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The UK is on the verge of building a fleet of new nuclear power stations. The steps required to reach the point where the UK can build Generation III+ plants are a complex mix of energy and financial policy and technology. The issues connect with the fuel cycle, waste disposal and public opinion. Failure in one of these areas could derail the new build programme. Starting in 2011, finishing July 2012, the University of Birmingham led a Policy Commission into the Future of Nuclear Energy in the UK. The Commission has been part of a number of national processes which have influenced and shaped UK policy and thinking in nuclear energy. In 2013 the UK Government published its stance. Recommendations made by the Policy Commission on key topics such as nuclear research capabilities and national nuclear policy bodies are reflected in the Government's report and subsequent actions. Impact has been in terms of public engagement and influencing public policy. Nuclear new build could be an investment of £40bn into the UK economy.
A major challenge to economic policy and public sector governance is how to provide a sustainable economic basis for less prosperous localities and neighbourhoods. Research findings demonstrated the need for a greater focus upon enterprise and jobs at a sub-regional level and improved co-ordination and integration of governance arrangements in order to tackle this issue. These findings influenced the development of national and local government policy and practice towards the economic development of deprived areas from 2004 onwards. Impacts were evident through shaping a significant re-orientation in policy approaches towards deprived neighbourhoods as well as the development of specific policies and governance practice.
The case study describes the impact on society of research on the history and politics of nuclear weapons and non-proliferation. Specifically, it demonstrates how this research has informed and shaped public understanding, discourse and debate on the nature of the nuclear non-proliferation regime. The research underpinning this impact examines the effects of the nuclear revolution upon international politics, and the consequences of these effects upon the contemporary non-proliferation regime. The research identifies a number of negative consequences arising from the activities of the so-called `nuclear non-proliferation complex'. The active dissemination of the research findings has generated considerable media coverage of research claims. In part through this extensive media exposure, the research has impacted, in a distinctive way, discussions over nuclear non-proliferation among a wide range of societal beneficiaries: members of the public, commentators, policy observers concerned with nuclear affairs, and civil society and NGO actors. The impact has been generated both within and outside the UK.
Researchers within the University of Cumbria Centre for Regional Economic Development (CRED) have published work on themes relevant to local economic policy across the UK. The research has focused in particular on the ways in which local and regional policymakers can influence growth processes in local economies; both directly through public sector procurement, and indirectly by providing advice and support to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). This research has been funded by public sector bodies specifically to inform their strategies, and to provide a basis for local economic policies. The findings have impacted upon the procurement practices of local authorities by drawing attention to the barriers to SME involvement in public contracts. Research on the nuclear supply chain has also influenced the Business Plan of the Cumbria Local Economic Partnership (LEP), and has been used in evidence to the Public Accounts Committee, UK Parliament.
Professor Matthew Jones was selected as a Cabinet Office official historian in 2008. His research has provided a historical context and knowledge base for senior Cabinet Office and Ministry of Defence officials currently engaged with strategic nuclear policymaking. Jones' research (including insights into the costs overruns, technical uncertainty, and delay of previous nuclear deterrents) has contributed to the process of policy-making, informing how senior officials responsible for dealing with debates over future options in the strategic nuclear policy field will deploy public expenditure of over £20 billion.
Traditionally seaside towns have been one of the least understood of Britain's `problem areas'. Research by Beatty and Fothergill in the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) has broken new ground by developing and applying methodologies to assemble systematic evidence on the population and economy of seaside towns, dispelling myths about their decline, providing more subtle view of trends around the coast, documenting economic growth as well as unemployment, and highlighting the diversity of local experience. Impact has been achieved through the dissemination of findings and the provision of advice and guidance to government, policy makers and politicians. The major beneficiaries of this research have been policy makers and politicians in central and local government.
This research underpins assessments of nuclear reactor longevity and safety and has contributed to EDF's project to extend the life of nuclear reactors by 100+ reactor-years. So far this project has achieved 48 years or nearly £9bn in benefit. The Sussex contribution is accruing value to the UK economy of an estimated £100M at today's prices, with about £40M of that achieved already. Graphite in nuclear reactors is susceptible to neutron damage, and accurate estimations of the rate of graphite damage in reactors are critical to safety and to predicting reactor lifespan. Research from Sussex has developed models for graphite damage that now underpin one component (of six independent components) of the safety assessments conducted by the nuclear industry for Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors. The research demonstrated that a previous model employed for this purpose was invalid, and developed alternative models that have been adopted by the nuclear industry.
The University of Huddersfield leads the UK in the development and advocacy of the thorium nuclear fuel cycle as an alternative to the uranium/plutonium cycle. We have set the design parameters for feasible thorium fuelled accelerator driven subcritical reactor assemblies for power generation and waste management and for fertile to fissile conversion of thorium [A]. Our high media profile [G,H] and extensive interactions with the public [I] and policy makers both in the UK and US [B,C,E,F] has led to growing acceptance of thorium as a realistic, safer, cleaner and proliferation resistant alternative fuel for nuclear fission reactors. Consequently our research is now influencing nuclear policy both at home and overseas [D,F].
The Local Governance Research Unit (LGRU) undertook a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE), a not-for-profit local government association that provides policy and operational advice to over 300 councils. This partnership informed APSE's strategic policy review, co-producing a new model of the Ensuring Council, which was adopted by its national council, and used to brand and position APSE within local government. Seven evidence-based policy tools were created through the partnership and taken up and used by APSE for consultancy and membership services. Externally, APSE used these outputs to increase its influence over national policy.