2020 was a difficult year for everyone. CIMR responded to the challenge of being current and influential by showcasing research, analytical skills and engagement. CIMR colleagues have shone even in the most difficult of times. This annual report celebrates our community’s successes.
These include the CIMR debates in Public Policy which began online in April 2020, continued in the Autumn of 2020 and are continuing further into 2021. These eight one-hour sessions on Wednesday lunchtimes have been informative and stimulating. They have been conducted by people from every part of CIMR’s membership. Our academic leads (Daniele Archibugi, Muthu De Silva, Klaus Nielsen, Federica Rossi), alumni (Saverio Romeo), PhD students (Dina Masour, Reetu Sood, James Brooke), Fellows (Adrian Day, Evelyn Wilson, Riccardo Zechinelli and Suma Athreye). The last debate of the summer term, Diversity and Entrepreneurship – how far have we gone and how much further do we need to go? was stimulated by a student asking a question of CIMR Fellow, David Friel, the guest speaker in the Masters module, Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Lucy Clifton asked, ‘How do the demographic profiles of entrepreneurs and investors affect networking and investment opportunities for underrepresented groups such as women and BAME individuals?
A further highlight has been the alumni work of Doyin Olorunfemi and Melina Padayachy, who organised two excellent sessions for current Masters students showcasing the activities of the CIMR.
CIMR at the Bloomsbury Festival 2020 was different. This was CIMR engaging with society. The context is that students are at home. Scholars have rapidly embraced remote and digital learning from their home offices. Malet Street is not buzzing as usual and the food market is not there anymore with its international delicacies. In this period, the CIMR has decided to open its doors to the surrounding community, participating in the well-known Bloomsbury Festival. It was Sunday 18 October and the CIMR had a session within the ‘Visions of Future’ Bloomsbury Festival section to be delivered over Zoom! The objective was to take the CIMR to the core of the Bloomsbury community, showing the teaching and research activities of the Centre.
Our research output has been excellent. CIMR members published four books, 24 journal articles and seven book chapters as well as other publications including reports and working papers.
Events include the aforementioned Debates in Public Policy and six other events including the Bloomsbury Festival.
Blogs are another excellent way of showcasing our work. They take many forms – blogs on research, blogs profiling our members and alumni, and blogs presenting key messages from CIMR events. We publish new blogs regularly, at least weekly or bi-monthly.
New this year are podcasts. We have six so far: Grazia Ietto-Gilles, Federica Rossi, Daniele Archibugi, Melina Padayachy and our PhD students Ayse and Doyin, with more to come.
We continue to expand our membership. This year we welcomed Almuth McDowall and Rebecca Whiting from the department of Organisational Psychology to CIMR.
Please see our full report for more details on our many activities in 2020.
