Impact UK Location: Wrexham

REF impact found 10 Case Studies

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Developing Leadership in FE: the Practitioner Research Programme.

Summary of the impact

In response to the declining number of applicants for leadership posts in Further Education, David Collinson developed the Practitioner Research Programme. Funded by the UK Government's Learning and Skills Improvement Service, the programme offered FE leaders and managers the opportunity to produce research-informed answers to challenges they were facing in their own practice. Findings were developed into 88 practitioner research reports that were disseminated to every FE college in England and Wales and made available online. Research engagement enhanced knowledge and understanding of leadership issues, stimulating organisational change and improving the performance of individuals, teams and organisations. Key themes were presented at a national conference where outstanding projects received awards for the impact of research on their own FE organisation, the local community and leadership development. Findings were extensively cited in the `Independent Commission on Colleges in their Communities' report, and in the Foster Review of UK FE.

Submitting Institution

Lancaster University

Unit of Assessment

Business and Management Studies

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Education: Specialist Studies In Education
Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

How research on supported living environments for older people changed Welsh Policy and Practice

Summary of the impact

Research on residential care- and extracare-supported housing conducted by Swansea's Centre for Innovative Ageing (CIA) has impacted on the development and reconfiguration of supported housing services in Wales. Our research on care home closures has directly led to Welsh Government (WG) consultation on guidance regarding `escalating concerns' for care home closures, and the Independent Advisory Group on Local Authority Closure of Care Homes has recommended that our amendments to escalating concerns should be adopted in relation to care home closures due to strategic/policy reasons. Work is now underway by the WG to publish revised guidance in relation to care home closures based on our research. Three local authorities (Swansea, Vale of Glamorgan and Wrexham) have used our research on the challenges associated with extracare provision to inform the development of future services.

Submitting Institution

Swansea University

Unit of Assessment

Social Work and Social Policy

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

Informing Policies to Reduce Labour Market Inequalities

Summary of the impact

Research conducted by economists at Swansea University has revealed deeply entrenched labour market inequalities. This research has directly informed policy and related debates on a broad range of inequalities in Wales and the UK, and skill mismatches in the EU. In particular, this research:

  • has been used extensively by the Welsh Government to assess the equality impact of the Welsh budget;
  • is used by the majority of unitary authorities in Wales in developing their equality priorities;
  • has demonstrated international reach through informing policy debates in Australia and the European Union.

Submitting Institution

Swansea University

Unit of Assessment

Business and Management Studies

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Economics: Applied Economics, Econometrics

Mapping Medieval Chester: driving heritage policy, expanding heritage audiences and creating new cultural and economic opportunities

Summary of the impact

`Mapping Medieval Chester' (MMC) investigated the relationship between identity and place in this multi-lingual, multi-cultural frontier city. The research interested local museums, the County Council, residents and visitors to the city, and the wider public via online resources. A formal partnership with a museum and collaboration with the council led to an AHRC Knowledge Transfer Fellowship (£173,000) to fund new impact activities, including a major exhibition and new digital resources. A permanent art installation involving community input was created with £63,000 match funding from local sources. Hence MMC research has informed heritage policy, created new art from research, engendered new understanding of cultural artefacts and spaces, and contributed to public discourse and economic regeneration.

Submitting Institution

Swansea University

Unit of Assessment

English Language and Literature

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

So You Think You Can Design A Jet Engine?! - A Toolkit For Communicating Materials Research

Summary of the impact

This prize-winning outreach project exploits our capability in 3D X-ray imaging to showcase our world-leading research activities in aeroengine materials and manufacturing processes, stimulating young people's interest in science and technology by challenging them to design an engine of their own. Involving an extensive schedule of public events, workshops and activity days, as well as a permanent exhibit at Manchester's Museum of Science & Industry, the project has engaged and enthused hundreds of thousands of members of the public. These outreach activities were recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering through the award of its Nexia Solutions Education Innovation prize.

Submitting Institution

University of Manchester

Unit of Assessment

Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Metallurgy and Materials

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Physical Sciences: Other Physical Sciences
Chemical Sciences: Physical Chemistry (incl. Structural)
Engineering: Materials Engineering

What’s Welsh for Performance? Beth yw ‘Performance’ yn Gymraeg?: Enhancing the creation, funding, presentation and conservation of performance and live art in Wales

Summary of the impact

What's Welsh for Performance? (WsWfP)'s research into the history of performance art in Wales has achieved its most significant and sustained impact through informing the professional practices of Welsh arts practitioners. These fall into two groups: artists engaged in live art, past and present; and art curators and policy makers who have responsibility for the presentation, conservation and funding of contemporary art in Wales. In uncovering, documenting and making publicly accessible Wales's rich but underappreciated heritage of performance art, WsWfP has given the first generation of performance artists a renewed stake in its history; inspired younger artists in the creation of new work; and helped to raise the public profile of the artform to the extent that performance work is now routinely included in exhibitions, publications and media coverage devoted to Welsh contemporary art. Three partnerships with major organisations allow WsWfP to inform directly how performance art in Wales is funded, administered, exhibited and conserved.

Submitting Institution

Aberystwyth University

Unit of Assessment

Music, Drama, Dance and Performing Arts

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Creative Arts and Writing: Film, Television and Digital Media, Performing Arts and Creative Writing
Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies

The Higher Power Project (HPP): a study of contemporary spirituality in addiction and 12-Step recovery

Summary of the impact

The estimated annual cost of addiction to drugs and alcohol in the UK is £37 billion, of which £1.2 billion is spent on treatment. Twelve-Step Programmes (TSPs) and Fellowships (TSFs) are proven to be as effective in the short term and more effective in the long term than other interventions (Project Match, 1997). The Higher Power Project (HPP) maps the spiritual and transformational experiences of those in TSPs. As governmental emphasis shifts from `harm reduction' towards `recovery', HPP's findings offer policy-makers, professionals and service-users a greater understanding of the `spiritual dimension' of TSPs and Fellowships, thereby informing policy and influencing practice.

Submitting Institution

University of Chester

Unit of Assessment

Theology and Religious Studies

Summary Impact Type

Health

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Philosophy and Religious Studies: Religion and Religious Studies

3. The Herschel Space Observatory: scientific and technical outreach

Summary of the impact

We have formulated and executed an extensive public engagement and outreach programme based on our leading technical and scientific involvement in the Herschel Space Observatory, a €1 billion astronomical satellite which was launched in 2009 and operated until April 2013. Herschel observed the Universe at far-infrared and submillimetre wavelengths with three scientific instruments, one of which (SPIRE) was built by an international team led by the Cardiff Astronomy Instrumentation Group, and Cardiff astronomers have been at the forefront in scientific use of Herschel and SPIRE. The beneficiaries of our PR and outreach programme include schoolchildren teachers, the media and the general public. The programme has achieved high exposure and impact locally, nationally and internationally. It provides inspirational personal contact and up-to- date material and information which has stimulated widespread and continuing interest in Herschel and also helped to raise the profile of STEM subjects, ultimately benefiting the economy.

Submitting Institution

Cardiff University

Unit of Assessment

Physics

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Physical Sciences: Astronomical and Space Sciences

UOA7-02: Development and application of commercial inorganic mass spectrometers and the growth of a UK SME

Summary of the impact

Nu Instruments is a successful mass spectrometer company set up in collaboration with geochemists at the University of Oxford. This joint effort was initially based around the development of a new kind of mass spectrometer; the Nu Plasma. Subsequent research in the UoA demonstrated the capabilities of this instrument for analysis of a large range of isotope systems, leading to its widespread use in geochemical and industrial laboratories around the world. Research in the UoA also aided in creation of new products, further contributing to growth in sales. Nu Instruments have sold over 150 instruments worldwide since 2008, while their turnover grew from £5.2M to £14.7M, and their employee numbers more than doubled to 105.

Submitting Institution

University of Oxford

Unit of Assessment

Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Physical Sciences: Atomic, Molecular, Nuclear, Particle and Plasma Physics
Chemical Sciences: Analytical Chemistry
Earth Sciences: Geochemistry

The Material Culture of Late Medieval Religion in Wales

Summary of the impact

Much of Madeleine Gray's recent research focuses on the visual and material culture of religion in late-medieval and early modern Wales. This has led to invitations to work as a consultant on several major heritage and community regeneration projects as well as numerous public lecturing engagements, newspaper articles and appearances on network television, notably the BBC's award-winning `The Story of Wales'. This media activity and heritage consultancy has repositioned the academic and wider public's sense of Welsh identity away from the traditional focus on nonconformist chapel culture and towards a wider awareness of Wales's European heritage.

Submitting Institution

University of South Wales

Unit of Assessment

History

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

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