Middlemarch Environmental Ltd is an ecological consultancy providing a range of services to clients throughout England and Wales. The company has grown significantly since its founding in 1989, now employing 35 people, trading across England and Wales with clients from SMEs to multi-national PLCs, and turnover in 2008 of £3.1M. Middlemarch is a wholly owned subsidiary of Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. Services range from preliminary ecological surveys to practical habitat management. As one of the top independent ecological consultancies in the UK, Middlemarch has a 20-year track record of providing 'creative ecological solutions' based on sustainable principles.

The project will establish best practice and an evidence base for the value of evaluation projects. It will develop improved, standardised, streamlined methodologies to improve delivery of evaluation projects and test methodologies on live client projects.

Academic supervisor: Dr Margi Levy, with Nigel Sykes, Centre for Small and Medium Sized Businesses, Warwick University.

See more about Middlemarch Environmental Ltd here at www.middlemarch-environmental.com

Express Energy provides solutions to customers within the investment community and those committed to developing renewable energy assets. The company is currently developing a number of power plants in the UK utilizing biomass fuels. Express Energy aims to develop a portfolio of biomass and energy from waste projects with a combined capacity of 450MWe by 2015. Express Energy has drawn together a team of individuals with wide experience within the energy sector and expertise in developing projects of this nature.

This project will assist Express Energy to develop an assessment framework, integrating all key issues (demand analysis, technical analysis, environmental impact assessment, social impact assessment, financial analysis, and risk analysis), for the successful implementation and sustainable operation of bioenergy systems in the UK.

Academic supervisor: Dr. William Ho and Dr. Prasanta Kumar Dey, Aston Business School.
Associate/student: Jim Scott.

See more about Express Energy here at www.express-energy.com

Enco Energy Ltd is a small developer of biomass-to-energy projects. The company focuses on combined heat and power projects at small scales (less than 5 MW electrical) which would supply electricity to the grid and heat to small communities. The company is in the process of implementing its first project at a residential and light commercial development in Norfolk, and is pursuing a number of further project opportunities.

This project will analyse the commercial and technical aspects of the implementation and operation of small scale biomass schemes in the UK.

Academic supervisor: Dr Prasanta Dey, Aston Business School and Dr John Brammer, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Aston University.
Associate/student: Daniel Wright.

See more about Enco Energy Ltd here at www.encoenergy.co.uk

This project, conducted in collaboration with the Department of Health, Procurement, Investment and Commercial Division, aims to improve individual, organisational and supply network practices. Organisational learning has been closely associated with innovation within organisations, and this project hopes to extend that relationship to company to company relationships. The generic findings from this CASE award may also have wider economic implications for other complex organisations, regional prosperity and international competitiveness.

Academic supervisor: Dr. Helen Shipton from the Work and Organisational Psychology Group, Aston Business School and Dr. Louise Knight, Aston School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Associate/student: Jenny Surtees.

The objective of this research is to increase the efficiency and choice in how the public can access services from the police. Working with senior managers and key staff members from Warwickshire Police, this research looks at how the police deal with emergency telephone calls from the public, as well as how the public access the police in non-emergency situations. The research compares the process used by staff at different bases around Warwickshire to identify the various ways in which police services are accessed and delivered at different locations. The research carries out in-depth analysis on these processes to identify potential developments to make the police as efficient and as accessible to the public as possible.

Academic supervisor: Prof Duncan Shaw and Dr Judy Scully, Aston Business School.
Associate/student: Chris Smith (KTP)
Associate/student: Graham Hieke (CASE)
Associate/student: Gary Preece (Placement)

This project will develop a de facto approach to help NHS resolve the large number of "Wicked Problems" it is set to face over the next few years. "Wicked Problems" are complex, messy and often intractable challenges. There are no known solutions, partly because the causes are themselves complex, ambiguous and often interconnected. Typical NHS "Wicked Problems" involve challenges such as Patient Care Standards; Patient Hygiene Standards; Planning for a Flu Pandemic; Drug Shortages; Large Scale IT problems, and interfacing with small and medium sized suppliers (e.g. SMEs).

Academic supervisor: Dr Ben Clegg and Dr William Ho, Operations & Information Management Group, Aston Business School.
Associate/student: Chee Seng Koh.

Currently there are around 20,000 dialysis patients in UK and this is predicted to increase at 8% per annum. Factors behind this rise include the ageing population, increase in obesity and lack of donor organs. Furthermore, transplanted kidneys may have a limited life, depending on many factors including the impact of the post-transplant anti-rejection medication. This partnership with Aston University will identify appropriate mechanisms for engaging with NHS organisations for the provision of 'in home' care. The partnership will also develop management processes to manage this business stream including sales and patient 'management'.

Academic supervisor: Dr Graham Leask and Dr Rakesh Bissoondeeal, Economics and Strategy Group, Aston Business School.
Associate/student: Matthew Campbell.

See more about Kimal here at www.kimal.co.uk

SigmaPro is a leading global provider of lean six sigma training, lean six sigma consulting and business improvement programmes designed to help organizations achieve breakthrough performance improvement. They employ state of the art; proprietary teaching, research and consulting methods and are proud of their proven track record of success with some of the worlds biggest and best companies.

The outcomes of this research will be a unified systematic and systemic approach to the implementation and use of Lean Six Sigma and a body of knowledge that will maximise the impact of its deployment within an organisation.

Academic supervisor: Dr Ben Clegg, Operations and Information Group, Aston Business School.
Associate/student: Richard Orme.

See more about SigmaPro here at www.sigmapro.co.uk