Coordinator to ensure that research supported by the ESRC initiative represents value for money and achieves impact across the retail sector

The retail sector accounts directly for 5.3% of UK gross added value, employs one in nine working people and is a key route to market for other sectors of the economy. Although weekly press reports signal the demise of well-known high street names and are often used to suggest a general malaise in the sector, many retailers have fallen because of a slow strategic response to dramatic and rapid changes in the social, technological and economic environment, most notably technological innovation, the growth of on line shopping and changing consumer lifestyles. Innovative, proactive retailers continue to perform strongly and contribute to making the UK the 6th largest retail sector in the world by sales. These surviving retailers are constantly looking to high quality research to help them find ways to add social and economic value to their businesses. They are looking for new business models and a robust evidence base to inform their strategic decision making processes.

In recognition of its significance and to further enhance the world class profile and research capacity of the sector, the ESRC are investing £2.5 million to support co-investment retail research projects. The recent ESRC Retail Navigator project highlighted seven retail research priority areas three of which have been highlighted within the call. This was an important first step in developing effective research collaboration with retailers but a number of barriers remain. These include a lack of awareness amongst retailers about the existence and nature of large clusters of retail related research and a perceived scepticism about the relevance, impact and timescales associated with much of the traditional academic research.

The role of the Retail Coordinator is to ensure that the research funded through the call represents value for money and achieves measurable impact across the sector. In addition the Coordinator will build on the findings of the ESRC Retail and Data navigator initiatives, undertaking activities to improve research collaboration and co-ordination across the sector and break down the barriers identified above.

The following activities have been designed to ensure this happens.

Initially assessing and monitoring the strategic direction and 'fit' of proposed projects to make sure they reflect the needs of industry and academic expertise.

Identifying, through one to one conversations with successful applicants, the nature and form of support required to maximise the impacts of their research

Staging a series of high profile 'knowledge sharing events' to ensure dialogue between stakeholders and grant holders to maximise opportunities for collaboration and synergy

Producing a series of 'Thought leadership' publications based on the research outputs which can be tailored for dissemination to Retail academics, practitioners, interest groups and policy makers.

The Coordinator will undertake additional activities aimed at enhancing the impact of the research projects and generating further collaboration and co-investment opportunities. These include developing an ESRC Retail alumnus to help maximise the impact of the research within the retail community and playing a proactive role in the development of the BIS Retail Growth strategy to maximise the policy impact of the research.

Impact summary
The following groups will benefit from the work of the Retail Coordinator:
Practicing Retailers: A key outcome of the Retail Navigator project was the identification of key agendas of research interest defined by retailers themselves. Although the final report highlights 7 potential agendas, the themed called focuses on three of these as a priority: 'e' commerce, m-commerce and omni channel retailing, consumer data, and the changing nature of retail 'space'. Given that retailers have already expressed an interest in these areas, a key role for the coordinator is to ensure that they have an opportunity to shape and co-create the focus and impact strategies of individual projects from the outset as well as get access to the final findings. It is anticipated that the findings will provide new business models and a robust evidence base to make informed decisions in response to key challenges in the global retail marketplace.
Leaders of Retail interest groups and retail policy makers: the Retail Navigator final report has highlighted enthusiasm for high quality retail research amongst retail interest groups. These include the BRC, the ACS and the NRPF who are all looking for material which they can share with their members and use to enhance their reputation as sector 'thought leaders'. A number of these groups have already offered to disseminate the findings from the 3 'thought leadership' publications through their retail networks providing further evidence of their interest in the findings. Leaders of the retail arm of BIS, charged with developing the government retail strategy, have already expressed a keen interest in supporting the research projects helping to foster better research relationships between the research councils, academia and retailers. The role of the Coordinator will be to ensure that the findings and lessons learnt from the co-investment projects inform the development of the cross council brokerage model at the heart of the BIS Retail Strategy.
The general public: Given the economic and social significance of the sector, retail research is generally considered to be extremely 'newsworthy'. The majority of the population are exposed to retail activity on a daily basis either as consumers and/or as retail employees and retail research constantly attracts media attention. The areas which are the focus of this call are considered to be particularly topical and newsworthy and already the subject of close public scrutiny. At a broader level the general public will be concerned that the research projects represent value for money and are focused on areas most likely to make a significant impact on retail productivity and performance and contribute to the social well-being of the country. The role of the coordinator involves ensuring that this is the case right from the outset.
Academic community: There is an obvious benefit of the research output to academics already researching in retailing i.e. those working within established retail research units such as RIBEN, OXIRM and the Stirling Institute of Retail studies. For these academics, the co-investment projects will add to the limited research available in at least three key areas and raise the profile of retail research within the academic community. All successful applicants will be keen to publish the outputs from their research in recognised academic journals and the coordinator will play a key role in enabling this to happen. The Retail Navigator project also highlighted interest in retail research from academics beyond the business and management discipline. Many of these academics are currently unaware that their own research might have potential retail applications. It is anticipated that the retail call will stimulate dialogue amongst this community about potential interdisciplinary research.