Coordinator to ensure that research supported by the ESRC initiative represents value for money and achieves impact across the retail sector

零售业直接占英国总增加值的5.3%，雇佣了九分之一的劳动人口，是其他经济部门进入市场的关键途径。尽管每周的新闻报道预示着知名商业街品牌的消亡，并经常被用来暗示该行业的普遍萎靡不振，但许多零售商的衰落是因为对社会、技术和经济环境中戏剧性和快速变化的战略反应迟缓，最明显的是技术创新、在线购物的增长和消费者生活方式的变化。创新、积极主动的零售商继续表现强劲，并为英国成为按销售额计算的世界第六大零售业做出了贡献。这些幸存下来的零售商一直在寻求高质量的研究，以帮助他们找到为其业务增加社会和经济价值的方法。他们正在寻找新的商业模式和强大的证据基础，以指导他们的战略决策过程。认识到其重要性，并进一步提高该行业的世界级形象和研究能力，ESRC将投资250万英磅支持共同投资的零售研究项目。最近的ESRC零售导航器项目强调了七个零售研究优先领域，其中三个领域在电话会议中得到了强调。这是与零售商发展有效研究合作的重要第一步，但仍然存在一些障碍。这些问题包括零售商对与零售相关的大型研究集群的存在和性质缺乏认识，以及对与许多传统学术研究相关的相关性、影响和时间尺度持怀疑态度。零售协调员的作用是确保通过呼吁资助的研究代表物有所值，并在整个行业产生可衡量的影响。此外，协调员将以ESRC零售和数据导航器倡议的结果为基础，开展活动，改善整个部门的研究合作和协调，并打破上述障碍。以下活动是为确保实现这一目标而设计的。初步评估和监测拟议项目的战略方向和“适合性”，以确保它们反映行业和学术专家的需求。通过与成功申请者的一对一对话，确定将其研究的影响最大化所需的支持的性质和形式举办一系列备受瞩目的“知识共享活动”，以确保利益相关者和资助者之间的对话，以最大限度地扩大合作和协同的机会根据研究成果制作一系列“思想领导”出版物，这些出版物可根据研究成果进行量身定制，以传播给零售业学者、从业者、协调员将开展更多活动，以加强研究项目的影响，并创造更多的合作和共同投资机会。这些措施包括开发ESRC零售业校友以帮助将研究在零售界的影响最大化，并在国际清算银行零售业增长战略的发展中发挥积极作用，以最大限度地发挥研究的政策影响。

The retail sector accounts directly for 5.3% of UK gross added value, employs one in nine working people and is a key route to market for other sectors of the economy. Although weekly press reports signal the demise of well-known high street names and are often used to suggest a general malaise in the sector, many retailers have fallen because of a slow strategic response to dramatic and rapid changes in the social, technological and economic environment, most notably technological innovation, the growth of on line shopping and changing consumer lifestyles. Innovative, proactive retailers continue to perform strongly and contribute to making the UK the 6th largest retail sector in the world by sales. These surviving retailers are constantly looking to high quality research to help them find ways to add social and economic value to their businesses. They are looking for new business models and a robust evidence base to inform their strategic decision making processes.In recognition of its significance and to further enhance the world class profile and research capacity of the sector, the ESRC are investing £2.5 million to support co-investment retail research projects. The recent ESRC Retail Navigator project highlighted seven retail research priority areas three of which have been highlighted within the call. This was an important first step in developing effective research collaboration with retailers but a number of barriers remain. These include a lack of awareness amongst retailers about the existence and nature of large clusters of retail related research and a perceived scepticism about the relevance, impact and timescales associated with much of the traditional academic research. The role of the Retail Coordinator is to ensure that the research funded through the call represents value for money and achieves measurable impact across the sector. In addition the Coordinator will build on the findings of the ESRC Retail and Data navigator initiatives, undertaking activities to improve research collaboration and co-ordination across the sector and break down the barriers identified above. The following activities have been designed to ensure this happens. Initially assessing and monitoring the strategic direction and 'fit' of proposed projects to make sure they reflect the needs of industry and academic expertise.Identifying, through one to one conversations with successful applicants, the nature and form of support required to maximise the impacts of their research Staging a series of high profile 'knowledge sharing events' to ensure dialogue between stakeholders and grant holders to maximise opportunities for collaboration and synergyProducing a series of 'Thought leadership' publications based on the research outputs which can be tailored for dissemination to Retail academics, practitioners, interest groups and policy makers.The Coordinator will undertake additional activities aimed at enhancing the impact of the research projects and generating further collaboration and co-investment opportunities. These include developing an ESRC Retail alumnus to help maximise the impact of the research within the retail community and playing a proactive role in the development of the BIS Retail Growth strategy to maximise the policy impact of the research.