Log in
Diamond's research paper (Diamond 2001) on the management of change within major urban regeneration programmes directly led to him working with Voluntary and Community Sector organisations in South London (2003 - 08); regional VCS networks in the North West (2008 — present); the Leadership and Development group of VCS leaders in the North West (2010 — present) and national VCS organisations (2005 — present). The impact (as set out below) can be seen in terms of the number of key leaders and activists supported and facilitated by Diamond to reflect upon their work, their learning and, as a consequence, their strategic goals.
The Local Governance Research Unit (LGRU) undertook a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE), a not-for-profit local government association that provides policy and operational advice to over 300 councils. This partnership informed APSE's strategic policy review, co-producing a new model of the Ensuring Council, which was adopted by its national council, and used to brand and position APSE within local government. Seven evidence-based policy tools were created through the partnership and taken up and used by APSE for consultancy and membership services. Externally, APSE used these outputs to increase its influence over national policy.
Inter-professional collaboration to prevent social exclusion of children and young people is an emergent work practice, reflecting major changes in welfare policy in the UK and beyond. Research conducted at Oxford since 2005 on these systemic changes, and the new demands they have made on practitioners and services, has contributed to the reconfiguration of children's services locally and nationally, and to the analysis and planning of services beyond the UK. Knowledge exchange is built into the studies to produce immediate and long-term impact on practices and policies, and findings have been integrated into commissioned reports, teaching materials for service leaders, and practitioner and policy summaries.
1.1Through the development of national Research Development Fellowships (RDFs) and the national Exploratory Research programme, SUNCETT has worked in collaboration with policy professionals from the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS), (now the Education and Training Foundation, ETF) to contribute to changes to public service practices and policy guidelines for the sector. Through the same work, SUNCETT has improved standards of teaching, learning and practitioner research across the sector using a model for educational improvement, originally applied in schools by Fielding et al (2005),described as `Joint Practice Development' (JPD). Through JDP, SUNCETT has enabled policy professionals and practitioners to incrementally improve practice across the FAVE sector in research-informed, realistic and sustainable ways. These applications of JPD have been led nationally by SUNCETT and the improvements in practice achieved as a result of this approach have been recognised externally in the form of the LSIS Legacy Report (2013) (Source 1), in various OFSTED inspection reports (Source 2) and by the British Education Research Association in, Why Educational Research Matters (BERA, 2013) (Source 3).
Research undertaken by Monro from the Centre for Research in the Social Sciences (CRISS) into the continuing marginalisation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people has influenced UK and international policymaking and practice. Addressing key issues concerning relationships between LGBT people and state institutions, the research findings have helped to shape the development of practice in central government departments, local authorities, housing associations, healthcare and community organisations and voluntary sector associations. This impact has resulted in improvement to the material and social conditions of LGBT people, enhancing their ability to contribute to society and the economy, in line with the EU Horizon 2020 theme of promoting inclusive, innovative and reflective societies. The case study provides evidence that the research has raised awareness about LGBT issues. This cultural shift is crucial to improving the life experiences and economic productivity of LGBT people, given the lack of understanding that they commonly face, and the negative impacts on their wellbeing of prejudice and social erasure.
This case study reports on two projects in the field of public service interpreting and translation:
1) Supporting third sector organisations in providing assistance to non-UK nationals through a volunteer trainee community interpreter engagement project, developed in partnership with voluntary and community sector service providers.
2) Improving understanding of the ethical issues confronted in interpreting practice in welfare service delivery settings, through research on professional inter-cultures, obtained between service providers and interpreters in welfare service delivery.
As a direct result of methodological research led by Professor Ray Pawson at Leeds, `realist evaluation' has provided a new lens through which to assess and develop social programmes. It has critically changed the apparatus of evidenced-based policy and the way in which policy research is commissioned and utilised. Through advisory work, training package provision, partnership-research and professional exchange, this `realist' perspective has formed a new standard in social programme evaluation, and is used by commissioners in the UK and internationally to frame their interventions across policy domains, including education, environment, criminal justice, and health and social care.
Research directed by Andy Friedman (Management), has had impact through the Professional Associations Research Network (PARN) which was established at the University in 1998. This encouraged professional bodies to adopt:
a) new governance structures and processes facilitating strategic decision-making;
b) CPD policies, to make them mandatory and measure them by outputs, thereby raising competency and evidence for it among millions of professionals.
Early adopters from 2001 contributed to benchmark data produced through PARN, adding to the subsequent research impact by encouraging further adopters. For post-2008 impacts and adopters see sources [b], [c], [d], [f], [j] for governance changes and [c], [h], [i].for CPD.
UEL's International Centre for the Study of the Mixed Economy of Childcare (ICMEC) researches service costs and equity risks associated with the marketisation and privatisation of early childhood education and care (ECEC). Its interdisciplinary research, which is frequently cited in national and international policy documents, has contributed to policy debate within the European Union, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation and other supra-national bodies, and informed the UK Government's development of ECEC and child poverty policies.
This case study centres on research, which had an impact on a major piece of local government legislation. The research was a comparative study of the Local Integrity Systems (LIS) of England, Scotland and Wales. The research was commissioned by Standards for England as part of its 2010 strategic review, which was used by the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) in the creation of the Localism Act 2011. This Act fundamentally altered the English local integrity framework. The research has subsequently been used by major national research projects in corruption in local government.