University of Sussex Business School, UK
Research Mobilisation Groups
The University of Sussex Business School carries out high-quality research that addresses real-world issues, and seeks to develop current and aspiring leaders who will champion critical and original thinking.
We have created research mobilisation groups (RMGs) that focus on promoting responsible business practice. RMGs meet regularly to discuss ongoing research ideas and plans, and to scope out collaboration opportunities. Responsible business research is becoming a core topic at our business school. One RMG group is specifically devoted to Responsible Business. The group provides a platform for cross-disciplinary research on ethical and unethical business practices, corporate social responsibility and businesses as political actors. In addition, several faculty members at the School specialize in responsible business research, including corporate social responsibility, responsible leadership, research integrity, social entrepreneurship and innovation, and sustainable supply chains. Among its activities, this group regularly convenes research seminars around promoting responsible research in business and management.’
With regards to the 7 Principles of Responsible Research, here are more details.
P1 – Service to society: Our vision is to be a leading business school that collaborates across disciplines to shape global issues in business, management and society, making an impact on policy, practice and people.
Our mission is to:
- carry out high-quality research that addresses real-world issues, pressing global policy agendas and business practices
- develop current and aspiring leaders who will champion critical and original thinking
- work internationally with businesses, governments, and others to deliver innovative approaches to management
P2 – Valuing both basic and applied research: We give basic and applied research equal emphasis in resource allocation and equal recognition in assessment of contribution.
P3 – Valuing plurality and multidisciplinary collaboration: One of the most important initiatives to come out of our research strategy has been the establishment of a number of themed groups designed to bolster research activity around particular areas of core strength and common interest. These groups provides a platform for cross-disciplinary scholarly exchange.
P4 – Sound methodology: We require our research faculty to follow the open science transparency standards.
P5 – Stakeholder involvement: We encourage and reward our faculty to engage in co-creation of knowledge with the practising communities, including business, government and NGOs. For example, the Transformative Innovation Policy Consortium (TIPC) comprises science, technology and innovation researchers, government policymakers and funding agencies from Colombia, Finland, Norway, South Africa and Sweden. TIPC hubs have been established in Africa and Latin America, and there are additional associate programmes in China, Brazil, Senegal, Ghana, and Kenya.
P6 – Impact on stakeholders: We give special recognition (e.g., award) to research that contributes to the wellbeing of stakeholders (beyond shareholders) and the common good.
P7 – Broad dissemination: We actively publicize research discoveries addressing pressing societal problems and supporting our strategic mission, using both traditional and social media platforms. For example, the UK Trade Policy Observatory is a partnership between the Business School and Chatham House. UKTPO provides in-depth research and expert analysis to inform policy and influence debate around the radically changing trade landscape in which the country finds itself. Due to the need for research to be undertaken rapidly, with commentary and analysis provided in real time, beyond the traditional dissemination routes of publishing journal articles and books, much of UKTPO’s research output takes a digital form. It has its own podcast, ‘Trade Bites’, along with a heavily subscribed blog series, a large social media following and a series of animations to aid communication of its research findings to a lay audience. It is also prolific in publishing policy briefs and runs numerous events, often at Chatham House, while its researchers appear regularly in the media to promote research findings, with some having also given evidence to Parliamentary select committees.