Research impact
A core aspect of the School of Management's mission is providing demonstrable benefits to society and organisations. This means that the School is committed to ensuring that its research and expertise are accessible, relevant and useful to those who could benefit from them. Reseachers in the School use evidence-informed approaches and initiatives to enhance engagement and impact activities.
Members of the School contribute through their research to a wide range of policy debates and organisational practices, including in the areas of human rights, Fair Work and the living wage, financial regulation and supervision, funding to SMEs in normal and stressed periods, innovation policy, devolution, cyber-security, climate change, sustainability issues, healthcare and creative industries.
The School was placed second in Scotland for social and environmental impact in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021. Its impact case studies on financial cooperatives (credit unions), evidence-based policy, and small and medium-sized enterprises were considered to demonstrate impacts of outstanding or very considerable reach and significance, especially in terms of informing policy.
Beneficiaries of the School's research span a wide range of sectors, including:
- policymakers (European Commission, Oireachtas Éireann, Scottish Parliament, Scottish Government, UK Parliament, UK Government Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, UK Government Department of Culture, Media and Sport)
- international organisations (International Labour Organization, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, World Bank)
- regulatory bodies (Bank of England, Financial Conduct Authority)
- public sector bodies (Police Scotland, COSLA, NHS Scotland, Scottish Enterprise)
- commercial businesses and start-ups (Dundee United Football Club, Ethical Finance Hub, Money Dashboard, Triodos Bank)
- third sector organisations (Foundation Scotland, social care organisations and the Coalition of Care and Support Providers Scotland, UK Migration and Minority Rights groups, Communication Workers Union, Trade Union Congress).
Channels for impact
Linking research, engagement and impact
The School of Management actively pursues an approach to research impact that has engagement at its core: a focus on the interaction between researchers and those outside of academia for the mutually beneficial transfer of knowledge, technologies, methods or resources.
Researchers across the School engage with potential research beneficiaries in a number of ways, some of which are illustrated in the examples below.
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- researchers and external partners working together
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- research requested by a non-academic organisation
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- network leads, expert advisors and visiting academics
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- consultations by government, and professional or public sector bodies
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- sharing research activities and benefits in the community
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- sharing research with non-academic audiences via blogs and more