The Centre for Performance with Purpose is a hub for research within the Guildhall School of Business and Law that focuses on significantly addressing and impacting the management of real societal challenges. Tackling societal challenges such as inclusion, social value and race equity gives us our purpose but means that performance objectives become complex. Management becomes about the management of performance outcomes, not discrete physical products or one tightly-bound project. Business and management as a discipline is not about what should be but what is and what can be. Principled aspirations without performance are not authentic or sustainable. The emphasis on performance is where we contribute as management academics; working together with purpose is not enough, it must be effective, hence performance is central to the Centre.
The Centre is a nucleus for those who want to critically raise performance outcomes in the way things are managed, in organisational practices, and the impacts they have on the way we live, how we feel, and the way our services are delivered. As a Centre, we can only be a source of social impact on complex issues through connections to others who also want to be conduits for change. Core to the Centre therefore is networking; internally, including other groups and Centres, but also with external partners, organisations and individuals, public and private, regulators and professional bodies, who share our commitment to improving performance.
Our stakeholders and our audiences cross disciplinary boundaries, and engagement with issues that matter to under-represented groups and communities in London and beyond means our outputs are deliberately varied. They encompass academically validated research publications, accessible reports, talks, events and knowledge transfer. Our academic areas of business and management expertise include:
- optimisation
- corporate social responsibility (CSR)
- human resources
- smaller businesses
- leadership
- future cities
- gender studies
- entrepreneurship
- intermediaries
- strategy
- data science
- supply chains
- sustainability
- zero carbon
To make this link between knowledge sharing and the Purpose and Performance Research Centre authentic, we have an inclusive and developmental culture that embeds developing and improving stakeholders – especially PhD students – raising our own performance and those who work with us.
Membership
Becoming a member
The Performance with Purpose (PWP) Research Centre brings together colleagues from across management disciplines who are attached to the Business and Management unit of assessment for the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021. Nonetheless, the Centre is also inclusive and welcoming of other colleagues from across London Metropolitan University as associate members. If you are interested in becoming a member or an associate member, regardless of your disciplinary background, please get in touch with Professor Nigel Caldwell or Dr Akanksha Jamwal for a chat.
New PhD students
As a vibrant research centre, we are keen to attract new PhD students. If you are interested in undertaking a PhD in any of our subject areas or specialisms, please contact Professor Nigel Caldwell or Dr Akanksha Jamwal for an initial chat.
Director
Deputy Director
Dr Akanksha Jamwal
Centre's Global Ambassador
