Manchester Institute of Innovation Research ANNUAL REPORT 

4. Engagement and consultancy work
(lead Paul Cunningham)
Throughout 2011 the Institute has continued to extend its already long history of
engagement with the users and beneficiaries of its research. Continued emphasis, on the
part of policy makers and funding bodies, on the demonstration of the relevance and
impact of research has meant that such engagement remains both a focus and recognised
strength of the Institute’s activities. Hence, the Institute has continued to undertake
research and consultancy that has a strong influence on business strategy and
management (for example under Theme 1) and on Government policy at a range of levels
(largely within, but not restricted to, the context of Theme 3).
One of our guiding principles is to endeavour to be highly selective and undertake
consultancy activities that combine a high level of influence and visibility (at the highest
levels of business, public administration and government or international organisations),
provide a contribution to our academic research programme and enable the codevelopment
of leading edge concepts with a range of major stakeholders.
In 2011, the Institute once again was able to maintain its high profile engagement with
businesses and policymaking bodies at all levels (regional, national, European and
international). The activities described below offer a brief indication of the extent of our
involvement with firms and policy-making bodies, whilst our publications provide more
extensive evidence of these types of engagement.
Highlights
As in previous years, there has been continuing development towards mixed funding
models that combine academic work with our engagement activities. For example,
continued work on a large scale project in the area of public procurement and innovation,
financed by a consortium of UK actors including ESRC, BIS, NESTA and the Technology
Strategy Board. All funding partners are closely engaged, seeking to utilise the results for
their stakeholders, while the project itself was peer-reviewed by ESRC. The project’s
stakeholder partner board comprises Rolls Royce, Amadeus Ltd, NWDA, the Whitehall
Innovation Hub, Manchester Enterprise and the Office of Government Commerce. A
further example is the continuation of a large scale project funded by SCI on the role of
private and public purchasing for innovation. The project attracts keen business policy
interest from the UK retailer, Tesco, which forms the major sponsor and also informs the
SCI stakeholders on a regular basis, whilst strongly preserving the academic freedom to
disseminate findings more widely. An in-depth collaborative study on the management of
relationships inside TESCO and with suppliers as regards a turn towards sustainable supply
chains has been started in 2011.
Building on previous work in the area, January 2011 saw the commencement of another
ambitious project for and with NESTA, the compilation of the most comprehensive
compendium of evidence on the impact of innovation support measures (see highlight
theme 3). This project seeks to create high visibility and engagement with policy makers
and societal groups across the whole spectrum of policy intervention.
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