UKWON

THE UK WORK ORGANISATION NETWORK

• Research
• Supporting workplace innovation
• Working with policymakers
• Dialogue
• Contact us

About us

About UKWON

UK WON is a network of institutions, practitioners and individuals researching and developing new ways of organising work to meet the competitive challenges of contemporary economic, technological and cultural change.

The Challenge

There is a persistent gap between leading edge practice in work organisation and common practice in the UK. While there are exemplary workplaces which combine high  productivity and innovation with a good quality of working life, most enterprises have little idea of how to reach this “high road”. Government, universities, trade unions and business support agencies need to do much more to help them.

It is well understood that the integration of academic research and practice is weak in the UK. Recent government initiatives will help in the longer term, but experiences from across Europe show that Universities face an uphill struggle in addressing the needs of practitioners. In short, new types of multi-stakeholder, networked organisation are needed to create and deliver innovative evidence-based approaches to business transformation.

What we do

Based on evidence from workplaces across Europe, UKWON believes that improved competitiveness and performance can be achieved through, rather than at the expense of, a high quality of working life.

However we don’t believe in rigid formulas and blueprints for successful change. There is no “one best way” – rather organisations need to learn, experiment and adapt based on inclusive dialogue with all their stakeholders. UKWON provides a forum for comparison and exchange between different approaches, and provides practical knowledge and support for everyone concerned with workplace innovation.

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