The ESRC Research Centre on Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance (SKOPE)

SKOPE is an interdisciplinary research centre based in the Department of Education at Oxford University and the Cardiff School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University. The aim of the Centre is to examine the links between the acquisition and use of skills and knowledge, product market strategies and performance (measured in a variety of ways). Full details of the Centre’s research programme and working papers can be found here.

At the end of September 2008 SKOPE completed 10 years as an ESRC research centre.  The ESRC has awarded SKOPE a further five years of funding. This new phase started on 1 October 2008 with a core budget of about £1 million per annum. Details of the new centre’s research programme can be found here.

SKOPE research in the Department of Education currently focuses on the factors that affect skill supply and development, the utilisation of skills in the workplace and the impact of education and training policy.

SKOPE researchers based in Oxford include Professor Ken Mayhew, Director of SKOPE; Dr Geoff Hayward, Associate Director of SKOPE; Craig Holmes, Dr Susan James and Dr Ioanna Kinti, SKOPE Research Fellows; and Professor Anne Edwards, Dr Hubert Ertl and Dr Alis Oancea, SKOPE Research Associates. In addition, the following doctoral students are currently associated with the Centre in Oxford: Barbara Banda, Andrew Freeman-May, Natalie Lundsteen, Anna Touloumakos, Chang da Wan and Michael Wilkinson.