Summary of the impact

Peter Mandler's The English National Character: The History of an Idea from Edmund Burke to Tony Blair (2006) aimed to raise the level of public discourse about `national identity' and especially `Englishness'. It has been widely taken up in the media for its authoritative explanations of both the historical specificity of many allegedly eternal understandings of Englishness and the historical processes by which national stereotypes in general are developed.

Summary of the impact

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:

• inform and influence policy debate and practice
• inform the content of associations between people and groups to illuminate and challenge cultural values
• extend the range of evidence to enhance public understanding of major social issues

Summary of the impact

The Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Initiative at Edinburgh Napier University researched the role and safeguarding of `living culture' in Scotland based on the 2003 UNESCO Convention. As a result of this project, ICH in Scotland is now increasingly part of the agenda for organisations from museums to schools, stands high in public consciousness, and will represent a key element of cultural tourism. The team's approach to ICH had a direct impact upon policy-makers, national and international, including UNESCO itself. It has informed initiatives from the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence to the Dutch Government's strategy for ICH upon signing the Convention.

Summary of the impact

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.

Summary of the impact

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.

Summary of the impact

Impacts: I) Enhanced public engagement with Scotland's cartographic heritage. II) Enhanced cross-sector collaboration around the use and digital delivery of historical maps.

Significance and reach: A major synthesis of Scotland's map history sold >8,000 copies between publication in 2011 and April 2013 and was named `Scottish Research Book of the Year' by the Saltire Society (2012). Three online map collections experienced 2008 — June 2013 access levels >50% higher than those for pre-2008. The newsletter of the Scottish Maps Forum (launched 2008), reached 553 individual subscribers and 117 institutional subscribers (January 2013).

Underpinned by: Research into the mapping of Scotland from the late sixteenth century, undertaken at the University of Edinburgh (1996 onwards).