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Essex research on the causes and consequences of devolution substantially changed the way BBC News and Current Affairs reports on the nations of the United Kingdom. Professor Anthony King's research on devolution underpinned a 2008 report that he was commissioned to prepare for the BBC Trust. The report examined BBC News and Current Affairs' coverage of the UK's nations and made recommendations as to how this coverage could be improved. The BBC Trust and BBC management accepted the bulk of King's recommendations. The result, still in evidence, has been a transformation in the quality and quantity of the BBC's relevant television, radio and online output, including a seven-fold increase in references to devolved institutions in subsequent years' broadcasts.
Politics staff at Cardiff have conducted detailed research on public attitudes towards devolution in Wales. By directly informing the conclusions of the All Wales Convention, and the behaviour of key actors in the 2011 Welsh referendum, the research has significantly influenced the Welsh devolution settlement. The research has contributed substantially to the on-going work of the Silk Commission. Regular and effective public dissemination of key research findings has enabled the research to inform political debate in Wales. The research has also contributed to the development of survey capacity in Wales, and thereby facilitated the conduct of more regular Welsh political polling.
Professor Michael Keating has worked on various aspects of public policy-making in Scotland and abroad, supported primarily by the ESRC and Leverhulme Trust. Impact has taken the form of a series of collaborative academic-practitioner engagements, involving civil servants, politicians, and civil society actors. These events have focused on establishing a common vocabulary and core concepts, while exploring difficult issues in public policy and facilitating mutual learning between academics and practitioners. Insights from these encounters have been institutionalised in the Scottish Policy Innovation Forum, as well as ongoing seminars, public lectures, innovative training courses for civil servants, and informal discussions.
The impact pertains to material changes instituted in UK devolution, principally in Wales, but increasingly beyond. The impacts on public policy, law and services are:
This impact occurred in the period from 2008-2013 and flowed from research led by Professor Laura McAllister which had identified:
Before the UK's 2010 election there were widespread fears that a hung Parliament might lead to political and economic chaos. Research conducted and published by the UCL Constitution Unit showed both the necessity for a Cabinet Manual to guide the process of forming a new government in the event of a hung Parliament, and examined the best models available. Although the full Cabinet Manual was published in 2011, the Cabinet Office published a key chapter (Elections and Government Formation) before the 2010 general election. The chapter, which drew heavily on the insights of and recommendations made in the UCL research, helped ensure in May 2010 an orderly transition to government of the first coalition in 60 years. That transition was also supported by the researchers' use of their findings to enhance understanding among professional, media and public audiences of what would happen in the event of a hung parliament.
Politics staff at Cardiff University (Wincott, Wyn Jones and Scully), working in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Edinburgh (Jeffery and Henderson) and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), have conducted research on changing political identities and constitutional attitudes in England. This work has had a substantial impact on public debates about the place of England and Englishness within the United Kingdom; had a direct impact upon the McKay Commission report; and also influenced the constitutional thinking of the Labour party.
Political power in the UK has been significantly devolved since 1999, transforming the policy landscape. Our research in 2007 found that broadcast news failed to reflect this new landscape, and that citizens were routinely being misinformed about major areas of policy such as health and education — a lack of information and understanding that is a potential barrier to democratic engagement. Our research was used to inform the King Report, as well as being published by the BBC Trust as part of that report, and our recommendations were adopted by the BBC which took action based on our findings to improve news coverage across all its outlets. Our follow-up study, conducted a year after this intervention, found that BBC news coverage had changed to become more accurate, and better reflected post-devolution politics in the UK.
The recommendations of the `Calman Commission' on Scottish Devolution resulted in the largest transfer of financial powers from Westminster since the creation of the United Kingdom, implemented in the Scotland Bill which received Royal Assent in 2012. The independent expert group chaired by Professor Anton Muscatelli were directly influenced by University of Glasgow research on the lack of accountability in the UK devolved system, the potential to extend the use of income taxation as a devolved tax, and the problems in devolving taxes such as VAT, corporation and natural resource tax.
Politics staff at the University of Edinburgh (Henderson and Jeffery), working in collaboration with colleagues at Cardiff University and the Institute for Public Policy Research, have conducted research (2007-13) on changing political identities and constitutional attitudes in England. This work has informed public debates about the place of England and Englishness within the United Kingdom; has shaped the findings of the McKay Commission; and has influenced the constitutional thinking of the Labour party.
University of Aberdeen research into financial and economic relations between Westminster and Scotland has informed public debate concerning Scottish Constitutional Change and influenced Scottish and UK policy makers in light of Devolution in 1999 and the Independence Referendum in 2014.
Impact emerged through two main channels: First, through UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) research investigating the nature and extent of shares of investment, production, gross revenues and UK treasury tax revenues attributable to an independent Scottish parliament. Second, through accurate research information about the Barnett formula's post-devolution role in fiscal transfers between Westminster and Scotland.