Responsibilities

Clare Schofield is both a Research Fellow in the Centre for Enterprise at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School (MMUBS) and a CPD Developer in the Centre for learning and Teaching. Clare has a PhD in the field of Human Resource Management and her thesis examined NHS Managers’ views of performance management, performance appraisal and pay. She has worked with the Centre for Enterprise for seven years. Whilst completing her doctoral studies Clare was part of a project team that developed and delivered the New Entrepreneur Scholarship (NES) programme at MMUBS. NES is a hugely successful Government funded business start up programme that targets people living in disadvantaged regions to develop their social capital. Prior to joining MMUBS Clare worked in NHS finance holding positions in both financial and management accounts.

Background

In her role as a Research fellow, Clare is currently the Senior Business Analyst on the £1.3million ERDF funded ‘Centre for Enterprise Leadership and Management’ project. The project is aimed at improving the leadership and management capabilities of SME leaders in the Financial and Professional Service sector. In addition, she is the Strand Leader for Enterprise on the Urban Regeneration: Making a Difference project, a £3.2 million project funded by Hefce. The project aims to demonstrate that expert knowledge housed within universities can make a positive impact in urban communities.

Research

Professional Membership Member of ISBE (2007 to present) Fellow of the Higher education Academy (awarded May 2007) Consultancy Recently completed consultancy projects: Working for Manchester: Knowledge Capital, Clare researched the engagement of ten small businesses in the regional supply chain, including four businesses from the BME community. The findings of the project informed the development of the City Growth strategy that is currently being implemented. The project was one of five that informed the developed the City Growth Strategy for the regeneration of South Manchester. City Growth is based on an American model for inner city regeneration. By putting business at the heart of regeneration, it is believed there is an increased possibility of creating long-term and sustainable change in inner cities. City Growth challenges defined geographic areas to develop and implement action plans founded on empirical research and driven by private sector in partnership with Local Authorities and Agencies. Clare undertook an evaluation of community training provision in New East Manchester which is part of a New Deal project regenerating New East Manchester. The findings of the project resulted in the continued support of a community-based training project. Examining community participation in town centre management Clare developed a 360 degree community audit tool that is currently being used to evaluate community participation in eight town centre regeneration projects nationwide. Research Agenda Her research interests focus on knowledge intensive SMEs, in particular leadership and business growth issues.

Publications