Applied Research Conference

The changing world of work

The Applied Research Conference (ARC) is an annual meeting place for academic researchers and practitioners working in people management, employment policy and related fields. It holds a unique place in bringing together these two communities to hear about cutting edge research in HR and discuss how it can be applied in practice.

ARC is an interdisciplinary conference that covers a wide range of aspects of people management, employment, learning and development and organisational development. In all research papers presented, we set out to discuss the practical application of insights to organisational life and labour markets.

Professor Ian Beardwell Prize

The Professor Ian Beardwell Prize was set up in memory of leading HR academic and close CIPD collaborator, Ian Beardwell, following his untimely death in 2002.

The winners for the 2021 Professor Ian Beardwell Prize are: Richard Saundry, Virginia Fisher and Sue Kinsey, for their article in HRMJ, Disconnected human resource? Proximity and the (mis)management of workplace conflict.

The Ian Beardwell Prize is presented annually for the best applied research paper at the end of the CIPD Applied Research Conference. Eligible papers are those based on a paper previously presented at ARC (any year) that have been published in the calendar year 2020. As for the conference papers, our judging criteria are: (a) relevance to the contemporary world of work, employment and people management; (b) appropriate and robust methods; (c) contribution to knowledge and understanding of the field; (d) clear practical implications of the research; and (e) written clearly in plain language.

Please submit your entry for the 2022 prize to research@cipd.co.uk with the subject ‘ARC Ian Beardwell Prize’.

Watch the video

Hear speakers from the CIPD Applied Research Conference 2017 talking about their work.

The changing world of work

Professor Ian Beardwell Prize

Watch the video

Access past papers and submissions