Log in
Sheffield research on the role of Ombudsmen within the Administrative Justice (AJ) system has: (1) changed the approaches of Parliamentary and Local Government Ombudsmen in the UK with a view to improving their performance; (2) influenced government decision making on the reform of Ombudsman schemes in the UK and in Gibraltar; (3) contributed to forming opinions among parliamentary decision makers, via the Parliamentary Select Committee system; and (4) shaped debate and policy recommendations on administrative justice remedies within the Law Commission. The research has thereby addressed the challenges to the AJ system posed by the economic downturn and government austerity measures which carry the risk of deterioration in the quality of services available to citizens for the redress of grievances.
The 2000 Freedom of Information Act was the subject of post-legislative scrutiny by the Ministry of Justice and the Commons Justice Committee in 2011 and 2012. Both the Ministry and the Justice Committee drew heavily on work by Professor Robert Hazell and colleagues in the Constitution Unit at UCL. The Unit developed the conceptual approach to evaluate the impact of FOI, and provided much of the evidence base. The evidence contributed to the decision that, despite pressure from senior political and Whitehall figures, the Act would not be significantly amended.
Before the UK's 2010 election there were widespread fears that a hung Parliament might lead to political and economic chaos. Research conducted and published by the UCL Constitution Unit showed both the necessity for a Cabinet Manual to guide the process of forming a new government in the event of a hung Parliament, and examined the best models available. Although the full Cabinet Manual was published in 2011, the Cabinet Office published a key chapter (Elections and Government Formation) before the 2010 general election. The chapter, which drew heavily on the insights of and recommendations made in the UCL research, helped ensure in May 2010 an orderly transition to government of the first coalition in 60 years. That transition was also supported by the researchers' use of their findings to enhance understanding among professional, media and public audiences of what would happen in the event of a hung parliament.
This case study reports three inter-related impacts from Peter Clegg's research at UWE, Bristol. Firstly, his research has helped to shape the reform programme and the return to self-government in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Secondly, it has helped to frame the United Nations Decolonisation Committee's views on how best to implement the Third International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism. Thirdly, it has assisted the UK Overseas Territories governments to create an enabling environment for the protection and promotion of the human rights and dignity of People Living with HIV. It has done so by ensuring that these governments' laws and policies facilitate HIV prevention, care, treatment and support for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Woodhouse's research has conceptual and instrumental impact in the UK and internationally. Instrumentally, her research has provided the basis for recommendations on accountability made by political groups, such as parliamentary committees. These relate to the mechanisms by which accountability is secured and to the constitutional relationships between Parliament and the executive, ministers and their civil servants, and MPs and their constituents. Conceptually, this impact concerns the debate by political actors on political accountability, whether of individual Members of Parliament for the standards to which they adhere or individual Ministers for their responsibilities within and outside their departments.
This case study documents the research and impact of Sussex members of the Harvard Sussex Program (HSP) on chemical and biological weapons (CBW). Since 2008, HSP has provided a wide range of benefits to CBW expert and policy communities, through information gathering and dissemination, advisory work, outreach events, and briefings and reviews, as well as single-issue advocacy and policy innovation. At the same time, HSP has contributed to changes in national and international CBW policies through its research on such issues as yellow rain, incapacitating agents, and processes of Science and Technology review.
Research led by Professor Mazzucato has changed the framework used by UK and EU policy- makers to design innovation and industrial policy. Her work on The Entrepreneurial State has influenced how policy-makers think beyond a `market-failure' framework and use in its place a `mission-oriented' framework: not only fixing market failures but actively trying to shape and create markets. This new framework has fed into specific areas of sector-related policy including life sciences. The influence has been acknowledged directly in ministerial speeches; cited by a 2012 Department for Business, Innovation and Skills policy paper; and discussed extensively in the international media, including lead articles in The Economist, the Financial Times and Forbes which have recognised the `heretical' nature of this work.
Created in 2001, `Landscapes of Secrecy' constitutes a programme of research into secret service that has informed security and intelligence practitioners, shaped public policy debate and enhanced public awareness and attitudes. The focus has been official secrecy: how it is achieved; when it is appropriate; and how it is weighed against the right of democratic citizens to know about policies conducted in their name. Impact on key Whitehall users (Ministry of Defence, Serious Organised Crime Agency and Defence Advisory-Notice Committee) has been secured via workshops, policy-briefs and input into institutional design and training. Cultural and societal impact has been realised with internationally reviewed bestselling books, radio and television documentaries and a public exhibition in Washington DC.