Courses taught

Oxford Advanced Management Programme

Oxford Strategic Leadership Programme

Consulting and Coaching for Change

Expertise

The nature of managerial work.
Health care innovation.
Workforce issues in health care.
The complexity of getting research into practice.
Leadership.
Complex social change.

Overview

Sue Dopson is Rhodes Trust Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Faculty Dean at Saïd Business School. She is also Fellow of Green Templeton College, Oxford, and Visiting Professor at the University of Alberta, Canada. She is a noted specialist on the personal and organisational dimensions of leadership and transformational change, especially in the public and healthcare sectors. 

Sue has been extensively involved in some highly innovative executive development programmes. She teaches on the Oxford Advanced Management and Leadership Programme, the Oxford Strategic Leadership Programme, and Consulting and Coaching for Change, as well as a number of programmes delivered to clients in the Middle East. She has worked closely with organisations ranging from the UK Department of Health to Roche Pharmaceuticals. As a founding director and current member of the Oxford Health Care Management Institute, she is involved in the development of courses for the NHS. She has also worked as a tutor with Centrica. 

Sue formerly worked as personnel manager in the NHS before pursuing a research and academic career, co-writing and editing many major works on the topic of transformational change in the public and healthcare sectors.  

Sue's research involvements lie principally in the area of innovation, change and healthcare studies and she has led a number of research projects in the health service sector. These include the evaluation of work aimed at improving clinical effectiveness, exploring evidence based medicine, and looking at how developments in genetic science will influence clinical practice and health care policy. Her most recent research commission is concerned with increasing the motivation and ability of healthcare managers to access and use management research.  

Sue has a BSc, MSc, MA (Oxon) and PhD.

Research interests

Sue Dopson's research involvements lie principally in the area of innovation, change and health care studies. As a founding director and current member of the Oxford Health Care Management Institute, she is involved in the development of courses for the NHS and has led a number of research projects in the health service sector. These include the evaluation of work aimed at improving clinical effectiveness, exploring evidence based medicine, and how developments in genetic science will influence clinical practice and health care policy. Her most recent research commission is concerned with increasing the motivation and ability of health care managers to access and use management research. Before pursuing a research and academic career, Sue Dopson worked as a personnel manager in the NHS.

Current research grants 

NIHR/SDO – Making sense of evidence in management decisions – the role of research based knowledge on innovation adoption and implementation in health care.

Using systematic reviews to guide disinvestment discussions in the NHS. With Dr S Shepperd and Professor M Clarke. NIRHR £131,913.36

Increasing the Motivation and Ability of Health Care Managers to Access and Use Management Research Principal Applicant. With Ewan Ferlie, KCL., and Gerry McGivern, KCL (09-12)
NIHR SDO Programme. £416,463

Girls’ Education and Sanitary Care in Developing Countries
With Linda Scott (PI), SBS., Paul Montgomery, University of Oxford Social Policy., Catherine Dolan, SBS., Amanda Berlan, SBS (08)Funded by John Fell OUP Research Fund. £37,625

Translating research in eldercare
With Prof C. Estabrooks (PI) (07 –11)
Funded by Canadian Institute of Health Research. Canadian $5.15m

The nature of consequences of support workers in a hospital setting
With Dr I. Kessler (PI)., Paul Heron (07-09)
Funded by NHS SDO. £300,000

Networks in Health Care: A comparative study of their management impact and performance
With Prof E. Ferlie (PI), Royal Holloway., and Prof L. Fitzgerald, De Montfort University (06-08)
Funded by NHS SDO. Grant £200,000

Books:

Kesler I, Heron P and Dopson S (forthcoming) Support Workers in the NHS Oxford University Press

Ferlie E, Dopson S, Fitzgerald L and McGivern G (forthcoming) Networks in Health Care. Oxford University Press

 Dopson, S. & Earl, M. (Ed) (2007) When the Map Changes. Forty Years of Change in Management Research. Oxford University Press

Dopson, S, and Fitzgerald, L. (2005) From Knowledge to Action?  Evidence Based Medicine in Context.  Oxford University Press

Dopson, S and Mark, AL (Ed) (2003) Leading Health Care Organizations. Palgrave Macmillan.

Mark, A. & Dopson, S. (Ed) (1999) Organisational Behaviour in Healthcare: The Research Agenda. Macmillan

Austin, N. & Dopson, S. (Ed) (1997) Managing the Clinical Directorate Radcliffe Medical Press

Dopson, S, (1997) Managing Ambiguity and Change: The Case of the NHS, Macmillan

Kessler I, Heron P and Dopson S (Forthcoming) Support workers in the NHS. O.U.P.

Book Chapters (from 2000):

Dopson, S., (2009), Changing forms of managerialism in the NHS, Hierarchies, markets and networks in Gabe, J., Sociology in the NHS, Sage

Fitzgerald,L. & Dopson, S. (2009) Comparative Case Study Designs : Their Utility and Development in Organisational Research. Buchanan D and Brynan A. The Sage Handbook of Organisational Research Methods.

Dopson, S., Ferlie, E., Fitzgerald, L., Locock, L. (2008) Team-based Aggregation of Qualitative Case Study data in Health Care Contexts: Challenges and Learning in Byrne D and Ragin C (ed) The Sage Handbook of Case Based Methods

Kessler, I. & Dopson, S. (2007) “Public Management: Shifting challenges and issues” in Dopson, S. & Earl, M. (2007) When the Map Changes. Forty Years of Change in Management Research, Oxford University Press

Dopson, S. Fitzgerald, L. & Ferlie, L. (2007)
“Knowledge to action? The implications for policy and practice research on innovation processes in organisational behaviour in health care”
 In Hyde, P. (ed) Issues in Organisational Behaviour. Palgrave

Dopson, S and Waddington, I (2004) Introduction: History, Sociology and the Sociology of Sports: The Work of Norbert Elias, in Sport Histories: Figurational Studies in the Development of Modern Sport, edited by Dunning, E, Malcolm, D and Waddington, I. London: Sage.

Dopson, S (2003) Applying an Eliasian Approach to Organizational Analysis in Dunning, E and Mennell, S (eds) Norbert Elias, London: Sage.

Dopson, S & Waddington, I, 'Sport and welfare in Britain', Comparative Systems of Sport and Welfare, 2002.

Ferlie, E, Dopson, S, Fitzgerald, L, Locock, L, Gabbay, J, (2001) ‘Evidence-based Medicine and Organisational Change: An Overview of Some Recent Qualitative Research in Ashburner, L (ed). Organisational Behaviour and Healthcare. Palgrave.

Murray, F & Dopson, S, 'Changing medical technology: complexity or chaos?' in: Parsons, L & Lister, G (Ed), Global Health: a Local issue, The Nuffield Trust, 2000.

Journal articles (from 2000):

Dopson S, (2011) Evidence-based health care and the implementation gap in Lyons R, (Ed) Monograph Using Evidence: Advances and debates in bridging health research and action

Salge O, T Farchi, Dopson S, (R&R) Searching for product innovation: When doe openness really matter. Journal of Product Innovation Management

Dopson S, and McGiven G (2010) Inter-Epistemic power and transforming knowledge abjects in a bio-medical network Organisational studies Vol. 31 issue 12

Ferlie, e,. Fitzgerald, L,. McGivern, G., Dopson, S,. and Bennet, C,. Public policy networks and wicked problems; A nascent solution, Public Administration, Accepted and forthcoming

Dopson, S., Fitzgerald, L., Ferlie, E., Gabbay, J., and Locock, L. (2010) No magic targets! Changing clinical practice to become more evidence based, Health Care Management Review, Vol. 35, pp 2-12

Swan, J., Brenson, M., Robertson, M., Newell, S and Dopson, S. (2010), When Policy Meets the Practice – Colliding logics and the challenge of Mode 2 initiatives in the translation of academic Knowledge. Organisational studies. 31: 1311-1340

Harris, M., Dopson, S and Fitzpatrick (2009), Strategic Drift in International Non Governmental Development Organisations. Putting Strategy in the background of organisational change. Public Administration and Development. Vol. 29, pp 415-428

* Ferlie, E., Dopson. S., FitzGerald, L. and Locock, L. (2010) Renewing Policy to Support Evidence based Health Care, Public Administration, Vol. 187 No 4

* Rycroft, M, J., Dopson, S., Denger, L., Hutchinson, A., Morgan, M., Stewart, N, and Estabrooks, C., (2009) Study Protocol for translating research into elder care building context through case studies in long term care project. Implementation Science 11th August

Dopson, S, Fitzgerald and Ferlie (September 2008) Understanding Change and Innovation in Health Care Settings : Re-conceptualising the active role of context. Journal of Change Management Vol.8

Dopson, S (September 2007) ‘A view from Organisational Studies’ Nursing Research Vol. 56:45

Dopson & Fitzgerald (2006) Feb.  The Role of Middle Management in the Diffusion of innovation. Journal of Nursing Management.

Dopson, S (2005) The Diffusion of Medical Innovations: Can Figurational Sociology Contribute? Organization Studies 2, 6 (8): 1125-1144

Dopson, S (2003) The Potential of the Case Study Method for Organisational Analysis. Policy & Politics 31:2, 217-226

Dopson, S, Locock, L, Gabbay, J, Ferlie, E and Fitzgerald, L. (2003) Evidence-Based Medicine and the Implementation Gap. Health 7:3, 311-330

Cowton, C & Dopson, S (2002) 'Foucault's prison? Management control in an automotive distributor', Management Accounting Research.

Dopson, S , Ferlie ,E, Fitzgerald, L, Gabbay,J, (2002) 'No magic targets! Lessons from UK studies of attempts to change clinical practice to become more evidence based', Health Care Management Review

Dopson, S. & Locock, L (2002) 'The commissioning process in the NHS: the theory and application', Public Management Review.

Locock, L and Dopson, S (2001) When Push Comes to Shove. Health Service Journal, 11 January, pp 28-29.

Dopson, S (2001) 'Applying a Eliasan approach to organizational analysis', Organization, Vol 8:3, pp 515-536.

Locock, L, Dopson, S & Surender, R (2001) 'Closing the gap between research and practice in health: lessons from a clinical effectiveness initiative', Public Management

Dopson, S, Locock, L, Chambers, D, & Gabbay, J (2001) 'Implementation of evidence-based medicine: evaluation of the Promoting Action on Clinical Effectiveness programme', Journal of Health Services Research and Policy, Vol 6:1, pp 23-31.

Locock, L, Dopson, S, Chambers, D, & Gabbay, J (2001) 'Understanding the role of opinion leaders in improving clinical effectiveness', Social Science and Medicine Journal, Vol 53:6, pp 745-757.