The ESRC PrOPEL Hub was established in 2020 as a collaboration between universities in all four UK nations and the CIPD. PrOPEL stands for “Productivity Outcomes of workplace Practice, Engagement & Learning”, reflecting a shared commitment among all Hub stakeholders to the idea that what happens in the workplace is crucial to solving the UK’s productivity challenges, as well as to the engagement and wellbeing of employees.
ESRC PrOPEL Hub partners were charged with turning cutting-edge, high quality research into actionable intelligence and impactful activities that could inform the practice of employers, teams and policy stakeholders. Over a period of four years, ESRC PrOPEL Hub partners developed and implemented a suite of impactful interventions informing workplace practice on issues ranging from workplace wellbeing to conflict resolution, from performance management to EDI, and from employee engagement to job crafting.
Our partnership with the CIPD expanded the reach and impact of our work, through multiple collaborations and special sessions at the CIPD Applied Research Conference and Annual Conference and Exhibition, and through co-designed events such as our ‘Sustainable Practice Action Research Community’ (SPARC) meetings that brough together HR leaders with workplace researchers. ESRC PrOPEL Hub partners have engaged with more than 4, 500 business leaders, teams and policy stakeholders through more than 80 online and in-person events.
Employers and workplace stakeholders have fed back that the actionable intelligence offered by ESRC PrOPEL Hub partners has often informed progressive change to deliver improved employee wellbeing, engagement and productivity. The formal activities of the ESRC PrOPEL Hub came to an end in July 2024, but partners continue to collaborate on an ‘ESRC PrOPEL Hub Futures’ agenda that seeks to continue to extend the reach and impact of our work.
