Organising for Positive Social Change: The case of Punch Records

"My PhD project is a collaboration between two research centres that develop studies in media and culture. The study will be interventionist in nature and will be undertaken in partnership with the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME) based at Aston University, CAMEo Research Institute for Cultural and Media Economies at Leicester University, and Punch Records, who are a Birmingham based music promotion company.

I will be exploring the types of strategies used to encourage positive social change, looking further into the different ways small market-based organisations promote positive social change, and how both internal and external stakeholders experience positive social change. The aim of my interdisciplinary study is to carry out action based research that will go on to produce succinct understandings of how meaningful change can be promoted along with what ways it reflects social reality. With the support of Punch Records, my PhD will contribute towards the promotion of positive social change in Birmingham. My research will draw on themes like cultural development, ethnic entrepreneurship, and talent capital, which will serve as frameworks to address the value of ethnic minority worker craftsmanship, their attributes and expertise. The data collated can lend itself to institutions, community interest companies and other professional bodies to help facilitate better working relationships, particularly amongst communities engaged in diversity within the creative sector."