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This case study presents the impact of research undertaken by Dr Nicola Verdon on the social and economic history of the British countryside in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Her findings, which focus on rural work patterns, family life and gender relations, are published in leading academic journals and have been used to inform and contribute to several public impacts: a museum exhibition on women's work on the land, a leading theatre production which centres on the fortunes of a Devon farming family, and several programmes on the broadcast media (radio and TV) on rural life and labour.
This case study describes how research undertaken by Sophia Davidova and Alistair Bailey contributed to raising the issue of the welfare of small farmers in Europe onto the EU policy agenda. The impact of their research is clearly reflected in papers and legislative proposals produced by the European Commission. As a result of the research, the European Commission was able to identify clearly the policy target group and to propose a simplified post-2013 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) flat-rate payment scheme to small and semi-subsistence farmers, which was debated and approved by the EU Council and Parliament in June 2013. The impact has been international in reach and has led to significant policy change for EU subsistence farmers.
The direct beneficiaries of the research have been agricultural policy makers in the European Commission. The indirect beneficiaries are the 11 million small farmers who, within the CAP for the period 2013-2020, will enjoy a simplified flat-rate payment scheme for support.
Research led by Midmore over the past two decades has improved understanding of the impact of external pressures on hill and upland farming systems, and consequent effects on the wider social, demographic and environmental context in which they are set. This provided evidence for improved agricultural and agri-environmental policymaking, of particular usefulness in the context of a newly devolved administration, and also stimulated the development of practical initiatives involving individual farm and non-farm beneficiaries, recreational visitors and eco-tourists, and other stakeholder beneficiaries. It helped to counteract adverse economic trends, and heightened public awareness of the interdependence of cultural assets, recreational potential and natural beauty with agricultural methods to achieve a sustainable hill and upland economy and society.
Research conducted by our International Boundaries Research Unit (IBRU) since the 1990s has improved the understanding of boundaries and boundary-making and developed end-user resources in the form of databases and digital maps. IBRU has developed processes and techniques which support peaceful dispute avoidance and resolution through an expanded notion of boundary-making on land, along rivers, and at sea. Our work has had direct impact on a range of geopolitical conflicts and disputes, particularly on boundary demarcation and dispute resolution within Africa. It has also shaped practitioner debate over jurisdictional issues in the Arctic and improved the representation of river boundaries in globally-used geospatial data products.
Clench's research on Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation - Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MALDI-MSI) technologies has impacted directly on pharmaceutical industry practice regarding studies of drug distribution studies in biological tissues, providing increased information, more rapidly. Companies have benefitted from long-term relationships with Clench's Bioanalysis Research Group and seek its expertise for consultancy purposes. Former members of Clench's group hold key positions in industry, implementing and further developing these technologies. Francese has had significant success in applying MALDI-MSI to analysis of latent fingermarks for forensic applications benefiting Home Office scientists and crime scene investigation units. Research advances in MALDI-MSI by Clench and Francese are patented and exploited via licensing.