A
This paper addresses questions about the rebuilding of the UK’s voluntary pensions system.
Businesses that aim to align their human resources strategy (HRS) with their business strategy tend to be more profitable and more efficient than those that do not.
Public value is a correlate of private value, which is measured by shareholder return. Think of citizens as shareholders in how their tax is spent.
The Work Foundation issued this challenge to political parties and policy-makers on 6 April 2005
Employers across the UK have become significantly more concerned over the levels of sickness absence in their workforce.
B
This paper will demonstrate how vital the early years are to good economics, social mobility, quality of life, and consequently, government plans for modernisation and reform. It explores each of these in turn, and shows why parenting and early-year enrichment make such a big difference.
This paper explores the decline of union membership in Britain and the factors that have contributed to it.
C
In this paper, that examines the relationship between changing occupations and workers’ health and wellbeing, researchers Rebecca Fauth and Alana McVerry argue that the increasing number of professional and managerial jobs in developed countries is a significant part of the explanation of why stress seems to have become so prevalent and severe.
In a new analysis of the growing trend towards collaboration among the UK's cities, The Work Foundation warns that having too many collaboration programmes may be counterproductive.
This report examines how an ageing workforce will affect UK employers and the way people work.
A range of senior managers in the case study organisations were interviewed using the semi-structured questions featured in the framework.
This executive summary report is based on the second phase of our research into organisational performance. It explores the drivers that lead to improved performance, and what organisations can do to improve their performance.
This report is based on the second phase of our research into organisational performance. It explores the drivers that lead to improved performance, and what organisations can do to improve their performance.
There is a diverse literature on company performance from a range of academic disciplines. This review of the literature on organisational performance provides a summary of key literature and evidence from the last ten years
In this briefing paper we use data derived from a survey of 3,000 UK businesses to test for relationships between intangibles, such as strategy and corporate objectives, and productivity.
This independent report, sponsored by Manchester City Council, builds on the findings of Ideopolis: Knowledge City-Regions. It focuses on the policy and institutional architecture that is needed to enable cities to develop the nine Ideopolis drivers and to realise their potential as Ideopolises, and considers Manchester as a detailed case study.
This case study report examines how certain public sector organisations are already creating public value, and shows how their work can be assessed within a public value framework.
D
Defining the knowledge economy is challenging precisely because the commodity it rests on — knowledge — is itself hard to pin down with any precision. Perhaps for this reason there are few definitions that go much beyond the general and hardly any that describe the knowledge economy in ways that might allow it to be measured and quantified.
What is public value? Our research has found that there are different ways in which people approach the subject of public value. These include as an academic theory; a corrective to new public management theory; as a slogan or rallying cry to reinvigorate the public sector; as a system of networked governance; and as an approach that attempts to quantify and monetise the value of a public institution.
This is the executive summary of The Work Foundation's report 'Deliberative democracy and the role of public managers'. Building on existing academic and policy work around public value, The Work Foundation’s project aims to help policymakers, public managers and institutions understand the concept of public value and see how it can be applied in practice.
One in ten households employs domestic workers to help with childcare, eldercare, cleaning, ironing and gardening.
E
The knowledge economy gets a reasonably clean bill of health as far as polarisation between “good” and “bad” jobs is concerned. Overall, we agree with recent analyses positing a stable labour market and continued expansion of well-paid jobs at the top of the labour market.
This paper looks at the targets for efficiency savings in the public sector set by the Gershon review.
The ‘poorer North’ and ‘richer South’ idea of the UK is no longer an accurate description of the economic life of the nation. This report argues that a more subtle analysis of cities across the UK is needed if policy makers are to fully understand their diverse economic profiles and find the right policies to help different places flourish.
This report looks at the characteristics of Europe's knowledge-workers, explores the nature of knowledge work and demonstrates how it varies across the European Union by drawing on the data from the fourth European Working Conditions survey (EWCS). It creates a 'good work' index based on 19 indicators in order to find out if knowledge work is 'good work' and if European countries are making the most of their knowledge work force. The reports establishes a link between the ability to support knowledge workers and the performance of individual countries social models.
F
This report, the result of a year-long study of everyday British broadband users.
Looks at the UK’s skills shortage and the role of the further education sector in helping to improve the skills of adults and young people.
Musculoskeletal disorders’ (MSDs) — an umbrella term that covers over 200 different ailments including arthritis, back pain and damage to joints, muscles and tendons — affect twice as many people as ‘stress’, account for up to a third of all GP consultations, cause 9.5 million lost working days, and cost society £7.4bn a year.
These are the main findings of a new report from The Work Foundation into the economic and social impact of MSDs - by far the most prevalent cause of work-related illness in the UK.
H
The real challenge for organisations may not be finding a way of getting people to come up with ideas, but finding the best, most practical ways of implementing those ideas.
Based on a series of seminars, this paper brings together The Work Foundation and the London Health Commission's thinking on the relationship between health, work and productivity.
This report, the third in the Adobe-sponsored ‘Public Services and ICT’ series, examines how effectively ICT is being implemented in frontline services.
I
Internal Communications is a relatively new profession. Since the birth of the very first organisation communication has been a primary mechanism for delivering efficiency and effectiveness. IC:UK builds on previous research by The Work Foundation into the hidden or intangible factors of productivity and performance.
This is a working paper developed and published as part of the second phase of the Ideopolis programme. The primary aim is to provide policymakers with a non-technical guide to some of the theory and evidence on urban growth. An important secondary aim is to develop the evidence base which will contribute to developing the Ideopolis concept and to the next Ideopolis report, due to be published in July 2008. In particular the paper reviews the second Ideopolis driver of ‘building on what’s there’.
This paper features in one document all the UK city executive summaries plus the international executive summaries from the Ideopolis: knowledge city regions project
This paper reviews the literature on quality of life and how it is related to place, focusing on how it can be measured
This paper tries to disentangle the myths from the realities of the knowledge economy
This case study explores Birmingham’s strengths, challenges and opportunities within the framework of the nine Ideopolis drivers. It makes policy recommendations and shows what othercities can learn from Birmingham’s experience.
This year-long research project on Ideopolis: Knowledge City Regions builds on previous research conducted by The Work Foundation in 2003.
This case study explores the position of Boston in the knowledge economy. It outlines the strengths of the city and the weaknesses, the role of public policy, how it answers the core research questions of the project and, finally, what other cities can learn from the city.
This case study explores Brighton’s strengths, challenges and opportunities within the framework of the nine Ideopolis drivers, making policy recommendations and indicating what other cities can learn from Brighton’s experience.
This case study explores Bristol’s strengths, challenges and opportunities within the framework of the nine Ideopolis drivers. It makes policy recommendations and shows what othercities can learn from Bristol’s experience
This case study explores Cambridge’s strengths, challenges and opportunities within the framework of the nine Ideopolis drivers. It makes policy recommendations and shows what othercities can learn from Cambridge’s experience.
This paper looks at the concept of ‘distinctiveness’ — the idea that the specialisms and characteristics of individual places can help cities build and sustain a distinctive identity. It argues for three conceptions of distinctiveness: functional, physical and intangible. But it cautions against flashy iconic developments or image campaigns which are not based on an underlying reality.
This case study looks at the position of Dublin in the knowledge economy. It looks at the strengths and weaknesses of knowledge based growth and draws policy conclusions for the future of the city.
This case study explores Edinburgh’s strengths, challenges and opportunities within the framework of the nine Ideopolis drivers. It makes policy recommendations and shows what other cities can learn from Edinburgh’s experience.
The executive summary of this year-long research project on Ideopolis: Knowledge City Regions builds on previous research conducted by The Work Foundation in 2003.
This case study explores Glasgow’s strengths, challenges and opportunities within the framework of the nine Ideopolis drivers. It makes policy recommendations and shows what other cities can learn from Glasgow’s experience.
This case study explores the position of Lisbon in the knowledge economy. It outlines the strengths of the city and the weaknesses, the role of public policy, how it answers the core research questions of the project and, finally, what other cities can learn from its experience.
This case study explores Manchester’s strengths, challenges and opportunities within the framework of the nine Ideopolis drivers. It makes policy recommendations and shows what other cities can learn from Manchester’s experience.
This case study outlines the position of Munich in the knowledge economy. It looks at the economic structure and labour market of the city, and engages with issues around innovation, public policy, social capital, links with the wider city region and inequality, before concluding that Munich is a knowledge city.
This case study explores Newcastle’s strengths, challenges and opportunities within the framework of the nine Ideopolis drivers. It makes policy recommendations and shows what other cities can learn from Newcastle’s experience.
This report uses the Ideopolis framework to assess the strengths and weaknesses of Norwich in the changing economy and sets out a potential vision for Norwich’s future as well as recommendations for how to get there
This case study explores Sheffield’s strengths, challenges and opportunities within the framework of the nine Ideopolis drivers. It makes policy recommendations and shows what other cities can learn from Sheffield’s experience.
This case study explores Watford’s strengths, challenges and opportunities within the framework of the nine Ideopolis drivers. It makes policy recommendations and shows what other cities can learn from Watford’s experience.
Private equity (PE) represents one of 21st century capitalism’s most virulent new forms. This report aims to assess the claims and counter claims made concerning private equity in an even-handed way.
This essay asks what is 'meaningful work', why more people seem to be seeking it, and what employers can do to make work more meaningful?
This report explores the assumptions, expectations and perceptions surrounding new jobs.
J
The goal of improving fairness in the workplace has been central to UK public policy since 1997. For rather longer, companies have spoken of employee empowerment through such things as teamwork. Much has been done in both areas, but major concerns remain.
L
Liberating Leadership is a profiling tool used by The Work Foundation, the profile created offers a snapshot of an individual’s leadership abilities.
The closure of the MG Rover plant at Longbridge in April 2005 was one of the biggest industrial failures seen in the UK for some time.
For people at the top of private companies there are three main reasons given for why they deserve to be so well rewarded
Efficiency, choice and personalisation are dramatically changing the shape of public services for those who use them and those who work in them.
The success of London and the UK’s Creative Industries are intertwined. Following the success of the LDA’s Creative Spaces programme and the ongoing development of the Government’s creative economy policy, Creative London, partnered by The Work Foundation, commissioned this piece of work to catalyse new ideas and approaches to how London can best develop and exploit its creative asset base.
This paper examines the current incidence of long-term pay deals, particularly in the public sector.
M
How careers are managed in large organisations has far-reaching effects on both the organisations and their employees.
This report examines the potential of Manchester to become the UK's only knowledge capital outside London.
This research explores the adaptability of social network mapping, a methodology developed by anthropologists to understand entirely alien cultures, to the business context.
In 2004 Marks & Spencer commissioned The Work Foundation to examine its contribution to tackling the challenges of unemployment and housing
This report explores self-esteem in the UK labour market.
This paper concentrates on the practical aspects of the measurement of public value. It focuses on how organisations currently measure the value of their services and reviews the literature on measuring value with the aim of ranking the usefulness of some of the practical models for measuring public values.
This paper discusses many of the key theoretical concepts in the theory of social choice in order to provide a framework in which we can explore more practical aspects of the measurement of public value in a wide variety of contexts and settings.
High levels of immigration over the past ten years have been good for the UK economy. Both inflation and interest rates have been lower as a result, skills and labour shortages have been avoided and the economy has been kept on a stable growth path — without strong evidence of greater unemployment (including youth unemployment) or falling wages emerging. This report sets out the positive economic case for immigration and argues further managed migration is essential to sustaining economic performance.
MobileUK tells the real story of what ordinary Britons think about mobile technology.
O
Global changes in the location of production and the outsourcing of tasks to low-wage countries have dominated the public discourse for some time. Especially the relatively recent IT boom in India, which has led to some media hype, nurturing a fear in high income countries such as the UK that even relatively high-skilled, well-paid jobs are now also under threat by this next wave of technology driven globalisation.
This report examines the extent and structure of outsourcing and offshoring in the UK.
P
This paper suggests that governments’ response to falling levels of trust in corporations and business destroys rather than builds trust.
What are the occupations that seem to carry the spirit of our times within them? What job captures the temper of the age? In today's complicated and contradictory world of work, this paper sets out to find the workers who have most to tell us about the future trajectory of working life.
The paper argues that anyone hoping to find the archetypal workers of the early 21st century should look no further than the ranks of hairdressers (and others in the personal grooming trades), management consultants, celebrites, and managers. These are the 'paradigm trades' that between them represent the fundamental trends affecting contemporary working life.
Over the past decade, digital technologies have often been presented as forces for globalisation and the ‘death of distance’, yet the vast majority of people’s day-to-day activities remain fairly local
The agenda for public service reform increasingly demands that services meet the rising expectations of citizens. At the same time, rapid changes in information and communication technologies provide new opportunities for gains in both efficiency and effectiveness. However, public services are subject to very different pressures than private companies, and so must innovate in very different ways.This research report presents developments in public service innovation arising from the growth of the knowledge economy. As such, it is a component part of The Work Foundation’s Knowledge Economy Programme.
This report argues that information and communication technology (ICT) has the potential to transform the relationship between citizens and public services.
The public value framework presents a new way for public services to approach the delivery of their services in order to meet the needs and expectations of citizens. This paper discusses the NHS in England, and looks at the challenges that the NHS will face as it moves forward in its delivery of healthcare in a way that meets both the public’s demands and individual user needs.
This sector paper is one of several reports in this series that examine how public value has been adopted by various sectors like local government, policing, skills, broadcasting, arts and culture, and health.
A lack of trust, voter apathy and a perceived lack of responsiveness among public services have contributed to a rising interest in the notion of community among policymakers and public service managers. The underlying assumption is that strong, vibrant local communities can help reconnect public services with the public they aim to serve.
The coming decades present a set of compelling and disruptive challenges to policing and to the police service. This paper explores some of these challenges and how the concept of ‘public value’ might illuminate them.
The context in which broadcasting in the UK takes place has changed, and is changing, fast. In its external environment, the BBC is subject both to an unprecedented high level of public scrutiny and to a more extensively and intensively contested broadcasting market. This paper is one of several reports in this series that examine how public value has been adopted by various sectors like local government, policing, skills, broadcasting, arts and culture, and health.
This paper reviews the existing evidence on user satisfaction with and citizen expectations of public services
This paper sums up the findings of the literature review on politics and public management
Q
This report summarises learning from the first in our series of events examining how ICT can enable public managers to deliver more joined-up, efficient and citizen-focused public services, focusing on the Criminal Justice System. It offers examples of good practice and insights into the day-to-day management of significant ICT-enabled change from senior managers, with contributions from Ian Young, Programme Director at Criminal Justice IT and John Tizard, Group Director of Government Relations and Business Engagement at Capit.
How can we make IT work in the NHS? With the Prime Minister Gordon Brown putting NHS reform firmly back on the agenda with the announcement of a review led by Sir Ara Darzi, finding answers to this question is more important than ever. This report aims to contribute to the debate based on a workshop held on 17 July 2007 which discussed Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and partnership working in the NHS.
R
R&D and ICT are both important drivers of productivity. But they are also simplifications, and the money spent on each can be both a fantastic investment and a missed opportunity. In this paper, we survey the 'conditioning' factors behind the success or failure of these inputs. For R&D these include location and the way funding is delivered. But for both cases it is getting the right 'mix' in place which is just as important as getting the sheer quantity of investment in place.
Looking at a range of different digital devices and functions, this report challenges the conventional assumption that technology changes lives in and of itself.
This report examines why the productivity dilemma still exists in Britain
This report explores the pay and workforce issues which have an impact on the delivery of UK public services.
How do organisations integrate different workplace cultures that may result from local acquisitions or downsizing or even global mergers?
S
An analysis of the re-absorption of Longbridge car workers into the local/regional economy of the West Midlands.
The Labour government deserves ‘7 out of 10’ for its effect on working life during the last decade, this report suggests. This score is due to its record in maintaining economic growth and low unemployment, while legislating for greater justice at work through valuable new rights for employees. This balance is Labour’s ‘central achievement’ in the sphere of work, the authors say.
Sheffield City Region is at an economic and social turning point. Employment is growing in a diverse range of sectors; investment in physical regeneration is transforming the look, feel and offer of the area; and overall productivity is increasing. Sheffield City Region commissioned The Work Foundation to review its knowledge economy. This report draws on an extensive research process conducted between April and September 2007
Sheffield City Region is at an economic and social turning point. Employment is growing in a diverse range of sectors; investment in physical regeneration is transforming the look, feel and offer of the area; and overall productivity is increasing. Sheffield City Region commissioned The Work Foundation to review its knowledge economy. This Executive Summary, and the full report on which it is based, draws on an extensive research process conducted between April and September 2007.
Most UK employers have tended towards conservatism in their remuneration practice. This report examines the subtle shifts in practice in the pay and remuneration field which more and more employers have begun to articulate.
Looks at how best to involve citizens and staff in developing online public services.
This paper seeks to argue that labour rights are human rights and that this ought to be the framework for the development of public policy.
This paper builds on the latest research into employment relations partnerships, to argue that there is a fundamental dilemma for employers wanting to adopt a partnership approach with employee representatives.
The value of Britain’s flourishing creative industries to the economy is now broadly comparable to that of the financial services sector, this new report says. But without careful policy-making, targeted public investment and a supportive institutional architecture, the flow of creativity worth commercialising may begin to slow, it warns.
There has been considerable attention given to the “long hours culture” phenomenon identified in certain segments of the labour market, in particular amongst professional and managerial staff, and potential causes and impacts of such a culture.
This report considers recent analysis of stress and reviews a series of recent high-profile contributions to the debate. It then explores the legal and policy context againsts which organisations must operate in regard to stress. Practical interventions are examined and critically evaluated
Government statements constantly refer to the importance of the knowledge economy. Few if any say what it is and none so far have attempted to spell out what sets of policies would be required to ensure the rhetoric matches the reality. In this submission, The Work Foundation makes the first attempt, to our knowledge, to provide such a statement.
This paper is an analysis of the vast array of literature about cost reduction, downsizing and their after-effects based on an analysis of data from The Work Foundation’s Workplace Trends Survey 2004.
T
The aim of this report is to look at the implications and management challenges of ageing in the workforce.
This paper investigates the desire of populations for income equality by presenting UK evidence from a large-scale adult population survey.
This survey of 1050 people shows that companies could improve their chances of hiring and keeping talented staff
The good worker survey was commissioned seeking to identify how people felt about their work, and whether those feelings had changed over time
This report explores the importance of people —employees, suppliers and customers — in supply network management, and how they can help or hinder attempts to improve supply network operation.
This report provides the results of a survey of 1000 people in June 2004 which explored how happy the respondents were with their jobs
This report shows that Europe has seen a significant expansion in her knowledge industries over the past decade and at a similar rate to the expansion of knowledge based employment in the US.
The Knowledge Economy: How Knowledge is Reshaping the Economic Life of Nations argues that the phenomenon of the knowledge economy is driven by the demand for higher value-added goods and services created by more sophisticated, more discerning and better educated consumers and businesses. These pressures have interacted with both technology and globalisation, accelerating the process of change and enabling new and disruptive patterns of supplying consumers. The report marks the half-way stage in The Work Foundation's three-year, £1.5 million research programme into the knowledge economy which will conclude in April 2009.
The national minimum wage (NMW) has been one of the most successful labour market interventions of the last decade. It was introduced with a minimum of fuss, has improved the incomes of the lowest paid and has had no adverse impact on employment
The Risk Myth: CEO's and Labour Market Risk attempts to look more broadly at who bears risk in today’s labour market, and in particular, it examines the risks and rewards of CEOs of our top companies and compares them with the risks borne by average workers.
This independent report finds that the broadcasting industry in the UK is at risk of becoming a less creative force.
The UK will need to attract more highly skilled workers from abroad - both from the European Union and outside it - in order to secure the future of high technology, 'knowledge intensive' industries in an increasingly global world, this paper argues.
Effective engagement of the workforce is critical to delivering real service improvements for the customer
If Germany is good at making cars and Japan at micro electronics, what does Britain excel at economically? The answer is ‘knowledge services’.
The expansion of the knowledge economy has been one of the most striking features of economic change in developed countries over the last thirty years. Since the 1970s, the ability to use, share and analyse knowledge has become a key driver of economic growth and wealth creation. More sectors and more firms rely primarily on the use and application of knowledge and technology
This evidence paper is one of five supporting the overview and provides the detailed analysis of the key issues facing North Staffordshire that underpins The Work Foundation’s recommendations to the North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership.
North Staffordshire Action Planning Group — Recommended Vision and Actions: Submission to the North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership and Leaders Group
This evidence paper sets out a range of the recommendations that have emerged from our analysis and interviews.
The Work Foundation was asked to provide the North Staffordshire Regeneration Board with: 'A distinctive vision for the future of North Staffordshire that is owned by the key stakeholders'
In February 2007 the North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership commissioned The Work Foundation to undertake an independent review of the economic and social circumstances of North Staffordshire. There were three objectives for the study: first, to develop a distinctive and evidence-based vision for North Staffordshire; second, to ensure that key stakeholders were engaged in the process and agreed with this vision; and third, to raise the profile of the area. This is the summary of the report that sets out our findings and recommended vision.
In February 2007 the North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership commissioned The Work Foundation to undertake an independent review of the economic and social circumstances of North Staffordshire. There were three objectives for the study: first, to develop a distinctive and evidence-based vision for North Staffordshire; second, to ensure that key stakeholders were engaged in the process and agreed with this vision; and third, to raise the profile of the area. This report sets out our findings and recommended vision.
U
The difficulty of creating ‘knowledge economy’ jobs in cities based in the north and west of the UK may be the principal reason for the continuation of the north-south divide, this report argues.
W
This report presents a new economic rationale for public service broadcasting based on the positive impact broadcasting can have on social capital.
This working paper explores the idea of the Ideopolis.
What ICT? Providing more customer-focused services is the second report in the ‘Public Services and ICT’ series, explores the ‘demand’ side of public services and ICT.
It is almost universally agreed that how performance is managed in organisations can have far-reaching effects on both the organisation and their employees.
With the growing knowledge economy investment in intangible assets is starting to match, and is set to overtake, investment in tangible assets. More money and time is now being spent on developing assets such as human capital, and brand value, than on more traditional assets such as bricks, mortar and computers.
This report is intended to indicate how the UK can best promote progress in taking forward the Lisbon Agenda to build a dynamic, competitive, knowledge based economy in Britain.
The progression from eGovernment to transformational government is a welcome and good start to the challenge of delivering more effective ICT-enabled projects. However, there are some key challenges that remain around learning lessons from successes and failures. This report attempts to fill in some of these gaps.
In the run up to the UK’s first ever Enterprise Week, this study attempts to answer the vexed question of whether big business benefits deprived communities or exploits them.
The widespread conviction that low levels of employment regulation and weak trade unions are the cause of Britain’s good record at creating jobs and keeping unemployment down is exposed as a myth in this report. The study also takes aim at the assumption that “being more like America” is essential if high levels of unemployment in some continental European countries are to be reduced.
The first report published in March 2005, addresses our first research question: Why ICT? What role might ICT play in making public services better and where does it not have a role?
The United Kingdom, according to HM Treasury and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) publications, has a productivity problem. If we closed this gap, the rhetoric goes, every person in the country would be £6,000 a year better off.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) commissioned The Work Foundation to examine and quantify the public’s ‘Willingness To Pay’ (WTP) the licence fee for the BBC’s current services and proposed new activities for television, radio and online as the new Charter Review period commences.
Work UK presents just some of the trends and evidence about the world of work. It suggests some of the issues facing policymakers, employers and individuals, depending on how these facts are interpreted.
We have produced a detailed slide presentation with supporting ‘factsheets’, which organisations can use as a resource and as a support to strategy formulation, planning and analysis.
This report introduced The Work Foundation's vision for successful workplaces
The purpose of this report is to answer the following questions: what does 'work-life balance' mean to UNISON members and what are their experiences in light of UNISON's 2002 campaign to promote the benefits of it
The Work Foundation's annual cross-sectional survey targeted at HR managers in 1,000 different public and private sector organisations. It explores links between contextual factors, business strategy, HR objectives and practices and organisational performance.
Y
Software experts and developers are showing an increased desire to understand and improve social networks, both offline and online