Projects per year
Personal profile
Personal Statement
Professor Colin Lindsay MA, MSc, PhD has been researching and teaching on employability, employment and skills, public management and social policy for more than twenty five years. He has published more than 70 peer reviewed articles, books, book chapters and policy reports. His books include ‘Disability benefits, welfare reform and employment policy’ (co-edited with Donald Houston, published by Palgrave Macmillan, 2013).
He serves on the Editorial Boards of two journals: ‘Education & Training’; and ‘Social Policy and Administration’. He has co-edited special issues of the journals: ‘Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy’; ‘Policy Studies’; and 'Social Policy and Administration'. He was a member of the Editorial Team for ‘Social Policy and Administration’, 2013-23.
He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and the Social Policy Association. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and the RSA.
Research Interests
Professor Colin Lindsay's research interests include: public management reform; HRM and employment relations in the public sector; new governance in public policy; policy evaluation; employability, skills and access to training; experiences of low-skilled work; and approaches to promoting equality in the workplace. He works closely with the Scottish Centre for Employment Research (SCER), and is currently conducting research with colleagues at SCER on workplace innovation. He has conducted research for the UK Commission for Employment and Skills; the Scottish Government; the Scottish TUC; and the European Commission. His current research focuses on the link between health and employability; and the impact of new technology on employees’ experiences of job quality.
Professor Lindsay's research addresses a range of issues including:
- public sector employment relations and work redesign (e.g. research recently published in the International Journal of Human Resource Management);
- workplace innovation in SMEs (ongoing research with the Scottish Centre for Employment Research);
- the governance of employability and labour market policies (e.g. research recently published in Public Administration);
- labour market exclusion and the barriers faced by disadvantaged groups;
- and inequalities in access to workplace training.
Teaching Interests
Professor Colin Lindsay teaches human resource management at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level. He is also Module Leader for programmes within the Department's undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
MBA. Module Leader: ‘The Boardroom Challenge’.
MSc (PG) Human Resource Management/International Human Resource Management. Module Leader: ‘People Resourcing’.
MSc (PG) Human Resource Management. Module contributor: ‘Critical Issues in Human Resources’; 'Leaning, Managing and Developing People'.
Expertise & Capabilities
- workplace innovation
- performance management (with particular reference to public service organisations)
- employee resourcing
- training and development
- professional practice in public services
- public management and HRM
- employability
- health and labour market disadvantage
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Doctor of Philosophy, The Concept of Employability and the Experience of Unemployment, Edinburgh Napier University
Award Date: 1 Jan 2009
Master of Science, European Social Policy Analysis, University of Bath
Award Date: 1 Jan 1997
Master of Arts, University of Glasgow
Award Date: 1 Jan 1995
Fingerprint
- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
-
The Progression Economy: An evaluation of CLES' work on supporting in work progression in the Edinburgh and South East Region
Stewart, R. (Principal Investigator), Cullen, A. M. (Co-investigator) & Lindsay, C. (Co-investigator)
Centre for Local Economic Strategies Limited CLES
19/05/25 → 31/12/28
Project: Knowledge Exchange (Services/Consultancy)
-
Lone Parent Positive Workplaces
Lindsay, C. (Principal Investigator) & Cullen, A. M. (Co-investigator)
1/04/25 → 31/03/28
Project: Knowledge Exchange (Services/Consultancy)
-
Business models, innovation and employees' experiences in the workplace: challenges for the post-Covid-19 economy
Findlay, P., Lindsay, C. & Roy, G., 22 Jan 2021, Productivity and the Pandemic: Challenges and Insights from Covid- 19. McCann, P. & Vorley, T. (eds.). 1 ed. Cheltenham, p. 132-146 14 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)199 Downloads (Pure) -
Diaries from the front line - formal supervision and job quality among social care workers during austerity
Cunningham, I., Lindsay, C. & Roy, C., 1 Jan 2021, In: Human Resource Management Journal. 31, 1, p. 187-201 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile16 Citations (Scopus)56 Downloads (Pure)
Datasets
-
Improving Management Practices, Work Engagement and Workplace Innovation for Productivity and Wellbeing, 1999–2022
Findlay, P. (Creator), Lindsay, C. (Creator), Bakker, A. (Creator), Demerouti, E. (Creator), Roy, G. (Creator), Burns, H. (Creator), McQuarrie, J. (Contributor), Dutton, E. (Contributor), Junker, T. (Contributor) & Boesten, R. (Contributor), UK Data Service , 14 Feb 2025
Dataset
Prizes
-
Awarded Emerald Management Reviews Citation of Excellence ‘Top 50 Management Articles of 2004’
Lindsay, C. (Recipient), 2005
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
File -
Dean’s Award for Exceptional Contribution to Knowledge Exchange: ESRC PrOPEL Hub Team
Lindsay, C. (Recipient), Findlay, P. (Recipient), Murray, N. (Recipient) & Marin Cadavid, C. (Recipient), 2024
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
-
Empowering your manufacturing workforce to drive innovation (II): an InterAct workshop at Aston University, Birmingham
Lindsay, C. (Speaker)
22 Oct 2025Activity: Talk or Presentation › Oral presentation
-
Remarks at ESRC Activating Employers Project Final Report Launch
Lindsay, C. (Invited speaker)
29 Oct 2025Activity: Talk or Presentation › Invited talk
Impacts
-
Advancing fair work policy and practice in Scotland to benefit workers, businesses and society
Findlay, P. (Main contact), Lindsay, C. (Participant) & McQuarrie, J. (Participant)
Impact: Impact - for External Portal › Professional practice, training and standards, Policy and legislation
File -
Driving workplace innovation to transform work and workplaces in Scotland
Findlay, P. (Main contact), Lindsay, C. (Participant) & McQuarrie, J. (Participant)
Impact: Impact - for External Portal › Economic and commerce, Policy and legislation, Professional practice, training and standards
File