Building research capacity in Management and Business studies: a community generated initiative Chris Huxham On behalf of: The British Academy of Management

Assumptions  There is concern surrounding the provision of academics in the field of Management and Business and a need to increase the number entering the profession and retain them over time.  There are approximately 450 academics (ABS and ESRC) being recruited into business schools each year and this presentation deals with the research active group.  The ESRC demographic reviews showed a very different pattern of entry into the profession from other social science disciplines.  There is a need to provide a diversity of pathways and inputs into the system – one size doesn’t necessarily fit all in management and business field and…..  Academics need support over the life course

Objectives of the current proposal  To build of the success of the AIM initiative  To continue to develop and retain academics within the profession, particularly in areas where AIM hasn’t focused  To support and improve the quality of those academics who wish to be research active as they enter the profession  To retain a critical mass of British and European academics within doctoral programmes.  To focus training on recognise centres of excellence.  To develop a new cadre of academics in new areas of expertise particularly practice relevant aspects  To develop academics in Management and Business across the life course

Building a context for the initiative  Some provision covering pre and post professional career entry points are already being enhanced through AIM and through the RDI projects  Build on the £20M ESRC/EPSRC investment,  Cadre of 250 UK based academics  Improve the quality of practice relevant research – 36% of the FTSE 100 companies  31 fellows, 300 journal articles and 200 books  Capacity building  150 capacity building activities  AIM – RDI  Support for the DORN network  Other areas of support  AIM phase II but no support for post doctoral fellows  BAMs and AIMs RDI training projects the scheme now to be extended  Therefore what happens next?

Key aspects of the proposal  The introduction of a rolling programme, annually updated that to takes account of field specific needs  Seven core capacity-building components, that address a researchers development needs across the life course  The establishment of a steering group that comprises all major stakeholders – the group to identify further funding opportunities and promote collaboration e.g. BAM already engages with other learned societies through SCRAM Access a broad mix of training and development activities, including the RDI’s, (BAM and AIM) and the existing networks funded by the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods

Component 1. New Curriculum for research training at undergraduate level  The Leitch report points to the need to focus on reforms to schools and colleges if skills needed to be competitive are to be fully addressed  One identified need is for graduates to be able to conduct, commission and evaluate research  Develop exemplar course material  Material will include quantitative methods

Component 2. – Sustaining the provision of research studentships - Numbers (Approx 50 per annum)  Rationale Instrumental – to encourage students to consider a move into an academic career. So good students can continue to progress from recognised masters. Symbolic – to maintain a management and business presence within the social science community more generally Pragmatic – to retain as many studentships within the MBS field as a way of addressing capacity issues  Method of provision Quotas or open competition

Component 3. – Piloting a Social Science and Management PhD  Rationale To bring management closer to its social science roots by bringing social science graduates into management and by so doing mainstreaming good practice To promote inter-disciplinarily research (context) To conduct a problem based PhD which focus on a number of important themes embedded both in management and the social sciences To produce future research leaders Goes some way to avoid the ‘importer’ discipline problem

Component 4. – Sustaining the provision of postdoctoral fellowships (numbers 10 per year)  Rationale To retain academic researchers after their PhDs To ensure the stock of fellows is maintained now that AIM II does not explicitly support post docs To provide an opportunity for newly completed PhDs to publish and raise the quality of their work 10 in the open competition, subject to quality

Component 5. – New early career management fellowship scheme  Rationale Build the capacity of the discipline by helping practitioners entering academia to better make the transition – Age mid 30s two/three year programme dependant on the amount and quality of prior research training within the masters Two years if entrants have a research recognised masters, three years if the prospective students take an MRes in year one of the scheme Good contracting with Business Schools essential (see evaluation of the ESRC Management Teachers Fellowship Scheme)

Component 6. Expanding the FME mid- career practitioner conversion fellowship scheme  Based on an already long running and successful partnership between the FME and business schools  Offers another route to build capacity and bring in new blood of a more experienced kind – typically 40+  The ESRC has indicated it is prepared to help expand the scheme  A feature of previous cohorts has been the number who have gone on to occupy senior positions within business schools

Component Seven  Capacity Building Clusters

Matrix of Support  All six components backed by a national professional training infrastructure ESRC, RDIs and National Centre for research methods Relevant professional bodies Capacity engagements with AIM fellows Training workshops through current and future BAM and AIM events Connecting the participants by where possible creating cohorts and adding value through managed networking and inputs that will improve career development Regional collaborations? Specialist nodes of the NCRM Access to materials e.g. JISC/ESRC/AHRC etc Access to ESRC strategic initiative for advanced quants

Outcomes  Enhance the sustainability of management and business research  Offer a rolling programme  Establish a steering group that is representative and will address the evolving needs over the years  Deliver increased integration and less overlap of provision