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Research Strategy
SLGP provides research, consultancy and advice regarding a wide range of Sustainable, leadership, governance and policy issues. SLGP closely identifies with the objectives of the Plymouth University strategy in terms of sustainability, enterprise, governance and leadership as well as the impact these areas have on the economy, community and organisational activity. The Centre exemplifies strong interdisciplinary links within the social sciences (public administration, sociology, psychology, politics, economics, organisational theory, HRM, international relations and linguistics).
Within the Centre exists a number of distinct areas: Decision-Making and Risk, Sustainable Governance, Public and Social Policy, Politics, International Relations and Leadership, European Studies and Organisational Studies (including HRM), there is also close collaboration between the Research Centres within PBS especially with the Centre for Marine Logistics, Economics and Finance (CEMLEF) and the Services and Enterprise Research Centre (SERC). The Centre also has links with external Research Centres and fosters integration with subject and discipline networks.
Contact for SLGP Enquiries: Dr. Rory Shand, Deputy Director
Blog
SLGP now has it's own blog, to view it and participate in the conversation visit the SLGP Blogspot
Latest Publications
Professor Kerry Howell has a forthcoming text to be published by Sage entitled ‘An Introduction to the Philosophy of Methodology’. This is an original piece of work which differs from existing methodology texts through clarification of distinctions between philosophical positions (rationalism, empiricism, positivism and phenomenology), paradigms of inquiry (post-positivism, critical theory, constructivism and participatory), methodologies (ethnography, grounded theory, action research etc.) and methods (surveys, interviews, focus groups etc.). Distinctions between paradigms of inquiry incorporate understanding different perspectives of theory and how ontology (what reality involves) and epistemology (the relationship between the researcher and researched) are intrinsic for understanding and deploying methodological approaches and consequent data collection strategies. An ontological perspective identifies the epistemology which informs an assessment of the methodology and methods best suited for the research programme, thesis or dissertation. This text is aimed at final-year undergraduates, post-graduates and research students. However, it is also useful for more experienced researchers developing mixed methodological approaches who may wish to have greater understanding of underlying issues relating to unfamiliar techniques.
Dr Adrian Barton’s research has recently been the focus of much press coverage, with an article, co-authored by Dr Barton and Kerryn Husk, forthcoming in Drugs and Alcohol Today the article is titled: Controlling pre-loaders: alcohol related violence in an English night time economy.
Dr Ginny Fisher has recently published an article entitled 'Women and research in British universities: an institutional case study' in the International Journal of Management Concepts & Philosophy (2011) 5(4) pp311-332
S Liu, D Kasturiratne and J Moizer, 2012. A hub-and-spoke model for multi-dimensional integration of green marketing and sustainable supply chain management. Journal of Industrial Marketing Management (forthcoming).
Impact
One of our key impact studies was recently conducted by Professor Duncan Lewis who undertook an ESRC funded project on workplace bullying and harrassment. View a copy of the report here.
Information
Facilities and Funding
SLGP funds are used to facilitate and support activities such as conference attendance, invitations to specialist events and committees, and collaborations or other engagements with practitioners. This fund is also available to doctoral members of SLGP. The centre additionally provides the opportunity for members to apply for seed corn funds to pump prime research projects, leading to many successful further bids for research income through research councils and practice organisations. Some examples of these successes from recent years and current projects are grants from the British Academy, the NHS, local governments, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the National Institute of Health, the UK Border Agency, the Higher Education Academy (HEA) and the European Commission.
Building on the successful publication outputs of members, as well as collaboration with colleagues at other UK HEIs and internationally as well as in practice, the focus for the future of SLGP is to continue to bring in research income and to continue to achieve successful PhD completions. We also support and maintain a strong presence at national and international conferences such as PSA, SPA, BISA, PAC, BAM and UACES.
Collaborations
SLGP are delighted to welcome as a Visiting Fellow Professor Charles Lees (Bath). Professor Lees has published widely on comparative politics, German politics and policy, and environmental policy. We look forward to working with Professor Lees in the future.
SLGP has also engaged in collaboration with the Institute for Sustainability Solutions Research (ISSR) and has already begun to develop connections between members of SLGP and ISSR, and we look forward to many such collaborations going forward.
We are delighted to announce the Public Administration Committee (PAC) 2012 conference will be hosted by Plymouth University in July 2012. PAC is a long running, international and highly prestigious conference attended by academics, practitioners and research students, and reflects the four key strands of Sustainable, Leadership, Governance and Policy in Public Administration. This is part of the SLGP's commitment to wider research activity in its composite disciplines.
Dr Jamie Gaskarth recently completed his sabbatical as a Visiting Scholar at the Center for British Studies, Berkeley, UC in Autumn 2011, with the help of Prof Mark Bevir. Whilst there, Jamie was completing his manuscript on British foreign policy (due out with Polity Press in 2013), revising articles and book chapters as well as arranging a series of seminars on 'Normative Challenges to International Society: Rising Powers and Global Responses', with planned events at King's College, Chatham House and the Centre for Rising Powers, Cambridge in 2012/13. These will bring Foreign and Commonwealth Office personnel, academics and members of NGOs together to discuss how Britain can pursue its ethical goals in a multipolar world.
SLGP were delighted to welcome Professor Karen Miller, Glasgow Caledonian University, in delivering a guest lecture entitled: 'Meta-Governance or Meta-Bureaucracy?’. The guest lecture took place on the 15th of February. SLGP are also delighted to welcome Professor Miller as a Visiting Fellow in the Research Centre. Professor Miller has published widely on leadership, gender, governance and public policy, and is joint editor of the Sage journal, Public Policy and Administration. Professor Miller has also advised public sector bodies in a consultancy capacity. We look forward to working with her in the future.
Visiting Professor Graham Russell, working with the Public Policy team, has been asked to be an 'expert' for the OECD on their project to look at how urban and rural governance models work in various countries, for more information visit the OECD Rurban (Rural-Urban) Partnerships webpage. Professor Russell has also been awarded a Winston Churchill 2012 Fellowship to research 'the role of housing associations in the wider community. His successful application was one of over 1000 applications for just 100 fellowships available.
Two SLGP members actively engaged in international collaboration, Dr. Mark Hyde and Dr. Jonathon Moizer, together with Dr. Sue Farrar, are directors of Pensions Worldwide.
For many decades, the state in a range of national jurisdictions has depended upon publicly administered pensions to maintain the income of retirees. According to its advocates, the “public pensions model” is preferable because it is inclusive, generating solidaristic distributive outcomes. But the sustainability of the public pensions model has increasingly been called into question by demographic pressures, by declining trust in public institutions, and by the popular desire for greater choice in the delivery of retirement income protection. Several countries (notably in Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe) have privatised their work-related pensions, while the Anglo-liberal countries have long-standing private pension arrangements. It has been suggested that one of the principal advantages of private pensions is their reliance on funding to accumulate retirement assets, which makes them less vulnerable to adverse demographics. But for advocates of the public pensions model, the private provision of pensions has been driven by the values of “neoliberalism”, has prioritised the sectional interests of the corporate sector, particularly the financial services industry, and has impaired the economic well-being of retirees. We believe that this one-dimensional interpretation of pensions privatization is questionable, indeed, that the impact of privately administered pensions depends crucially upon the nature of their design. In some instances, the private provision of pensions has intensified retiree income inequalities, while providing opportunities for rent-seeking by the financial services industry. But elsewhere, the private provision of pensions has embraced elements of design that appear to be compatible with the values of collectivist political philosophy.
At Pensions Worldwide, we aim to expose developments in the world of pension reform to scholarly analysis. This involves:
- The development of innovative ideas and policy design regarding retirement and pensions
- Original research on pension reform in a range of countries
- Publication of findings in scholarly journals and books
- Presentation of scholarly papers at international conferences
- Courses on aspects of the design and administration of pension schemes
- A commitment to ensuring that our work makes a constructive contribution to pension reform
Infrastructure
SLGP has recently held an event to discuss strategy and future direction, during which excellent recent achievements in the centre were celebrated, such as outputs of monographs and journal articles with prestigious publishers, successful research funding bids and continued media profile, engagement and representation on committees both with Government and industry. This one day event also saw the centre discuss exciting new projects and funding opportunities, as well as welcome new members and collaborations.
The primary aims for the Research Centre for Sustainable, Leadership, Governance and Policy (SLGP) involves research activity relating to REF2014, income generation, engagement and a synthesis of relationships between knowledge generation, knowledge transfer, social science underpinning, practice (or praxis) and development of skills and research practice and culture.
These aims are achieved through a focus on interdisciplinary research and the improvement of the relationship between theory and practice in delivering holistic, practical and sustainable improvement solutions for enterprise. Through grant applications, research and consultancy projects as well as research degrees SLGP enables stakeholders to achieve organisational and personal objectives relating to each of our four strands.
This allows the development of an upward and sustainable research trajectory in PBS through further growth and investment in established areas of expertise and increase research and enterprise participation in selected areas of excellence. SLGP is an affiliated member of both the Plymouth University Sustainability Institute as well as the Marine Institute, and has a large and burgeoning membership composed of academics, practitioners and research students congregated around three distinct research groups; Governance, Decision-making and Risk, Politics and International Studies group and Social and Public Policy.
External Roles
There is already an existing substantial presence from SLGP members on editorial boards, review boards, and an excellent presence at several international conferences, editorial and review boards, and this document considers how we can develop and build upon our strengths in these areas, both nationally, across Europe and at the global level.
Within the centre, individuals have previously invited to guest edit or to co-guest edit highly respected leading journals in the field, such as the Journal of Social Policy. Currently, some members of the centre are invited to co-guest edit a forthcoming special edition journal. Individuals within the centre enjoy international reputations in their respective fields and many of the excellent work within SLGP are at the cutting edge of research networks in the UK and further afield, with SLGP members previously or currently occupying editorial board and review roles at international peer-reviewed journals, such as Sociological Research Online. SLGP has also been, and is currently, represented on a number of academic Executive groups, such as UACES and PAC.
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