theresia Harrer at the Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research (CEEDR) and Centre for Understanding Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP). - Does productivity still matter? Vania Sena (University of Sheffield) - Small Business in the Time of Covid-19 Andrew Henley (Cardiff University) and Tim Vorley (University of Sheffield) - Modelling the local economic impacts of the coronavirus Ben Gardiner (Cambridge Econometrics) * Please note these are personal opinions from the relevant Co-Investigator and do not claim to be the opinion of their relevant University, the Network or our funder, the ESRC. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/99dd17f58e66/may |
| Description | May 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The PIN newsletter has over 330+ subscribers and monthly updates are sent. In 2021, we started a number of 'feature' articles to showcase some of our successful projects and the impacts from them. May 2021 Newsletter featured; - Feature on Lara Pecis' research greater inclusivity and diversity in leadership, management and entrepreneurship in a feature by Dr Lara Pecis about her recent research. - Dr Wendy Martin report on health and wellbeing - OECD webinar video to catch up on - Ben Gardiner's report from the final round of projects - Productivity Podcast launched - ERC Postcast launched - Productivity and the Pandemic book link to purchase. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/589682454b08/may2021 |
| Description | Media coverage of Katy Jones at House of Lords on 25 Febraury 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Giving evidence in Parliament - daunting, but worth it, Dr Katy Jones (Evidence based policy, Decent Work and Productivity, Universal Credit. Public Service Reform) Katy Jones on her experience of giving evidence to a parliamentary committee at https://mcrmetropolis.uk/improving-understanding-of-impacts-of-universal-credit/ and also picked up at https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/universal-credit-policies-conflict-with-the-realities-of-work/. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://mcrmetropolis.uk/improving-understanding-of-impacts-of-universal-credit/ |
| Description | Newsletter (February 2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The February Edition of the Newsletter hightlighted some key aspects from the network including; IN Conference 2020 You are warmly invited to join us at the second Productivity Insights Network conference on 1 April 2020 in Firth Hall, University of Sheffield! PIN2020 will bring together some of the greatest minds in research, policy and business to discuss the next steps we can take to address the productivity puzzle in the UK. Register your place. Keynote speakers: Andrew G Haldane, Chief Economist at the Bank of England. Dr. Robert D. Atkinson, President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). Special Guests & Panel Discussants include: Lord Jim O'Neill - Lord O'Neill is Chair of the Productivity Insights Network's International Advisory Board Tera Allas CBE - Director of Research and Economics in McKinsey's UK and Ireland Office, Former Deputy Head of the UK Government Economic Service Lord Bob Kerslake - Lord Kerslake is Chair of the UK2070 Commission and former Head of the UK Civil Service Ben Jones - CBI Principal Economist. Professor Ashwin Kumar - Professor of Social Policy in the Policy Evaluation Research Unit at Manchester Metropolitan University and former Chief Economist for Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Professor Ron Martin - Professor of Economic Geography at the University of Cambridge. Bridget Rosewell CBE - Commissioner for the National Infrastructure Commission, Former Chief Economic Adviser to the Greater London Authority Thank you to all those who provided feedback on last year's event, which we have used to develop an exciting agenda for PIN2020. Please be aware that places are limited by venue capacity. Recent Publications New Project Reports: Raising Productivity, Housing the Economy Insecure Employment and Mental Health: One Pathway in the Productivity Puzzle. Product Market Concentration and Productivity in the UK Inclusive Innovation: Sustaining productivity and socio-economic inclusion through innovation centres, hubs and districts. New Blogs Beyond the silver bullet approach to raising productivity - Stephen Boyd Harnessing productivity through inclusive innovation in the North West - Dr Lara Pecis Employers and employees can benefit from reducing insecure employment - Dr Daniel Kopasker and Professor Catia Montagna Interesting Reading: Industrial Strategy Council Report: UK Regional Productivity Differences: An Evidence Review. PIN was pleased to provide input for this report by Dr Robert Zymek and Ben Jones. Can Good Work Solve the Productivity Puzzle?: The RSA and Carnegie UK trust produced this fascinating collection of essays. Recent Events Dr Jen Nelles recently shared her innovative work with the Northern Ireland Department for the Economy in a webinar hosted by the CECAN research centre. Gender Dimensions of the Productivity Puzzle (4th February): PIN members were pleased to hold a round table discussion with members of the Commission on a Gender Equal Economy and guests. Watch this space for the blog report! Industrial Strategy Council Academic Roundtable (22nd January): PIN brought together academic expertise to provide feedback on emerging findings from the Council's Insight Project on 'place'. Productivity and Green Growth (16th January): Together with ESRC funded Place-based Climate Action Network we hosted a forum for engineering and manufacturing businesses, which included an input from Ed Miliband MP. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/2c1bedf0116b/sept-oct-666820?e=af336612cd |
| Description | Newsletter - April 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The purpose of the Newsletter is to reach the wider PIN network with the latest news, activity and upcoming events. The April issue highlighted the following aspects: • Follow up from the #PIN2019 Conference held on 13 March 2019 • Launce of the second round of funding for small projects and Pioneer projects • Latest blogs • Upcoming events • Events from PIN friends and partners • Publications • PINboard PIN Conference 2019 The impact from the update from the Conference presented the keynotes and provided a short video from the event as well as the information on the panel sessions from the events. Could you find a piece of the puzzle? The conference and the newsletter also provided a forum to present the upcoming funding opportunities for the second round of small grant and Pioneer funded projects. Latest Blogs The Newsletter also directed the wider network to the latest blogs, which provide an overview of the work the network has been doing in line with funded projects and beyond. Upcoming Events, Events from PIN friends and partners and Publications The events noted the upcoming roundtable in relation to the UK's Industrial Strategy, Stronger Towns Fund and the experiences of regional businesses. As well as some interesting events by Pin partners such as Nesta's Innovation Growth Lab (IGL) conference in May, the British Academy of Management event and State of Small Business Britain Conference both in June. The outcome of the inclusion of these events was that the network received expressions of interest regarding the Roundtables and promotion of the partner events ensured the wider network was aware of the relevant events. The recent publications presented the findings from three small grant funded projects with CFE Research, City-REDI and Newcastle University, which highlight the reach of Network through the ESRC, funding of related productivity projects and links to various partners exploring topics in the wider remit of related research and topics. PINboard The PINBoard featured the Business Basics Fund in the April edition, which had a call for proposals; "The Business Basics Fund, administered by Innovate UK on behalf of BEIS, is available to support projects that test and build evidence of innovative methods that encourage SMEs to adopt productivity-boosting technology and/or management practices. Details of the latest call for proposals which closes on the 17 April can be found here. The Innovation Growth Lab based at Nesta is supporting the delivery of this fund, this includes a matchmaking process for potential applicants. Several projects are seeking research and evaluation partners their details can be found here." The outcome and impact from the inclusion of the call was aimed to increase interest within the wider network in the opportunity and to encourage partners to submit proposals where appropriate. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/0ba1f215de32/insights_spring2019?e=af336612cd |
| Description | Newsletter - Febraury 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The purpose of the newsletter is to reach the wider PIN network with the latest news and activity and upcoming events. The February issue highlighted the following aspects: • Invitation to attend the #PIN2019 Conference on 13 March 2019 • Latest News • Recent articles • Publications • PINboard Invitation to attend the #PIN2019 Conference on 13 March 2019 The main outcome and impact from the newsletter was that the wider network received an invite to attend the '#PIN2019 conference' in March 2019. The advertising of the event to the wider network, presented the exciting line-up of keynote speakers and the high-level panel discussion, which in turn helped to increase the overall attendance. The promotion reached wider audiences via the newsletter distribution, due to the variety of interested parties who have engaged with the network in signing up for the update. The promotion of the conference also gained further traction due to the reputation and high regard for the involved speakers and nature of the material to be presented which reached a wider range through dissemination of the information further to the email update itself. Latest News, Recent articles and publications The latest news from the network provided the wider network with an insight in to the work recently completed by network members. This work provides interesting awareness of not only the gaps in the productivity puzzle being addressed, but also information on the innovative work and research on related aspects of 'productivity' as the central economic challenge in the UK. The outcome and impact from this inclusion within the newsletter saw more traffic reaching the relevant articles and publications on the website and therefore reaching the wider network audience. PINboard The PINboard presents an opportunity for the wider network to gain more involvement in the Network through linking up with existing researchers on work packages within projects and vice versa. The aim was to set up further conversations in relation to various ongoing research. Allowing practitioners and researchers to liaise and develop a collaboration looking at specific aspects or questions, which require further insight and/or experience. The outcome and impact from the PINboard was that the collaborative opportunities were advertised to a broader field of practitioners and researchers, enabling positive conversations and work toward responding to open questions to be underway, leading to further questions and conversations in an ongoing process. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/856991d15995/insights_feb2019-444127?e=af336612cd |
| Description | Newsletter - July 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The purpose of the Newsletter is to reach the wider PIN network with the latest news, activity and upcoming events. The July issue highlighted the following aspects: • Targeted Small Grants call open • PhD internship opportunity • Productivity Project Funding: Round 2 • PIN Special Sessions (Cambridge. 17 July 2019) • Latest Blogs • Recent Publications With respect to the Targeted Small Grants call open call: The Network is seeking insights within specific research areas of productivity and invites proposals investigating productivity in relation to: UK business investment (including financialisation) behavior; infrastructure and/or land use; and sustainability. Within the initial review of where the network has reached and the nature of its projects and related work packages, these aspects were identified as areas where 'pieces of the puzzle' could be addressed. In terms of the PhD internship opportunity: A further, targeted responsive project has been funded with respect to Productivity and systems in Norther Ireland. There was an opportunity for an intern to work closely with the network and also the Northern Ireland Department for the Economy. The key aims of the project are to develop a path-breaking process for understanding the productivity puzzle in the context of the Northern Ireland Economy 2030 Industrial Strategy and a working model of a mapping process that can be used in other contexts. From this, an event with NI DfE and PIN will take place in September and building on the conversation within, there will be further discussion and additional impact on a broader scale. In relation to the Productivity Project Funding: Round 2: Following the public call, which closed in May, the newsletter also took the opportunity to announce the successful eight projects; four small grants and four pioneer. In addition, a vlog from the Thriving at work pioneer project completed in June 2019 was included in the correspondence - highlighting some of the key findings and outcomes from this productivity-funded project. The Network presented the PIN Special Sessions (Cambridge. 17 July 2019). The Regional Science Association International - British and Irish Section (RSAI-BIS) 47th conference was held in Cambridge in July, and within the Network provided a series of 'special sessions' with a livestream on twitter for the duration of the event. The sessions were based on the following questions; 'How can big data and open algorithms improve the UK's productivity policy? What does inclusive productivity growth look like?' Across one day of expert insight and discussion, representative from the network unpacked these questions by looking at the latest research coming out of the wider Productivity Insights Network and partners. Regarding the 'Latest Blogs and Recent Publications': A number of blogs and recent publications were brought to the attention of the wider network in the July issue; including two blogs with the Early Career Researchers Network in mind; in terms of being authored by an ECR network member or looking at how ECR colleagues are changing the tone of the debate. There was also a blog in relation to one of the pioneer projects, which was completed in June 2019 and has had a significant impact on sustainable return to work. As well as a timely response to Chris Giles' piece "Britain's Regional Divide is Smaller than it First Appears", Financial Times 9 May 2019 by the principle Investigator, Philip McCann. There were a number of highlighted publications, which provided a summary of the outcomes of the Productivity Funded projects, either small grants or pioneer projects that were completed in June. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/256b62669574/summernewsletter?e=af336612cd |
| Description | Newsletter - October 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The purpose of the Newsletter is to reach the wider PIN network with the latest news, activity and upcoming events. The October issue highlighted the following aspects: • Events • Latest Blogs • Recent Publications Events There are a number of upcoming and recent events within the Network and partners. These were outlined as below; - PIN2020 Conference: Look out for exciting keynote speaker announcements in November! Registration opens on Monday 2 December. Check out last year's programme. - Scottish Government Seminar series: Although these are closed sessions, we will be posting the slides here where possible. - AI and Productivity series: PIN is supporting a series of events around the UK entitled "Boost your firm's productivity through AI adoption". For dates see the Managing Partners' Forum. - Achieving Sustainable Productivity: Listen to Professor Karina Nielsen sharing insights from her PIN project on how to support workers returning from long-term absence at a recent conference for HR practitioners. - Making Sense of Productivity Research Across Sectors and Scales: Thanks to all those who joined us in London for this joint event with the Enterprise Research Centre - slides available here. - Economic Policy in the Intangible Age: Professor Jonathan Haskel, member of PIN's International Advisory Board, will be giving the University of Sheffield's 2019 Knoop Lecture on 19th November. Latest Blogs and Recent Publications A number of blogs and recent publications were brought to the attention of the wider network in the October issue including; Universal Credit and In-Work Conditionality - a productive turn? By Dr Katy Jones; The time has come to sharpen the focus on productivity By Dr Vicki Belt; Calling all researchers; a new PIN funding opportunity by Kate Penney; Getting rich slowly: how to achieve sustainable earnings growth by Jonathan Boys. The was also a call to ask if the wider network would like to contribute or provide a blog; "Would you like to write for the PIN blog? Get in touch!" In terms of publications; Check out our publications page for the full list. Within the October issue, some highlights were noted including the full report by Dr Katy Jones on her PIN funded small project, which goes alongside the recent blog; "Universal Credit and In-Work Conditionality (Briefing Note and Small Project Report)". As well as Measuring the Regional Skills Mismatches and Access to Jobs (Pioneer Project Report) and Unpicking the Productivity Narrative in UK Manufacturers (Pioneer Project Report) from two Pioneer funded projects by various colleagues at Nesta nda another by Professor Jill MacBryde and her team. Elsewhere, PIN International Advisory Board member Dr Ekkehard Ernst and colleagues provide a publication on The Economics of Artificial Intelligence: implications for the Future of Work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/f4fe078ea4f5/sept-oct?e=f722bfb3d8 |
| Description | Northern Ireland Tobin (9 September 2019) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The Productivity Puzzle: Causes and Consequences of Stagnating Productivity. Growth and how to Reboot Productivity Growth. Round table event. 9th September, 2019, 10:45 - 15.00. Department for the Economy, 39-49 Adelaide St, Belfast, BT2 8FD. This round table event, hosted by Department for the Economy (DfE) and the Productivity Insights Network (PIN), will explore the causes and consequences of stagnating productivity growth in Northern Ireland (NI). The Productivity Insights Network aim to foster social science wide perspectives on the productivity puzzle that make a contribution to research, policy and practice. The event aims to help stakeholders to gain a better understanding of different perceptions and approaches to productivity, in the context of the NI Industrial Strategy, and to connect people already working, researching and making policies in this area. The round table event will begin with a context-setting overview of the NI Industrial Strategy provided by Keith Forster (Senior Economic Policy Adviser, DfE). Professor Philip McCann (Co-Director, PIN) will then speak on the UK regional productivity picture, drawing on the latest research and work of PIN's partners. Shane Murphy (Director of Analytical Services, DfE) will then focus thoughts on the key barriers, constraints and opportunities in the NI context. The first section will close with in-depth discussion involving all participants, focusing on policy choices that lie ahead, chaired by Professor Tim Vorley (Co-Director, PIN). After a break for lunch, the session will reconvene with a focus on productivity viewed through the lens of a number of the thematic pillars in the NI Industrial Strategy. Dr Karen Bonner (Lecturer in Entrepreneurship, Queens University Belfast) will discuss innovation as a driver and what we need to do differently. Dr Owen Sims (Senior Policy Adviser, CBI) will discuss the role of skills in productivity. Christine Robinson (Strategy, Policy & Partnership Manager, Belfast City Council) will present on taking a place based approach to productivity. Tom Reid (Director, Department for Infrastructure) will provide thoughts on the role of infrastructure. Dr Jen Nelles and Professor Tim Vorley will then outline the benefits of taking a systems approach to productivity and introduce their project working with the DfE. To close, there will be an open discussion on the future of productivity in NI, chaired by Professor Philip McCann. In terms of impact, the roundtable was well received and Jen Nelles continues to work on a responsive project in this area related to the systems approach. There is keen interest in this area and Jen has developed links with a wide reach. The initial responsive small project was awarded some additional resource and will continue to grow with further investment from the network. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PHY3x32zovc_2p4HSeoHpx-UpFQLGLK4/view?usp=sharing |
| Description | Nottingham University Productivity Group 11/07/18 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | KP visited the Nottingham Productivity Network to make contacts, share information about how they can engage with PIN and inform them about the funding call. Audience: Interdisciplinary academics involved with an interest in some aspect of productivity research What it aims to achieve: We aim to engage them in the work of the network by explaining our approach and the 2nd round of productivity funding Why this matters: Strengthen the capacity of the network by building bridges and increasing our profile in this space. Encourage more/greater quality applications for funding/other opportunities that arise. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | November 2020 Newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | November 2020 Newsletter contents: - Funded project reports - Matching People to Jobs and hours: Drivers and Productive impacts of Under-Employment - Colin Lindsay, Donald Houston, George Byrne, Robert Stewart alondisge a link to the PrOPEL Hub supporting event for the project and recent blog Matching People to Jobs and Hours: Drivers and Productivity Impacts of Under-employment' also by Colin Lindsay (Strathclyde Business School) - Blog 'Building Back Better: Why Early Stage Cleantech Financing is Critical for a Sustainable Productive Economy' By Theresia Harrer & Dr Robyn Owen, Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research (CEEDR), Middlesex University and Robyn and Theresia also presented their research at the Entrepreneurial Finance Conference and Entrepreneurial Finance Special Interest Group AGM on 5 November 2020. Other News - Philip McCann and City REDI commentary on UK and Changing Europe' addressing Boris Johnson's pledge to 'level up' left behind parts of the UK. But research by Professor Philip McCann and Professor Raquel Ortega-Argiles shows that Brexit will work directly against this agenda. - PIN Pioneer Project announced as a winner in the Vocational Rehabilitation Association Awards Wider Network The Transforming Construction Network Plus + has just released its third Digest: Supply Chain Productivity in Construction. Upcoming Event - Research and Innovation in the North of England - 09 December 2020, 16:00 - 17:30 With Adam Brown (Cambridge Econometrics), Jen Nelles (University of Sheffield) and Dieter Kogler (University of Dublin). Chaired by Tim Vorley (Oxford Brookes) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/de7650251dbf/november |
| Description | OECD Trento Centre for Local Development & Productivity Insights Network Spatial productivity in the post-COVID-19 world The webinar represents the 12th Meeting of the OECD Spatial Productivity Lab (4 February 2021) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | OECD Trento Centre for Local Development & Productivity Insights Ntework Spatial productivity in the post-COVID-19 world The webinar represents the 12th Meeting of the OECD Spatial Productivity Lab 4 February 2021 15.00-18.15 CET (Rome time zone) Remote participation Website • Agenda • Registration • Contact WHO WE ARE The OECD Spatial Productivity Lab (SPL) is a dedicated research laboratory that works with local and global partners to advance knowledge about the ways regional policy and a better understanding of spatial links can improve productivity growth and thereby the creation of better jobs and well-being. The OECD Spatial Productivity Lab is a part of the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development, which is an integral part of the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities. The mission of the Trento Centre is to build capacities for local development in OECD member and non-member countries, working directly with policy makers at all levels of government. The Productivity Insights Network is a multi-disciplinary network of social science researchers engaged with public, private, and third sector partners. Its aim is to change the tone of the productivity debate in theory and practice. It is led by the University of Sheffield, with co-investigators at Oxford Brookes University, Cambridge Econometrics, Cardiff University, Durham University, University of Sunderland, SQW, University of Cambridge, University of Essex, University of Glasgow, University of Leeds and University of Stirling. WHAT WILL BE DISCUSSED As the world is changed by the pandemic, the mechanisms defining productivity of firms and regions are likely to be reshaped. What will stay the same and what will be different? How the crisis can be used as an opportunity to leap forward to a more productive, but also more inclusive, world with no places left behind? The webinar will offer an opportunity to explore these and other pressing questions through the lens of labour markets, regional innovation systems and resilience. SPEAKERS (in speaking order) Nadim AHMAD Deputy Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE), OECD Tim VORLEY Pro Vice-Chancellor & Dean of Oxford Brookes Business School & PIN co-director, UK Ekkehard ERNST Chief Macroeconomist, ILO Anne GREEN Professor of Regional Economic Development, University of Birmingham, UK Jen NELLES Visiting Associate Professor at Hunter College CUNY, US Rudiger AHREND Head of Economic Analysis, Statistics and Multi-Level Governance Section, CFE, OECD Igor LINKOV Senior Science and Technology Manager, US Army Corps of Engineers and Adjunct Professor, Carnegie Mellon University, US Philip MCCANN Chair in Urban and Regional Economics, The University of Sheffield, UK PARTICIPATION The event is open to civil society and all those interested in the topic upon free registration. To participate, please register here. Link with log-in details is sent to all registered participants. The webinar will be recorded. OECD Spatial Productivity Lab Partners This event is part of the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities activities. The OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities provides comparative statistics, analysis and capacity building for local and national actors to work together to unleash the potential of entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises, promote inclusive and sustainable regions and cities, boost local job creation, and support sound tourism policies. www.oecd.org/cfe | @OECD_local | Linkedin | CFE Newsletter |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://youtu.be/pWJlNbdZSZw |
| Description | October 2020 Newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | October 2020 Newsletter contents: Recent Publicaiton - Funded project reports - The relationship between firm financing and investment in Productivity in a very low interest rate environment. Our PIN Funded Targeted Small Project by Dr Craig Berry (Manchester Metropolitan University) with Dr John Evemy (University of York) and Dr Ed Yates (University of Sheffield) was completed this month and the project report is now available for you to read. The team also recently provided a webinar with Common Wealth in relation to the project. This was featured in our last newsletter. Read the September edition - Redefining SME Productivity measurement and Assessment for a low carbon economy - Our PIN Funded Pioneer Project by Dr Robyn Owen, Theresia Harrer, Suman Lodh, (CEEDR), Rebecca Pates, Kadriann Pikkat (SQW) and Simon Mair (CUSP). with was completed this month and the project report is now available for you to read. In other news - - Productivity and the Pandemic. We are thrilled to share the artwork for our next publication "Productivity and the Pandemic: Challenges and Insights from COVID-19". The publication, by Edward Elgar, edited by Prof Philip McCann and Prof Tim Vorley with 46 Authors and 21 chapters. The new book will be published in January 2021. - PIN Pioneer Project announced as finalist in the Vocational Rehabilitation Association Awards. We have had some good news from one of our Pioneer projects that was funded in the first round our open call. The interdisciplinary project team, led by Professor Karina Nielsen at the University of Sheffield and in collaboration with Dr Jo Yarker, psychologist and Director of Affinity Health at Work asked an important question; What are the resources that help workers with common mental disorders stay and be productive after return to work? Previous events - Capital shocks and cities - Capital Shocks and Cities: Unifying Mills, Wheaton and Zipf a new paper introduced by Professor Philip McCann. Our lunchtime webinar this month was presented by PIN Co-Director Professor Philip McCann who introduced his latest research on Capital Shocks and Cities: Unifying Mills, Wheaton and Zipf Upcoming events - - Building Back Decent Work in the Pandemic and Beyond, 12 November 2020, Drop-in 14:00 - 18:00. Dr Katy Jones and colleagues will present within the ESRC Festival of Social Science. The event is a café-style event, delegates are welcome to attend particular sessions of interest (or the whole event) and is hosted by Chris Maguire, award-winning journalist and editor. - Matching people to jobs and fair work: building back without under-employment post-COVID19, Wednesday 4 November 2020, 14:00 - 15:00. Prof Colin Lindsay and colleagues will present the research undertaken by the Universities of Strathclyde and Portsmouth, supported by the ESRC Productivity Insights Network. at the upcoming event. The final report will feature in the next edition of the newsletter. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/60c71e609975/october |
| Description | PIN Blogs |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | List of PIN blogs written by the core team, co-Is and the wider network 1. How Business Schools Can Help Unlock the Productivity Puzzle! Feb 2018 2. Productivity debate needs a reboot, in theory and practice 3. Productivity: Why you really should care March 2018 4. Thoughts from our Advisory Board Chair, Lord Jim O'Neill May 2018 5. Delivering productivity the Labour way? June 2018 6. Shovel ready, but for what? July 2018 7. The Role of Local Large Firms in the Performance of New Firm Start-Ups 8. Productivity Project Fund - Round 1 (#pieceofthepuzzle campaign) October 2018 9. A Day at the ESRC Festival of Social Science (November 2018) 10. SMEs and the Productivity Puzzle (December 2018) 11. Productivity in SMEs: Management Practices or Effective Leadership? (December 2018) 12. Real Journey Time, Real City Size, and the disappearing productivity puzzle. (January 2018) 13. Productivity Policy Review (January 2019) 14. Getting People In Place To Sustain Productivity Improvements (February 2019) 15. The Puzzling Productivity Problem (May 2018) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/news-blog/ |
| Description | PIN Final Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Our final PIN event this month which featured our PIN Co-directors, Professors Philip McCann and Tim Vorley, and our Co-investigators; Professor Richard Harris, Professor Gary Dymski, Professor Iain Docherty, Professor Andy Henley, Dr Adam Brown, Professor Rob Huggins, Dr Maria Abreu, Professor Leaza McSorley, Professor Colin Mason, Dr Ben Gardiner, Jonathan Cook, Professors Kirsty Newsome and Vania Sena. The event was held on Zoom and recorded with a view to add to youtube and the web after editing. It was felt that this meant we could do more to control the direction of the thought leadership rather than responding to live audience questions so this was not opened out to an audience. But will be shared with the wider network ASAP after editing. The event provided an opportunity for each to share their thematic areas and reflect on the changes and developments in related research since PIN started and importantly commenting on what is still to address going forward - the discussions also presented priorities for the future, alongside all of the cross-cutting learning that has been completed within these themes and beyond. A recording of the event will be shared presently (after professional editing) as will the completed synthesis report. The key thoughts were interesting as they showed the cross-cutting nature of the work pin has copleted whcih was the aim of the interdisciplinary, social science view of the productivity ouzzke. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | PIN as key note speaker at the Nottingham University Retail conference on productivity (Professor Tim Vorley) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | As PIN is not based on sectors as such this was a good opportunity to engage with an academic retail conference based on productivity. Objectives listed below. Delivered by Professor Tim Vorley Sharing of cutting edge insights with a Key User Community (businesses) -Build bridges with business for future collaboration and knowledge exchange(contacts for involvement in PPF/responsive work). Why this matters Meeting key impact and comms objectives of: -Gaining buy-in from business community. -Feedback & questions will allow us to refine presentation of insights so they are "both accessible and useful to primary user communities". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | PIN launch event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Official launch of the network where we publicly presented our analysis of the gaps in UK productivity research for the first time and open applications to our Productivity Projects Fund which aims to target identified gaps,through collaborative research. • Theme: The complexity of the 'productivity puzzle' requires a collaborative approach to generate insights that can have impact; bringing together partners across government, private sector and civil society. • Purpose: To generate awareness of the factors involved in the productivity puzzle across the UK and to build commitment to a collaborative approach to deepening our understanding of the drivers and inhibitors of productivity in areas that show promise. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2018/05/ |
| Description | PIN/ERC "Meanings of Productivity" Event - Making sense of productivity research across sectors and scales. 1 October 2019, 13.00 - 15.00 @ The Shard - London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Making sense of productivity research across sectors and scales, Tuesday 1st October 2019, 13.00 - 15.00 WBS @ The Shard - London In collaboration with the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) PIN delivered a session at the Shard, London, on Meanings of Productivity. Conversations with partners from different sectors has highlighted an inconsistency in how productivity is understood. A universal definition of productivity is not easily applicable in practice due to its varied interpretation across sectors and scales. Measures of productivity can become confused making it difficult to gain an accurate picture about the impact on individuals, firms, sectors, supply chains and regions. This session was jointly hosted by the Productivity Insights Network (PIN) and the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) to explore the different approaches and insights of productivity research on regions, sectors, supply-chains, firms and individuals. Through interdisciplinary conversations between researchers, civil servants, UKRI and business representatives, participants will help to develop an understanding of different perspectives on productivity. Contributors; Professor Philip McCann, Dr Vicki Belt, Professor Nigel Driffield, Professor Stephen Roper, Dr Temitope Akinremi, Dr Katy Jones, Professor Tim Vorley Conversations with partners from different sectors has highlighted an inconsistency in how productivity is understood. A universal definition of productivity is not easily applicable in practice due to its varied interpretation across sectors and scales. Measures of productivity can become confused making it difficult to gain an accurate picture about the impact on individuals, firms, sectors, supply chains and regions. This session is jointly hosted by the Productivity Insights Network (PIN) and the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) to explore the different approaches and insights of productivity research on regions, sectors, supply-chains, firms and individuals. Through interdisciplinary conversations between researchers, civil servants, UKRI and business representatives, participants will help to develop an understanding of different perspectives on productivity. The event will take place on Tuesday 1st October 2019 in central London between 13.00 and 15.00. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dl9ug99AbBHriM1S8xzVWHWIuuSS5Hkj/view?usp=sharing |
| Description | Productivity and The Pandemic Book Launch Webinar Series (February - March 2021) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Productivity and The Pandemic Book Launch Webinar Series (February - March 2021) Fridays at 09:00 (GMT) - starting on 5 February for 6 weeks! The webinars will bring together chapter contributors who will discuss their key findings and observations over a range of productivity-related issues, and share their thoughts on what needs to be considered in terms of the way forward as we work through the effects of the pandemic. Please Register in Advance for each of the upcoming events. REGISTER NOW! Webinar 1 (05 February 2021) SPATIAL CONSIDERATIONS IN A POST-COVID19 ENVIRONMENT REGISTER NOW! Webinar 2 (12 February 2021) POLICY IMPLICATIONS FOR A POST-COVID19 UK REGISTER NOW! Webinar 3 (19 February 2021) THINKING AND ACTING DIFFERENTLY POST-COVID19 REGISTER NOW! Webinar 4 (26 February 2021) EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE NEEDS POST-COVID19 REGISTER NOW! Webinar 5 (05 March 2021) ENTERPRISE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP POST-COVID19 REGISTER NOW! Webinar 6 (12 March 2021) FINANCES AND EFFICIENCY IN A POST-COVID19 ENVIRONMENT |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/portfolio/productivity-and-the-pandemic-book-launch-webina... |
| Description | Regional Science Association International - British and Irish Section (RSA-BIS) PIN Special Sessions: Live Stream on Twitter (17 July 2019) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 17th July 2019 | Howard Theatre, Downing College, Cambridge (Special Session of RSAIBIS Conference) How can big data and open algorithms improve the UK's productivity policy? What does inclusive productivity growth look like? Across one packed day of expert insights and discussion, we unpacked these questions by looking at the latest insights coming out of the wider Productivity Insights Network and partners. These talks were special sessions of the RSAI-BIS conference and were organised by Dr Maria Abreu, Ben Gardiner and Professor Vania Sena. These Special Sessions brought together speakers from think tanks, government, the private sector and academe that are advancing the debate around the UK's productivity puzzle by asking questions at different scales, such as firms, cities and regions. Attendance outside of the RSAI-BIS conference was capped to allow for a more interactive discussion between key stakeholders. Topics included: • Productivity, inclusive growth and wellbeing • Regional productivity policy • Big data, open algorithms and productivity policy |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://t.co/pNdv456aMx?amp=1 |
| Description | Regional Science Association International - British and Irish Section (RSAI-BIS) PIN Special Sessions; University of Cambridge (17 July 2019) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 17th July 2019 | Howard Theatre, Downing College, Cambridge (Special Session of RSAIBIS Conference) How can big data and open algorithms improve the UK's productivity policy? What does inclusive productivity growth look like? Across one packed day of expert insights and discussion, we unpacked these questions by looking at the latest insights coming out of the wider Productivity Insights Network and partners. Full programme available here. These talks were special sessions of the RSAI-BIS conference and were organised by Dr Maria Abreu, Ben Gardiner and Professor Vania Sena. These Special Sessions brought together speakers from think tanks, government, the private sector and academe that are advancing the debate around the UK's productivity puzzle by asking questions at different scales, such as firms, cities and regions. Attendance outside of the RSAI-BIS conference was capped to allow for a more interactive discussion between key stakeholders. Topics included: • Productivity, inclusive growth and wellbeing • Regional productivity policy • Big data, open algorithms and productivity policy |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/portfolio/productivity-insights-network-special-sessions-1... |
| Description | Responses to COVID-19: A number of Blogs by various Network members (March 2020 - |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Throughout the lockdown and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; Advisory Board members, Co-Investigators and PINFunded Project Leads have provided a number of insightful blogs for the Network. A list of blog activities is provided: Blog Publications: • Is Household Outsourcing Driving Down Productivity https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/09/is-household-outsourcing-driving-down-productivity/? Colin Mason (Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow). Published 21 September 2020. • What value can Universities add to Economic Recovery planning? https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/07/what-value-can-univerisities-add-to-economic-recovery-planning/ Some baseline considerations in the design of a Universities-coordinated West Yorkshire Economic Recovery Plan. Andrew Brown and Gary Dymski, (Economics Division, Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds). Published 31 July 2020. • Firm Creation in the UK During the Covid-19 Lockdown (June 2020) By Anthony Savagar, Alfred Duncan, and Miguel León-Ledesma, University of Kent. https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/07/firm-creation-in-the-uk-during-the-covid-19-lockdown-june-2020/ In support of their research, Anthony Savagar {Senior Lecturer, School of Economics, University of Kent and Centre for Macroeconomics), Alfred Duncan (Lecturer, School of Economics, University of Kent), and Miguel León-Ledesma (Professor, School of Economics, University of Kent and CEPR) have published the following blog 'Firm Creation in the UK During the Covid-19 Lockdown (June 2020)'. Published 2 July 2020. • A New Green Shovel? Options for the transport stimulus package https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/06/a-new-green-shovel-options-for-the-transport-stimulus-package/ Iain Docherty (Dean of the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Stirling and infrastructure theme leader for the Productivity Insights Network) has a new blog post with the CREDS network which outlines five sets of investment options which will define whether shovel ready schemes are genuinely transformative and green or simply dig us into a bigger hole. The blog with Greg Marsden (Professor of Transport Governance at the University of Leeds and Director of the DecarboN8 Network) and Jillian Anable (Professor of Transport and Energy at the University of Leeds and is the mobility theme leader at CREDS) is available now. Published 9 June 2020. • What can we learn from previous recessions about the COVID-19 economic crisis? https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/06/what-can-we-learn-from-previous-recessions-about-the-covid-19-economic-crisis/ Richard Lewney (Cambridge Econometrics) Published 8 June 2020. • The Usefulness of Applying Macro-Sector Results to Regional Levels https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/06/the-usefulness-of-applying-macro-sector-results-to-regional-levels/. Ben Gardiner (Cambridge Econometrics) Published 5 June 2020. • Why Cleantech Investment Should be a High Priority Now and after COVID-19 https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/05/why-cleantech-investment-should-be-a-high-priority-now-and-after-covid-19/ Robyn Owen (Middlesex University London). Published 13 May 2020. • Does productivity still matter? https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/05/does-productivity-still-matter/. Vania Sena (University of Sheffield). Published 5 May 2020. • Small Business in the Time of Covid-19 https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/05/small-business-in-the-time-of-covid-19/. Andrew Henley (Cardiff University) & Tim Vorley (University of Sheffield). Published 1 May 2020. • Modelling the local economic impacts of the coronavirus https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/04/modelling-the-local-economic-impacts-of-the-coronavirus/ Ben Gardiner (Cambridge Econometrics) Publishes 30 April 2020. • One Way Ticket? https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/04/one-way-ticket/ Iain Docherty (University of Stirling) and Tom Forth (Open Data Institute, Leeds). Published 24 April 2020. • Lessons from the past: how might productivity policy learn from the policy changes of the past 20 years https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/04/lessons-from-the-past-how-might-productivity-policy-learn-from-the-policy-changes-of-the-past-20-years/ Jonathan Cook (SQW Ltd). Published 20 April 2020. • How will COVID-19 affect productivity in the UK? https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/04/how-will-covid-19-affect-productivity-in-the-uk/ Richard Harris (Durham University). Published 7 April 2020. • The return of the Fourth Horseman: How the current pandemic might re-shape our world https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/04/the-return-of-the-fourth-horseman-how-the-current-pandemic-might-re-shape-our-world/ Ekkehard Ernst (University of Groningen). Publishes 6 April 2020. • Lessons of Covid-19 https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/04/lessons-of-covid-19/ Lord O'Neill (Chair of PIN International Advisory Board). Published 1 April 2020. • Explainer: the economics of the Coronavirus pandemic https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/03/explainer-the-economics-of-the-coronavirus-pandemic/ Richard Lewney (Cambridge Econometrics) Published 25 March 2020. • Regional capital stocks - a missing piece in the productivity puzzle https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/03/regional-capital-stocks-a-missing-piece-in-the-productivity-puzzle/ Ben Gardiner (Cambridge Econometrics). Published 24 March 2020. • UK - one of the most unequal countries when it comes to regional productivity https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/2020/03/uk-one-of-the-most-unequal-countries-when-it-comes-to-regional-productivity/ Ben Gardiner (Cambridge Econometrics). Published 24 March 2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/news-blog/ |
| Description | Roundtable: Firm investment in productivity in a very low interest rate environment |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Firm investment in productivity in a very low interest rate environment The ESRC Productivity Insights Network, Manchester Metropolitan University and Common Wealth delivered a roundtable on the relationship between financialisation and productivity. The roundtable explored the role played by corporate finance and the monetary policy environment on business investment decisions which support firms' productive capacities. Discussion will be led by presentation of new research by Craig Berry (MMU), John Evemy (York) and Ed Yates (Sheffield The roundtable where emerging findings from the project was presented to policy practitioners and academic experts in order to inform the policy implications of the research. The roundtable was designed as a private event, but given the online format we extended invitations a little more widely to facilitate a larger non-speaking audience |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | September 2020 Newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | September 2020 Newsletter contents: Recent Publications - Recent Blogs PIN Co-Investigator Professor Colin Mason asks whether household outsourcing is driving down productivity? The production of digital products by the household replaces market-intermediated services, removing them from GDP. This raises imprtant questions that we don't know rthe answers to, firstly, what the contribution is of these substitutions across the production boundary to the observed slowdown in the UK's productivity growth? And secondly, whether these changes are more apparent in the UK than in other countries? In other News - Other voices from across the Network Our Advisory Board Chair, Lord Jim O'Neill, featured in the FT advocating for further devolution, critiquing the 'Whitehall knows best' approach in the current crisis. Our Events - Previous events If you missed the Webinars on various aspects of Covid-19 and its implications, or want to listen again, they are available on our YouTube Channel - subscribe to be kept up to date. ( Feedback, We would appreciate your time in completing the short feedback questionnaire regarding the webinar(s), via Google Forms, using the following link. There are fewer than 10 questions for your attention, if you have a moment to spare - your views would be greatly received.) - The next webinar - We are delighted to announce that our PIN Co-Director Professor Philip McCann will be delivering a webinar on 7th October 2020 at noon on 'Capital Shocks and Cities' in which he will share his thoughts on this topic. Insights for across the network - Financialisation and the Firm Webinar (with Common Wealth) Dr Craig Berry from Manchester Metropolitan University shared the findings of his collaborative PIN funded research on the relationship between monetary policy and investment at the recent webinar. The breadth of the network Take a look at the breadth of the research that we have carried out across the UK to date. Our 35 funded project have explored a vast range of productivity issues focussed on various places in the UK. View our updated Network page for more information. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/76d8dbcac2e0/september |
| Description | September 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The PIN newsletter has over 330+ subscribers and monthly updates are sent. In 2021, we started a number of 'feature' articles to showcase some of our successful projects and the impacts from them. Final newsletter from PIN - providing a link to the final blog which presents an overview of the PIN activity - Recent publication from Rob Huggins and eirs Thompson(a second report) from their final funded project - recent publication from Tim Vorley et al from the final round of funding - note that there are some upcoming publications to follow - including a final PIN book - note that the recording of the PIN final event is upcoming and what the purpose of the event - upcoming RSA, PrOPEL hub, and Institute events. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/814524fdd2f1/september2021 |
| Description | Various Thematic Blogs |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As a requirement of the funded projects, we request a blog as a final outcome and we also publish various thematic blogs authored by our Co-Investigator Theme Leads. There have been various thematic blog publications throughout 2020 nad in to 2021 as below; Thematic Blogs: - Accounting for productivity Richard Murphy (Adam Leaver's Targeted Small Grant Blog) (07 March 2020) - Cath Sleeman and Jyldyz Djumalieva Blog: publishedblog post and data viz about their PIN-funded research on the Nesta website (best viewed in Chrome): https://www.nesta.org.uk/data-visualisation-and-interactive/measuring-regional-skills-mismatches/. (29 April 2020) - Does productivity still matter? Prof Vania Sena, University of Sheffield (05 May 2020). - A New Green Shovel? Options for the transport stimulus package - Iain Docherty, & CREDS Network, Greg Marsden, Jullian Anable. (09 June 2020) - Small Firm Public Sector Tendering Capabilities - A Regional Dashboard of Priorities for LEP Business Eco-systems (£1 in £3) - Dr Paula Turner (Centre for Tendering) - Potential Productivity Premiums Locked in Spatial Organization of Cities - Dr Hadi Arbabi, University of Sheffield (07 July 2020) - Understanding the impact of mental health and wellbeing on business performance in Small and Medium Enterprises By Soumyadeb Chowdhury1, Alexander Kharlamov1, Oscar Rodriguez-Espindola1, Prasanta Dey1, Ian Maidment1, Peter Ball2, Carolyn Chew-Graham3, Steven Marwaha4, Joemon Jose5 (1Aston University, 2University of York, 3Keele University, 4University of Birmingham, 5University of Glasgow) (20 July 2020) - Building Back Better: Why Early Stage Cleantech Financing is Critical for a Sustainable Productive Economy - Theresia Harrer & Dr Robyn Owen, Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research (CEEDR), Middlesex University (12 November 2020) - From novel research methods, the green economy, inclusive practice and responding to a global pandemic: Highlights from 2020 - Kate Penney, Productivity Insights Network, University of Sheffield, (18 December 2020) - Rebuilding a Resilient Britain - Prof Leaza McSorley, Productivity Insights Network, University of Sunderland (15 February 2021) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
| URL | https://productivityinsightsnetwork.co.uk/news-blog |
| Description | Vlog: Jo Yarker on Pioneer project and 'Thriving at work' - July 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Following the successful Pioneer project by Karina Nielsen (University of Sheffield) and Jo Yarker (Affinity Health at Work) and Hannah Evans (University of Sheffield), Jo Yarker presents the vlog regarding the Pioneer project and 'Thriving at work'. Within the vlog, Jo notes that they have successfully created the IGLOO framework, which has been developed to support absence from work due to mental ill health. The resource provides support for the individual, the leader, the group and the organisational level and looks to assist with keeping returnees to work, back in to work. The vlog notes some of the actions that can be implemented easily to assist with return to work for all parties ensuring flexibility and accessibility to support and resources. Further to the vlog, we have received confirmation that the IGLOO framework has been rolled out to a number of organisations including within the National Rail Industry through RSSB, which has a workforce of 240,000. The team have also been asked to speak at a number of events, one of which Karina Nielsen has recorded a podcast and the impact of the work is still increasing with further papers being accepted in relation to this project and its findings. We have also created an impact case study in relation to this project due to the success it has achieved. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2WTi_p0f0A |
| Description | YouTube Channel |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The network promoted the YouTube channel more broadly by including the link in the newsletter, and replaying our webinar on the channel. We have therefore gained more subscribers to the channel and lots of views of the recorded material for our webinar series responding to COVID19 and our series on the book launch. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBRayYXTVB8GFh6XH6aSeiA |
| Description | ofessor Leaza McSorley's online event with CURDS, 19 November 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Professor Leaza McSorley's recent online event with CURDS, 19 November 2020 Professor Leaza McSorley delivered a presentation on "Inequality, Well-being and (Inclusive) Productivity Growth: Reframing post Covid-19 and addressing structural inequalities" to the Centre for Urban and Regional Research (CURDS) at the University of Newcastle. The presentation highlighted the regional inequalities in the North East and emphasized the need to support regional capabilities to improve productivity. (This activity was ordignally planned for an inperson event in March 2020 which was cancelled due to the pandemic). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |