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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.
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.
Though the individual research agendas have distinctive emphases, the contributions of Aughey, Birrell and Trench have become integral elements in understanding the development of devolution in the United Kingdom (UK). The impact of this work, through engagement with Parliamentary Commissions, Parliamentary and Assembly Committees and policy think tanks, helps define for politicians, administrators, interest groups as well as the general public the relationship between English and British identity, how devolved institutions operate in the context of central government programmes and the options for policy makers in devising financial arrangements which respect devolved autonomy, English interests and UK equity.
Joan Beal's research on dialect and identity has had far-reaching educational impact. Her publications are widely used in other HEIs (both in the UK and abroad) and in secondary school teaching, with economic benefits for publishers. She has also influenced curriculum reform through her consultancy for AQA, the largest provider of academic qualifications for 14-19 year olds in the UK. Beyond education, her role as a media commentator and as a consultant for the British Library Sociolinguistics & Education department has led to greater public understanding of the significance, and persistence, of dialect as a means of constructing and expressing identity.
As long-running debates on what it means to be British, English, Scottish or Cornish grow more urgent, researchers at the University of Exeter have engaged different publics in new perspectives on identity and citizenship, encouraging them to reconsider their own identities in the context of regional and national cultural heritage. This research has influenced media narratives, public policy debate, and a diverse range of discussions relating to regional or national identity. Its main impacts have been to:
The members of the Nationalism and National Identity group at the University of Edinburgh have successfully brought their research into the public domain in Scotland, the UK and internationally, influencing the `public conversations' concerning nationalism and national identity. For example, in November 2008, group member David McCrone was named in the Scotsman newspaper as one of 12 'academics [who] are helping to shape our political future'. Other evidence of impact includes: