Projects

IES is collaborating with the University of Brighton to conduct some original research into the links between HR practices and employee performance and well-being. The research study will be led by Dr Luke Fletcher of Brighton Business School, and will involve a survey, to be administered twice at an interval of six months, of at least 300 employees across a minimum of two organisations. The results will be disseminated at an event (planned for January 2017) to be hosted by the University of Brighton.

IES was commissioned to evaluate the work and wellbeing strand of Mind’s ‘Blue Light’ initiative, which aims to improve the awareness and management of the mental health of employees in the emergency services. The work involved surveying participants in a training programme, as well as in-depth qualitative work with key Blue Light service stakeholders, including staff members with a history of/currently dealing with mental health issues themselves. The evaluation supported Mind in continuing to develop and improve its support offer to employers.

EU OSHA commissioned IES, in partnership with the University of South Wales, to undertake a literature review and series of expert interviews to identify the factors associated with success of foresighting research. The project specifically investigated the characteristics of foresighting exercises that had an impact on policy.

IES was commissioned by EU-OSHA to undertake an online survey to review its community members’ experiences of the Agency’s online risk assessment tool and consult with broader stakeholders. The survey aimed to inform the Agency’s Online Interactive Risk Assessment (OiRA) business plan, OiRA impact assessment and OiRA risk assessment and provide recommendations for the revision and/or further development of these documents.

The aim of this project was to carry out a review of OSH benchmarking schemes that had been set up at sector, member state or European level. The review aimed to assess the benefits that such schemes could deliver as well as their limitations and to identify the key factors and main obstacles to their success. The analysis described each initiative in depth and analysed its effectiveness (e.g. in the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases, number of organisations involved) and set this in relation to the efforts that were put into the programmes. Based on systematic analysis of selected initiatives IES developed practical guidance on how to set up a successful OSH benchmarking network.

IES was commissioned by HEFCE to carry out case study research with higher education institutions and further education colleges. The research aimed to understand how support was provided and funded for students with severe mental health problems and/or complex physical impairments where intensive or multi-agency support was required. The research was carried out from September 2014 to March 2015. Working in partnership with Researching Equity, Access and Partnership (REAP) at Lancaster University, IES made case study visits to 12 higher education institutions and further education colleges to speak with a wide range of staff to explore their approaches to providing and funding support, in light of rapid growth in the numbers of students declaring a disability. The research was designed to be used by HEFCE to provide government with evidence-based advice to support policy development.

This research project centred on psychosocial factors underlying compliance with (and enforcement of) food safety regulations, with an emphasis on small food business operators. The aims were: to pool together existing evidence the FSA possessed on regulation, cultures and behaviours to update a similar rapid review that was undertaken by IES/University of Cardiff so that it reflected additional data that had become available since. The most recent review, like the previous one, drew on relevant sources both within and outside the food safety literature.

IES was commissioned to undertake a literature review, telephone interviews and an online survey of stakeholders to identify possible subjects for a foresighting study into new and emerging OSH risks arising from changes in the nature of work and working life, and to recommend the most appropriate foresighting techniques to apply in the study.