Mobilising social science, knowledge and value

Professor Richard Thorpe, Leeds University Business School Dr Charlotte Coleman, Manchester Business School Dr Paul Ellwood, University of Liverpool Management School

Contemporary Drivers for Knowledge Mobilisation in Business Schools

• • • Expectations of societal and economic impact – – – Governments Business Business School accreditation bodies REF will increasingly reward Research Impact Sustainability of income models dependent on big cohorts of overseas students

What we know about what helps…

• • • Regular engagement between researchers and their stakeholders – Bringing stakeholders into schools (e.g. visiting lecturers) Climate within schools – – – Track record of engagement between researchers & knowledge users Role models Incentivisation of engagement – Measurement of/Narratives of Impact Pluralism in how researchers conceive knowledge production – – Mode 1 and 2 Different and distinctly defined research roles

Capability and capacity building

• • • Strategic intent from heads of school Transparency/incentives for time spent on engaging with stakeholders – Workload models Encouragement and support for early career researchers – – – Attitudes of doctoral supervisors Existing partnerships between schools and stakeholders Working as part of research teams/centres – – Support in accessing intermediaries Support in accessing funding

Present Realities for Early-career Researchers

• • • Knowledge production: Engagement as extractive activity – “Just get in and out” • Who benefits from the knowledge gleamed and research created? – What about critique?

• Issues of offending or challenging those you have worked closely with – Telling the vivid story – – Worries about future career progression Who gains from the knowledge – Personal costs – “unsocial” social science research is quicker, cheaper, less emotional and more mainstream

Engagement for dissemination of research findings

– “A thankless task” • No rewards/Doesn’t help get a position or a promotion • No institutional arrangements or infrastructure • A weekend, hobby activity – – Policy work seen as secondary and written in weekends and evenings – deliberately underplayed in to avoid risk that it is seen as distracting • Imposter syndrome • Few mentors, leaders or cheerleaders • But some glory hunters (senior professors being named on policy, taking credit in the media)

Conducted for its intrinsic value

– richness of knowledge that can be gained and theory generated – personal pleasure, legitimacy gaining and a sense of duty/responsibility

Integrating engagement with career realities

Build foundations for future knowledge mobilisation by leveraging current career realities

• • • • Invite practitioners to give lectures on your courses – Start with your supervisors’ lapsed contacts Include data generation methods in research that bring you into contact with stakeholders – Get out of the library more Go where they go – Mixed practitioner/academic conferences may be good place to land your first solo conference papers

The principle is that to mobilse knowledge we must first mobilise the producers of knowledge

Reflections in conclusion: engendering change

• • • • Broaden the philosophical debate production – – – – Evidence based practice Engaged research Abductive reasoning Collaborative research and the coproduction of knowledge The nature of knowledge Broaden perspectives on research design – – – Processual research Action research Other involved methods Broaden the range of methods taught and develop the accompanying skills and competencies Consider innovations in doctorates on the basis of the opportunity for impact and engagement