Research Republic RSS

Ownership

2010-03-18T18:50:31+00:00

Challenge	Our Work	Publications
The extent to which ownership influences engagement and decisionmaking is largely unknown. The fragility of shareholder models of ownership in the recent financial crisis has led to interest in new forms of ownership, but what is their potential for fostering fairness and good practice in the private and public sector?	Research Republic is currently researching the relationship between ownership and decision-making, particularly in terms of its effects on the workplace and on public services.	(Forthcoming)

Public Value

2010-03-15T15:53:29+00:00

Challenge	Our Work	Publications
Divergent demands on public services to increase efficiency and respond to increasing citizen expectations have created a disconnect between providers and the communities they serve. To resolve this, public service providers need to effectively understand and manage their relationships with citizens, and policy must support more dynamic relationships between the two.	Research Republic has published a series of reports examining various aspects of the relationship between public services and citizens. Our contributions have also developed a concept of public value as a dynamic process of authorisation, creation and management between service providers and citizens, and suggested how such a concept can concretely inform policy.	Deliberative Democracy and the Role of Public Managers (Novermber 2006) Heritage, Democracy and Public Value (January 2006) Public Value, Citizen Expectations and User Commitment (January 2006) Public Value and Local Communities (January 2006) Public Value, Politics and Public Management (January 2006)

Public Service Innovation

2010-03-15T15:52:16+00:00

Challenge	Our Work	Publications
How can public services adapt to rising citizen expectations and increase efficiency and effectiveness in response to the increasing diversity and pace of change in society? Innovations in delivery must be accompanied by innovations in policy.	Research Republic is engaged in a continuing project to examine the specific constraints on innovation in the public sector, and suggest how policy can support innovation. We are currently researching innovation in particular areas of the sector, and specific mechanisms for encouraging innovative service provision.	Democracy and Psychiatry (Forthcoming) Locating Public Engagement (Forthcoming) Public Service Responsiveness: We Need to Make Democracy a Two-Way Street (June 2009) Public Service Innovation (December 2007)

Intangible Assets

2010-03-15T15:51:00+00:00

Challenge	Our Work	Publications
All industrialised economies are becoming knowledge based: competitive advantage and organisational performance is moving from investment in physical assets and low skilled labour to investment in intangible knowledge based assets such as R&D, design, brand equity, software, and human and organisational capital.	Research Republic has examined how intangible assets can be integrated into policymaking and financial reporting, and is currently analysing the role of intangible assets in leveraging additonal value from the public sector.	Accounting for Intangibles: Financial reporting and value creation in the knowledge economy (September 2009)

The Future of Higher Education

2010-03-15T15:47:23+00:00

Challenge	Our Work	Publications
With the social and economic purpose of higher education drawing much recent attention, clarity over the purpose of the sector is needed to inform sound and progressive policy.	Research Republic is developing an overview of the challenges confronting higher education in the UK, to create a systematic and problem-oriented view of how educational institutions create value and how this can be harnessed by the knowledge economy.	(Forthcoming)

Quality of Work

2010-03-15T15:43:01+00:00

Challenge	Our Work	Publications
The quality of work is of increasing interest for policymakers due to its significant impact on health, life expectancy and life chances. 'Good work' meanwhile, is of interest to government for meeting several policy targets, and to corporations for delivering significant productivity gains.	Research Republic, in association with The Work Foundation, has delivered two key reports defining 'good work' and clarifying its relationship to employment policy and policies governing the nature and quality of workplace relationships. We are currently supporting the work of the Good Work Commission, which is seeking to outline a vision for encouraging performance, engagement and fairness in employment through good work.	Ownership and Good Work (January 2010) Smoke, Mirrors and the Employment Relationship (December 2009) 'Good Work': Job quality in a changing economy (September 2008) Stress at Work (February 2007)

Test

2010-03-15T14:45:21+00:00

test

Test 2

2010-03-15T14:40:45+00:00

Test blog 2

Research Republic Presents to Inaugural Meeting of Commission on Ownership

2010-03-11T00:00:00+00:00

Republic Directors Rohit Lekhi and Ricardo Blaug attended the first meeting of the new Commission on Ownership at the House of Commons today. Their presentation clarified the impact of ownership on the motivation and engagement of employees, corporate governance, and the responsiveness and efficiency of public services. Contrasting shareholder and stakeholder models of ownership, they concluded that changes in ownership must be accompanied by stakeholder influence in decision-making.

The independent Commission on Ownership was announced late last year by the Cabinet Office Minister Tessa Jowell MP and is tasked with examining Government's responsibility for “ensuring diverse and fair ownership in Britain”. It will investigate the effects of different ownership structures on corporate behaviour and also citizen and employee involvement in public services. The Minister has expressed interest in the adaptability of mutuals for running public services and their ability to extend ownership rights to the communities they serve. Accordingly, the campaigning society Mutuo's Peter Hunt also outlined recent developments in the mutual sector at today's meeting.

The commission's membership includes:

Chair: Will Hutton (Executive Vice Chairman, The Work Foundation); Lady Sylvia Jay (Vice Chairman, L’Oreal plc); Peter Marks (Group Chief Executive, The Co-operative Group); Charlie Mayfield (Chairman, John Lewis Partnership); Colin Melvin (Chief Executive, Hermes Equity Ownership Services); Jonathan Michie (President, Kellogg College, Oxford University); Paul Mullins (Member, Industrial Development Advisory Board); Oliver Nyumbu (Chief Executive, Caret Ltd); Richard Reeves (Director, Demos) and Ruth Sunderland (Business Editor, The Observer).

Research Republic Presents New Research to Good Work Commission

2010-03-10T00:00:00+00:00

Research Republic has contributed important new research to the Good Work Commission, launched today at The Work Foundation. This independent commission will conduct a comprehensive investigation into the UK workplace, taking into account the broad range of economic, social and even moral issues that underpin working life. Following up on previous investigations into the concept of good work, Research Republic has delivered two provocation papers, 'Smoke, Mirrors and the Employment Relationship' and 'Ownership and Good Work'. The first investigates changes and pressures on the employment relationship, and makes recommendations on addressing them. The second makes important links between the concept of good work and current interest in new forms of ownership.

The Good Work Commission's membership consists of:

Chair: Alan Parker (Founder and Chairman, Brunswick Group); Clare Chapman (Director General of Workforce,The Department of Health); Rt Rev Richard Chartres (Bishop of London); Adam Crozier (Chief Executive, Royal Mail); John Hanner (General Secretary, Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers); Peter Housden MP (Permanent Secretary, Department of Communities and Local Government); Will Hutton (Executive Vice Chair, The Work Foundation); Jim McAuslan (General Secretary, British Airline Pilot's Association); Carolyn McCall (Chief Executive, Guardian Media Group); Peter Sands (Group Chief Executive, Standard Chartered); John Varley (Group Chief Executive, Barclays) and Kim Winser OBE (Former Chief Executive, Pringle and Aquascutum).