For more than three decades, the EDO of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona has been working on the development of research financed by public and private funds, through competitive bids. In this vein, it endeavours to place within the reach of institutions, companies and administrations the experience accumulated in the development of research and studies in different contexts. In particular, the fields in which research can be conducted are:
Educational centres and universities: Knowledge about the current situation of educational and training centres, as well as universities, is a matter that increasingly concerns educational system managers. In this regard, EDO-SERVEIS provides the possibility to conduct research focused on particular aspects of the system with the aim of equipping those responsible for educational policies at a higher or institutional level with current data and information about the situation in which they seek to operate.
New technologies: New technologies have been implemented with force in educational centres, as well as in the context of business training and labour relations. From this perspective arises the possibility of analysing the influence of the use of these technologies on organisations, how they influence knowledge acquisition and how the social structure of the organisation changes through the intentional or unintentional use of social networks as a means of facilitating informal learning or knowledge creation.
Organisational development: Aspects such as organisational learning, the stages of organisational development, complexity management, strategic and environmental plans, creation and management of collective knowledge, assessment of workstations, institutional potential and the establishment of indicators of quality, among others, are some of the studies for training organisations that are offered in this area.
Socio-community sphere: Research increasingly demonstrates the relations established between training institutions and community development. In this way, specific studies are being conducted which help to determine the impact of specific institutions on the territory. Likewise, prospective studies can be performed with the aim of analysing the feasibility of implementing new training proposals in specific contexts or how to look after specific groups in disadvantaged areas.
Human resources: In this line of research we focus on studies aimed at determining the variables affecting staff management processes in organisations. In this way, activities that are linked to the different stages of staff management are developed, starting with the selection procedure and extending to the moment in which the employee leaves the institution, passing through training and development activities. Likewise, specific studies directed towards analysing variables associated with the organisational climate and culture or with the treatment of diversity in organisations and networks are developed.