The concept of being strongly connected with our communities is one of our four fundamental values at Research Consulting. We are linked together through inter-connecting global networks, and in a similar way, we are also connected to our local communities, in and around Nottingham where the business is located. We seek to behave consistently with our clients and the communities we serve by being open and collaborative, and by thinking about the public good and the greater good rather than focusing on any short-term and potentially short-sighted return.
Our mindset is about being aligned with the communities we serve. By having an emphasis on connection and being a good member of our communities, Research Consulting places a high value on corporate social responsibility (CSR). We are linked with our communities, both place-specific here in Nottingham, and across the wider world through networks of peers, collaborators, clients and interest groups. We seek to run a business that promotes ethical working and socially responsible behaviour, in line with sustainable development, and we share our knowledge as openly and widely as we can. There’s good evidence to show that this approach pays dividends in the long run (see for example Adam Grant’s book Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success), but even if it doesn’t, we still believe it’s the right thing to do.
For these reasons we have always been involved in various CSR activities since the formation of the business. From giving away 5-10 percent of company annual profits to charity, to hosting 12 placements over the last 9 years for school and university students, to supporting team members in giving up their own time to support individual projects and organisations in roles such as society treasurer and school governor. All of this comes from our desire to give something back, to share, to support, to collaborate and to help.
Since 2014, we have supported Hope Nottingham, a charity which works with local churches and community groups serving those in need in neighbourhoods across the city. Our support for the local community now also includes sponsoring a Nottingham Casuals youth rugby team – we gave it a try and are now converted.
More closely connected to the research community is our monthly donation to the CERN and Society Foundation, which goes to supporting Zenodo, an ‘open science’ research repository which we use for housing many of our public outputs. We have also recently become supporter members of the Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA), a non-profit trade association of open access journal and book publishers.
We are pleased to have been able to contribute back to the research community and to our local community. It feels like the right thing to do and is line with not only our business values but those of the people who work for us and those who are likely to be seeking employment with us in the future. We are developing a culture of collaboration, and through forging better and stronger connections at all levels, we will only enhance our work and the lives and work of others. If you see that there is an opportunity to forge a closer connection with Research Consulting, then do please let us know. We would love to hear from you.
