Valerie joined the Centre for Enterprise in 2010. Previously she was working as a  researcher and lecturer in Human Resource Management and Research Methods in  the Lancashire Business School at the University of Central Lancashire. Her core research interests are employment relations, equality and diversity in small firms and she has worked on projects sponsored by the ESRC, ACAS, the TUC  and The Department for Trade and Industry. Valerie has published widely on aspects of grievance and disciplinary procedures, employment relations and gender equality among freelance workers.

Valerie is currently working on an ESRC-sponsored project 

Entrepreneurial Learning in Social Enterprises: Tipping Points and Strategic Space

This project builds on the ESRC-sponsored Evolution of Business Knowledge programme and sets out to compare the process of organisational learning in small social enterprises with that in ‘traditional’ SMEs. The aim of the project is to increase understanding of the specific developmental needs of social enterprises and so contribute to evidence-based policy initiatives and appropriate business support for the social enterprise sector.

Publications