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Research carried out by Professor Donald Broom at the Centre for Animal Welfare and Anthrozoology at the University of Cambridge has had a significant impact on the policy and practice surrounding farm animal welfare in the UK and beyond. Work on sow housing, calf housing, laying-hen housing, farm animal transport and other scientific work on animal welfare has led to legislation, binding codes of practice and changes in animal production and management methods in the United Kingdom and other European Union countries and many other countries around the world. In the EU, each year this affects 16 million sows, 6.5 million calves, 320 million hens and 6 billion animals that are being transported.
The impact of research by the University of Southampton into global access to safe drinking water has: (i) provided important evidence for new policy initiatives by the World Health Organisation and UNICEF to promote home water treatment to reduce the 1.9 million deaths each year due to water- related infections, and (ii) stimulated debate among a range of stakeholders, including the media, advocacy groups and UN bodies, by challenging the accuracy of the assertion by the UN Secretary General that the UN Millennium Development Goal for safe water access has been met.
This case study describes a series of research projects undertaken by Professor Hulya Dagdeviren from 2004 to 2012 on issues related to the commercialisation and privatisation of water and sanitation services, which involved changes in the control and management of former public utilities. In particular, it focuses on the findings and impacts of the studies in relation to the access and affordability of these services for poor households in the developing countries. The results of these studies influenced the policy directions of international institutions, especially the UN agencies, which play an important role in funding projects and policy advocacy that ultimately shape the national policies of the developing countries.
Diarrhoeal disease is the world's second most common cause of death in children under five years old, killing 760,000 children each year according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Microbial contamination of drinking water is one of the most important causes. In England and Wales acute diarrhoeal disease is estimated to cost the country £1.5 billion annually. UEA epidemiologists have shown the important role of water supply systems in spreading diarrhoeal disease in developed and developing countries; led WHO research projects on small scale drinking water systems; and influenced WHO policy on small scale drinking water systems in developed and developing countries. Methodological research on epidemiological methods for monitoring and regulating bathing water quality has led to changes in WHO guidance on bathing water quality standards and influenced US Environmental Protection Agency criteria. Hunter's participation in international expert panels facilitated the impact of this research on policy.
By modelling the formation of micro-bubbles and the flows induced by them, researchers at the University of Cambridge Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics developed a new, low-cost nozzle design that could be retrofitted to existing Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) systems. This new design dramatically improved the performance of DAF systems, used by the water industry for the production of drinking water. Specifically, this research has enabled a substantial increase in throughput and effectiveness of the flotation process, whilst simultaneously providing a dramatic decrease in the energy requirement.
The virtual water concept is used to identify and quantify water use which is hidden, or embedded within the production and supply of food and other commodities. Its primary application has been to demonstrate that the majority of water consumed globally is used within the production and trade of food. Introduced and developed by Allan, virtual water research has transformed public and private sector water policy and its metrics in the UK and internationally. Instantiated through conceptual work published in 1993 and 1994 and developed through empirical studies thereafter, virtual water was widely adopted by 2000. The idea is now accepted as an essential element in the framing of policy on water security and its economic systems. Virtual water has been increasingly deployed by advisers to governments, corporations and NGOs, below we provide evidence from the U.S. State department, Coca Cola, WWF and the World Economic Forum, this is by no means a complete list. In 2011 the UK House of Lords and UK government's official response urged the EU Commission to incorporate virtual water in EU Policy. In recognition of the global conceptual impact of virtual water, Tony Allan was awarded the Stockholm Water Prize, 2008. In 2013, in recognition of impact made in preceding years through his virtual water concept and research Allan was also awarded the Foundation Prince Albert II de Monaco Water Award and the International Environmentalist Award of the Florence-based Fondazione Parchi Monumentali Bardini e Peyron.
Impact on health and welfare: The health and welfare of laying hens has been improved by the EU-wide ban on the use of small, barren battery cages, enabled by UoE research on the relationship between cage design and welfare.
Impact on public policy and services: The EU banned conventional battery cages for laying hens through a directive that came into effect on 1st January 2012. New Zealand followed with its own ban in 2012.
Impact on production: Farmers have changed from housing laying hens in battery cages to using more welfare-friendly furnished cages or free-range systems.
Impact on commerce: In the UK, over £400M has been spent to meet the standards laid down by the EU directive.
Beneficiaries: Laying hens in Europe and New Zealand; farmers who use furnished cages as an economically efficient alternative to free-range.
Significance and Reach: The improved welfare of over 1.3 billion laying hens in Europe and New Zealand.
Attribution: All research was led by Dr Michael Appleby, University of Edinburgh (1984-2001), with collaborators at the Roslin Institute (now UoE), Uppsala and Bristol.
Over a million urban dwellers in several developing countries are accessing water services as a result of research undertaken at Loughborough University. National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), Uganda's main urban water utility, applied the research findings to improve service quality, and extend piped water supply to the previously un-served. During 2008-2011, over 500,000 additional urban residents accessed piped water supply of improved bacteriological and physico-chemical quality — resulting in significant enhancement of health and quality of life (particularly of children). Furthermore, the research benefits were transferred to other countries, through the work of NWSC's External Services Department, extending the reach to other countries including Kenya, Tanzania, India and Zambia.
Research conducted at Aston University on the performance of the water and sewerage industry influenced water industry regulation and the shaping of the Water Bill 2013-14, which had its first reading in the House of Commons on 27 June 2013. Specifically, the research: changed understanding and awareness in the debate preceding the Water Bill by highlighting potential costs associated with vertically separating water companies (Impact 1); influenced the Water Bill's prohibition of mandatory company separation, while also providing evidence that facilitated the Bill's provisions to establish a Great Britain wide retail market for non-household water customers (Impact 2); and changed policy makers' awareness of panel cost and productivity assessment methods, thereby influencing consideration of their future application to regulatory cost assessment (Impact 3) .
New characterisation tools for natural organic matter (NOM) in drinking water are now used as standard practice within water companies such as Severn Trent Water, United Utilities and Yorkshire Water. The tools inform decisions, and help develop strategic plans on catchment management, source selection, treatment optimisation, and disinfection practice. Water companies experienced difficulties in treating high levels of NOM. Cranfield created a novel characterisation toolkit to measure NOM for its electrical charge and hydrophobicity. Also, new techniques for measuring aggregate properties and emerging disinfection by-products have provided a comprehensive analysis. Two novel treatment technologies are currently marketed. These technologies have raised international interest, resulting in industrial development in Australia.