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Strathclyde Business School is set to host a new multi-disciplinary hub to research how best to boost productivity within businesses and the UK economy.

The Productivity Outcomes of Workplace Practice, Engagement and Learning (PrOPEL) Hub is being supported by Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funding of more than £1.5 million as part of the UK Research and Innovation’s Strategic Priorities Fund. Further funding is being provided by partner universities.

The hub will work with businesses, policymakers and support organisations to help improve the UK’s productivity performance through better management and employee engagement.

The partnership encompasses seven universities – Aston University, Ulster University and the Universities of Sheffield, Nottingham, East Anglia, Cardiff and Strathclyde and five separate ESRC research projects.

A range of themes, from management and leadership, to innovation, job design, and lessons from workplace practice and employee engagement, will be studied, with the aim of identifying practical steps to boost productivity within businesses and the UK economy. 

The PrOPEL Hub will also act as a focal point for engagement with policymakers, businesses and employee organisations across the UK, with the aim of informing future decision making with the latest cutting-edge research.

Principal Investigator Professor Graeme Roy, Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde Business School yesterday said:

“Boosting productivity is one of the greatest economic challenges facing the UK.

“There is a growing consensus on the importance of high quality, inclusive and engaging work to boosting productivity. But an often overlooked avenue through which managers and employees can create economic value – and thereby boost productivity – is via the workplace itself.

“Through the PrOPEL Hub we will be able to take cutting edge academic research directly into the day-to-day operations of businesses – large and small – across the UK. Our work will also help inform policymaking, both at the UK level and within the devolved nations.”

Co-Investigator, Professor Patricia Findlay said: “Strathclyde is delighted to lead such an impressive range of scholars who not only have extensive experience in work and workplace research but who are also committed to research that can and will make a difference in businesses across the UK.”

The focus of the Hub will be on finding out ‘what works’ and supporting the transfer of these lessons into day-to-day business activities.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) will co-fund a senior post which will provide an opportunity to gain insights from businesses themselves on management and employee engagement.

At the same time, the CIPD will play a key role in helping to translate the evidence base and research into practical and insightful content for HR and people management professionals.

The new Hub will support a range of activities, from the building of an accessible evidence base that practitioners and businesses can draw upon, through to a series of bespoke business and policy focussed events specifically designed to deliver impact.

ESRC Executive Chair, Jennifer Rubin, yesterday said:

"We are delighted to announce the funding of the PrOPEL Hub which will coordinate and draw together findings from research investigating different ways of managing and their effects on productivity. 

“In collaboration with seven universities, this initiative will contribute to understanding an important lever for enhancing productivity to inform policy makers’ and businesses’ efforts to improve the UK’s productivity performance.”

Click here for the full press release