Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research
(CSEAR - link to site)

CSEAR is the world's foremost research centre in its area and plays a pivotal role in the intellectual life of the field through its Annual International Congress on Social and Environmental Accounting Research and its offshoot conferences in Australasia, Canada, Portugal, Spain and Italy. CSEAR now boasts a membership of 350 individuals located in 35 countries and employs two research fellows to assist in these activities.

CSEAR engages with practitioners through a forum convened at the annual congress, and advises large corporations on sustainability issues.

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Research Unit for Research Utilisation (RURU - link to site)

RURU was originally a constituent part of the Centre for Public Policy Management, and is now a free standing joint initiative with the University of Edinburgh and part of the national ESRC Evidence Network. At the last ESRC review the work of RURU was described by external assessors as being 'some of the best in the world'. The accumulated experience of RURU has been published in a recent book by Associate Director Professor Huw Davies and colleagues (Using Evidence. Policy Press, 2007) which was described as 'outstanding and sophisticated' at its first review by Professor Carol Weiss of Harvard.

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Centre for Responsible Banking and Finance (RBF - link to site)

Established in 2011, the Centre for Responsible Banking and Finance specialises in producing empirical research which increases an understanding of corporate governance, social, environmental, ethical and trust issues in the financial services industry. Members of the Centre are active in advising government agencies and supranational bodies on issues related to not-for-profit financial institutions and social responsibility issues in financial markets. The Centre is currently involved in researching a number of topics including:

• The role of not-for-profit financial institutions (including credit unions and microfinance institutions) in tackling financial exclusion and alleviating poverty.
• The links between ethical behaviour and performance of commercial banks.
• Comparative analyses of the governance, risk and financial performance of traditional, ethical and islamic financial institutions.
• Analyses of the emerging markets for carbon.
• The performance of alternative investment classes (such as islamic, environmental and social mutual funds).
• Regulation and supervision of not-for-profit financial institutions and alternative financial markets.

For further information contact: Professor John O.S. Wilson (Director); Dr Andreas Heopner (Deputy Director) or Michael Rezec (Administrator).

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The Social Dimensions of Health Institute (SDHI - link to site)

Founded in 2004 the SDHI is a joint initiative between the Universities of Dundee and St Andrews within which the School of Management is taking a leading role (Professor Huw Davies is Director). SDHI brings together academics from the clinical and the social sciences (alongside local service leaders and health care professionals) to explore the social dimensions of health, how these influence care-seeking, and the implications for service delivery. SDHI is also interested in the social dynamics of health care delivery, including such aspects as service and role redesign and mechanisms for patient/user engagement.

The research conducted by the SDHI is typically carried out in partnership with key policy or practice actors. All funded projects, for example, have research end-users as co-applicants, as well as for each project to have some kind of supporting advisory arrangements that incorporate research end-users and service end-users. The advisory committee of the SDHI also has significant end-user representation, being chaired by Sir David Carter (former Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, and current Chair of major independent charity, the Health Foundation).

SDHI provides a major vehicle for taking forward applied inter-disciplinary health research across two major universities, and recent successes include a new award of £1.5 million funding from the Scottish Funding Council to develop a national research network addressing issues of patient safety.

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St Andrews Institute for Sustainability (SASI - link to site)

CSEAR supported a number of initiatives across the university, such as: sustainable development teaching and course development; and a series of Sustainability Leadership Lectures. Following the success of these initiatives, the University established the St Andrews Sustainable Institute (SASI). Professor Jan Bebbington is the director of this Institute, which draws in a range of scientists and social scientists. SASI provides the impetus and support for sustainable development research as well as postgraduate teaching and training that supports the University's desire to leverage its activities in this area to integrate existing knowledge in a multi-disciplinary setting that can deliver international reputation for research, teaching and practitioner involvement in Sustainable Development. SASI is the forum through which University expertise in Sustainable Development can be transferred to external public and private sector organizations.

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Institute for Capitalising on Creativity (ICC - link to site)

ICC was founded in 2006 by the University of St Andrews in conjunction with the Institute of Arts, Media and Computer Games at University of Abertay, Duncan of Jordanstone School of Art at University of Dundee, and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. The Institute aims to develop innovative and high quality teaching and research across the range of creative industries. Directed by Professor Barbara Townley, the Institute is inter-disciplinary and its hub is based at the University of St Andrews School of Management. Members from the School involved in ICC also participate in the School's Creative and Cultural Industries Theme Group.

Through 2013, the Institute's primary focus is research enabled by a £1.5 million grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The only one of its kind awarded in the UK, the grant enables ICC to offer fully-funded PhD studies and significant research subsidies to organisations in the Creative Industries.
The grant has two specific aims:

• to ensure Scotland has the capacity to sustain and enhance a vibrant creative industries base.
• to conduct industry-led research which builds a strong knowledge base of the sector in Scotland.

For details of the Institute's research programme, please visit www.st-andrews.ac.uk/icc/research/.

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