Capacity Building Clusters
It is vital that the UK maintains a strong supply of skilled people to enable the research base, in collaboration with business and civil society sector organisations, to:
- respond to unforeseen challenges
- identify future opportunities
- increase the international competitiveness of UK businesses and organisations.
To demonstrate our commitment to supporting research and training we have commissioned seven Capacity Building Clusters.
The clusters are designed to:
- facilitate the exchange and co-production of knowledge
- create a critical mass of capacity building activities
- develop a closer dialogue and collaboration between social science researchers and the business/civil society sectors.
These aims will be achieved by investing in a range of knowledge exchange projects and a new generation of researchers with the skills and commitment to apply research knowledge to the relevant sectors.
Four of the Capacity Building Clusters are in business research and engagement. Three further clusters support the work of the Third Sector Research Centre. These focus specifically on social enterprises and community empowerment and economic impact of the sector.
The clusters adopt and complement the priorities set out in the ESRC Business Engagement and Third Sector Engagement Strategies and have a five-year grant including a comprehensive portfolio of training and knowledge exchange activities which include:
- Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs)
- Knowledge Exchange Placements/Student Internships
- Voucher Scheme
Details of each cluster are shown below.
| Duration | Initiative | Cluster Director | Co-Investigator Institutions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01/09/2008 to 30/08/2013 | Social Enterprise Research Cluster | Professor Fergus Lyon,
Middlesex University f.lyon@mdx.ac.uk | London South Bank University
Durham University |
| 01/09/2008 to 30/08/2013 | Strengthening Civil Society: Promoting Active Citizenship and Community Empowerment | Professor David Rae,
University of Lincoln drae@lincoln.ac.uk | Goldsmiths College, University of London
Manchester Metropolitan University |
| 01/09/2008 to 30/08/2013 | Creative Industries Scotland: Capitalising on Creativity | Professor Barbara Townley,
University of St. Andrews bt11@st-andrews.ac.uk | University of Dundee, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design
The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) University of Abertay, Dundee: Abertay Creative Technologies |
| 01/09/2008 to 30/08/2013 | Exeter Cluster in Sport, Leisure and Tourism | Professor Tim Coles,
University of Exeter t.e.coles@exeter.ac.uk | |
| 01/09/2008 to 30/08/2013 | EREBUS: Engaging Research for BUSiness Transformation | Professor Michael West,
Aston University m.a.west@aston.ac.uk | University of Warwick
University of Birmingham |
| 01/09/2008 to 30/08/2013 | RIBEN: Retail Industry Business Engagement Network | Professor Neil Wrigley,
University of Southampton n.wrigley@soton.ac.uk | University of Oxford
University of Leeds Surrey University |
| 01/11/2009 to 31/10/2013 | The Economic Impact of the third sector | Dr Sarah Smith,
University of Bristol sarah.smith@bristol.ac.uk | Centre for Market and Public Organisation
University of Bristol |
Further information
If you would like to find out more about Capacity Building Clusters, please email us: knowledgeexchange@esrc.ac.uk.