University philanthropy expert Dr Beth Breeze has won a European award for a joint study exploring employee engagement in corporate philanthropy.
Dr Breeze, Director of the University’s Centre for Philanthropy, won the European Research Network on Philanthropy (ERNOP) best conference paper award for a paper she co-wrote with Dr Pamala Wiepking from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) in the Netherlands.
The prize was awarded at ERNOP’s international research conference for philanthropy scholars, which took place at Copenhagen Business School in Denmark between 13-14 July 2017.
The paper, Different Drivers: Exploring Employee Engagement in Corporate Philanthropy, saw the researchers conclude with a set of recommendations for the managersof businesses and fundraising organisations.
These included the suggestion that ‘truly strategic corporate philanthropy should involve both business leaders and employee representatives in democratised and devolved corporate philanthropy decision-making’.
This, said Dr Breeze, would ‘maximise the business benefits of corporate philanthropy that incorporates both strategic goals and human resource management benefits’.
The award judges said the winning paper was characterised by ‘an excellent analysis of the lack of understanding of lower-level employees’, and their ‘under-recognised role in corporate philanthropy’, followed by clear research questions and analysis.
The award, which is sponsored by Transnational Giving Europe, comprises an award certificate and a €1,000 cash prize.