Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford

Research and enterprise are central to the Smith School. Key to the School's success is the integration of new knowledge secured through research activity and effective application to enterprise in order to shape business practices, government policy and stakeholder engagement. Connecting academia, business and government within this research framework, draws upon members of the School's extensive experience in the corporate sector, public policy, environmental sustainability and economic development.

Bringing together this knowledge and experience within a robust framework of academic enquiry is the key objective of the School. We feel passionate about addressing the most pressing challenges that the 21st century resource-constrained world is facing and are enthusiastic about working with relevant stakeholders to design innovative solutions.

Our members come from a wide range of backgrounds, including the corporate sector, public policymakers, to economic developers, etc. This facilitates the School's aim to create an on-going dialogue between academia, business, NGOs and government.

Specific examples of effective enterprise partnerships since 2008 have resulted in:

• Corporate support for graduate studies
  e.g. Sponsorship for DPhil Candidate (2017)
• Delivering research outcomes for the financial industry
  e.g. From the Stockholder to the Stakeholder - How Sustainability can drive Financial Outperformance, report for Arabesque Partners (2014)
• Thought leadership by key members of the business community
  e.g Business Fellows Programme
• Convening of leading international forums
  e.g. 'Coping with Disruptive Change' Allianz-Pensions Conference 2017 and Waddesdon Stranded Assets Forums (Rothschild Foundation)
• Capacity building of key industry leaders
  e.g. Valuing Water for Sustainable Development - November 2017
• Bringing industry experience to students
  e.g. Role Play Seminar with Leading Corporate Representative on Environmental Issues for MSc Programme on Environmental Change and Management
• Impacting government policy
  e.g. Membership by SSEE member on the Economics Advisory Group to the UK Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change