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University of Salford researchers have developed a community-based research method to capture the viewpoints of, and more valid and reliable data about, migrant and nomadic groups, who experience barriers to social inclusion, demonstrating the following impact:
The body of research commences with the UK's first published assessment of accommodation and other (health, education etc) needs of Gypsies and Travellers (G/T) in accordance with the 2004 Housing Act. The research had a direct influence on Government policy making process, impacting the development of new data sets, statutory guidance on the content of assessments and demonstrating the viability of innovative collaborative research methodologies with nomadic/sedentary Gypsy-Traveller populations. The Fundamental Rights Agency and INVOLVE subsequently cited the research as `best practice' for research focussing on `hard to reach' communities.
Keele's research on retirement communities, care and wellbeing in old age has contributed to a transformation in the way in which housing for older people is conceived of, built and experienced across the UK (and beyond), and has led to improved quality of life for thousands of older people. It underpins national, regional and local policies; has improved stakeholder (charities, trusts, businesses) and practitioner understandings of the significance of suitable housing and care; and had direct impact on practices at Berryhill Retirement Village and, more widely, on ExtraCare — the charity who have developed and now run 14 retirement villages and 17 housing schemes, including Berryhill, across the Midlands and the North of England.
The research highlighted here has had a major impact on the design of community led planning (CLP) and neighbourhood planning in England since 2006; initially within the voluntary and community sector and subsequently on policymakers' thinking. This has shaped the trajectory of policy development nationally since 2010 and influenced the way in which local authorities and other intermediary organizations (such as the Rural Community Action Network (RCAN) / Action in Communities in Rural England (ACRE) / Rural Community Councils (RCCs) in England) have approached community-led planning (CLP) and subsequently Neighbourhood Planning (NP). The work has had a significant impact on the NP approach and therefore on the public through the 2011 Localism Act. This legislation led to the `Supporting Communities in Neighbourhood Planning' (SCNP) programme, funded by Communities and Local Government (CLG) since 2011 to a value of circa £20m overall (which includes a 2013-15 tranche of £9.5 Million). The case study lead researcher (Parker) is now co-ordinating a large part of this programme while on 80% secondment at the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI)/Planning Aid England (PAE) (2012-2014).
This research by Professor Matras has had a substantial impact on European policies concerning Romani migration. It highlighted the unique vulnerability of Romani migrants and instigated special consideration of their issues by major European policy-making bodies. At a more local level in Greater Manchester Professor Matras' recommendations led to the employment of Romani outreach workers to act as mediators and interpreters for the community of Romanian Romani immigrants in east Manchester. In 2011 a training programme born out of his research led to ten young members of the Romani community taking up roles as interpreters, mediators and classroom assistants within Manchester's local services and schools.
The University of Northampton's (UoN) social enterprise research has created new knowledge in the field of social entrepreneurship, which has informed the definitional debate, as well as identifying the added-value that social enterprises deliver to their beneficiaries. This has provided the evidence-base for the launch of a whole-institution strategy at the University to become the leading HEI for social enterprise in the UK. The research has also led to the University supporting external social enterprises and assisting them to deliver organisational growth and change. The University's research has also led to it becoming a leading evidential contributor to policy-makers in the UK.
Through Community Finance Solutions (CFS), an award winning research and development unit of the University of Salford, which addresses financial and social exclusion, Improving the Sustainability of Micro-financial Institutions is focused on providing leadership in increasing the sustainability of micro-financial institutions (MFIs) that provide credit or loans to the financially excluded, demonstrating the following impact:
Being recognised in law as an `ethnic minority' has far-reaching consequences, including the right of access to welfare and protection from race discrimination. As part of an industrial tribunal case in September 2008, research conducted at Strathclyde was used as expert testimony that resulted in giving Gypsy/Travellers in Scotland such legal status. This judgment has meant that the entire population of this group now has access to protection under Race Relations legislation. As a result, the case has been cited to support other cases that challenge decisions which affect the everyday lives of Gypsy/Travellers. The research and case has also directly shaped public policy by the Scottish Government in relation to human rights, and in subsequent policy on equality, accommodation and employment. At the local level for individual Gypsy/Travellers, the ruling has implications for their access to services, with health care and social work organisations now explicitly including guidance on support for this ethnic group.
There has been a growing interest in the concept of social enterprise - that is organisations that are trading but with a social purpose. The research at Middlesex University has Influenced policies of state support to social enterprises demonstrated through references to research in policy documents and acknowledgement by key policy makers working in a range of UK national departments and Scottish Government. Research findings have influenced how government measures the size of the social enterprise sector and the supply of social investment funds, feeding into strategy documents of the Cabinet Office and supporting the development of Big Society Capital. Research has also stimulated the growth of individual social enterprises, with one reporting an increased turnover of 20% over 2 years.
The increasing diversity of migrant and minority ethnic communities and the growing awareness of multiple experiences of inequalities (age, gender, race and religion) require appropriate interventions and policy measures. Since the 1990s, research by the Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) has enabled minority ethnic organisations and other local service providers to gather evidence and develop initiatives and practices better adapted to a challenging socio- economic and funding context, responding to the changing needs of their users and challenging the barriers they face in accessing services. Areas of focus include welfare advice, health services and the needs of migrant children and their families in relation to schooling and education. Key beneficiaries have been community organisations whose skills have been enhanced to use research evidence in identifying user requirements, successfully securing funding and meeting user needs.