ESRC Impact Acceleration Account grant to fund collaborative project with North Wales Police

Innovation and learning within North Wales Police will be the focus of a new collaborative project led by Bangor Business School, thanks to the award of a major research impact grant.

Dr Clair Doloriert, Lecturer in Management and Organisations, has been awarded a Knowledge Exchange Fellowship by The Bangor University ESRC Impact Acceleration Account towards the project, which aims to support North Wales Police in strengthening its processes of knowledge management, skills development and innovation. 

Through on-site work and close collaboration with North Wales Police employees, the project – entitled ‘Supporting innovation and learning in North Wales Police’ – will work towards an increased understanding of the force’s existing skills base, and will subsequently develop a knowledge repository, identify learning and innovation champions and encourage engagement within the initiative.

Knowledge exchange workshops will be held, and university graduates within the force will be encouraged to re-engage with the skills acquired during their studies, and to promote the use of these within the organisation.

“I'm delighted to have been granted this prestigious award, especially given the high number of applications and the tough competition”, commented Dr Doloriert, Project Lead and Principal Investigator. “The project is very exciting in terms of both my academic interests and for affecting practice within a key North Wales public sector organisation. I'm very much looking forward to the collaboration and using my expertise to make a positive impact on innovation and knowledge management in North Wales Police.” 

Working with Dr Doloriert will be Co-Investigator Dr Martina Feilzer, Senior Lecturer in Criminology & Criminal Justice and Head of the School of Social Sciences, with the project building on research previously undertaken by themselves and Professor Sally Sambrook, also of Bangor Business School.

Ms Glesni Driver, a Bangor MBA graduate and Programme Manager at the Corporate Programme Office of North Wales Police, will be the external partner on the 10-month project, which will commence in June.

Speaking on behalf of North Wales Police, Chief Superintendent Jeremy Vaughan stated: “this represents an exciting opportunity to further develop the strong links that currently exist with Bangor University. It is increasingly important for the police service to develop an evidence base of what works in reducing crime whilst developing innovative approaches to policing and crime reduction.

“Partnerships with academic institutions will only serve to strengthen our ability to work more efficiently and effectively in serving the public and keeping people safe. It is hoped that through this initiative we will further develop our understanding and use of research in policing and widen our understanding of evidence-based approaches to solving problems that affect the communities of North Wales.”

Professor John Thornton, Head of Bangor Business School, added that “this project will be of mutual benefit to North Wales Police and Bangor University by sustaining relationships between the University and its graduates who work in the force. It is anticipated that the collaboration will have substantial impact on how North Wales Police manages its evidence-based knowledge and knowledge management practice”. 

Publication date: 7 March 2016