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Professor Tariq Modood - awarded an MBE for services to social sciences and ethnic relations in 2001 - is one of the UK's most prominent analysts of and commentators on Muslims and multiculturalism. He has developed firm research-based arguments for why and how Muslims should be accommodated in Britain. The impact of his work since 2008 includes: the operation of legislation on religious discrimination and incitement to hatred; the operation of racial equality policies in higher education; the increasing prevalence of his view amongst Muslims and others that Britain's distinctive form of moderate secularism should be seen as a valuable resource for the accommodation of Muslims; his participation in the creation and enhancement of mechanisms of Muslim participation in governance; awareness raising and agenda setting through his regular contributions to public events and media discussions (traditional broadcasting and social media); and the continuing adherence to multiculturalism, despite challenges to it, among Muslim and government actors, and their awareness of the importance of the macro-paradigm level of analysis that he has developed
Increasing immigration, the rise of the British National Party, and the London bombings put social cohesion firmly on the policy agenda. James Laurence and Anthony Heath's research (2008) on the predictors of social cohesion provided the key empirical foundation for policies implemented by the Department for Communities and Local Government from 2008 onwards. These policies in turn impacted the practices of local authorities in a variety of domains, including the allocation of social housing and the funding of community projects. The research was also cited by a number of organizations beyond government in their policy documents, from the Equality and Human Rights Commission to consultancies such as Ipsos MORI.
Work undertaken at the University of Manchester (UoM) has provoked debate, and challenged established lines of thought, by `myth busting' current claims about racial diversity and segregation — such as `Britain is becoming a country of ghettos' — which have hitherto dominated public and policy debate. A sociologically-informed demographic approach, developed at UoM, has been adopted by local authorities for monitoring neighbourhood population change and ethnic diversity. Additionally, research findings have been used by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), national policy-makers and local government to promote alternative, sociologically-informed understandings of race, segregation and diversity, challenging the current policy focus. Taken together, these twin interventions have resulted in increasingly critical and robust examinations of race, segregation and diversity, both nationally and locally.
Based on knowledge exchange with international agencies and think-tanks, briefings to politicians, workshops with local government and police authorities, and a full-time secondment within central (UK) government, Dr Matthew Goodwin's distinctive work has become a crucial part of changing attitudes and influencing policy for dealing with the rise of right-wing extremism in the UK, and elsewhere. As one of the most-followed political scientists in the UK, Goodwin has used extensive social and traditional media engagement to bring this ground-breaking work to the attention of the wider public. One senior Government Minister reflects that Goodwin has `helped to develop government policy to counter the far right', and `provided government with a substantial evidence base which continues to change and inform policy'.[source 1]
Professor David Feldman's research has influenced thinking about antisemitism, racism and multiculturalism among a range of organisations and policy makers. Since becoming first director of the Pears Institute for the Study of Antisemitism in 2010, he has shaped its development by pursuing a distinctive course of public engagement, with partners such as the All Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism, underpinned by the insights of his research over two decades. As a result, he and the Pears Institute are recognised as significant forces shaping public discourse and policy thinking on issues related to antisemitism.
One of the main impacts of Bradford's ethnicity research is its influence on how the Substantive Equality Unit (SEU) was set up and continues to operate within the Equal Opportunities Commission of Western Australia. The SEU was established to address the challenge of creating equal and inclusive services, and ensuring their delivery, by all the departments of the Western Australian government for a diverse population. Its central role in promoting equality in the region is on-going and long-term. The beneficiaries of this impact are the government and minorities in the region, particularly Aboriginals and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
This case study comprises a set of qualitative and quantitative analyses of contemporary right-wing extremism in Britain. This research has been extended beyond academia to non-academic beneficiaries in Britain and continental Europe. The research has informed public debate amongst civil society (as indicated by take-up in NGO reports and the media). It has informed policy development (as evidenced by participation in Government advisory processes and through expert advice to Government). The research has also responded to personal and professional development needs of young people. Impact has derived from the quality of the underpinning research and from a variety of external engagement and knowledge transfer activities.
Dr Ian Cawood's work on the political heritage of late Victorian and early Edwardian Britain has had an impact on society:
The impact has been achieved by engagement with policy makers, especially politicians and political parties, through media coverage, engagement with the history groups of national political parties, the organisation of a series of national conferences and production of a major policy paper and opinion piece for a leading history-briefing organisation.
Dr Nic Cheeseman's research has informed and influenced electoral practices in Kenya and Zambia. In Kenya, his work shaped the findings of the official Kreigler Commission, whose report on the controversial elections of 2007 led to the restructuring of the electoral commission. In Zambia, his advice led the UK Department for International Development (DfID) to include parliamentary scorecards and the training constituency based officers of the National Assembly as part of its democracy promotion activities for the first time, and resulted in the World Bank adopting a more flexible Country Partnership Strategy. Dr Cheeseman also influenced the way in which policy makers prepared for and responded to electoral crises, establishing an innovative academic `Early Warning and Long-term Monitoring Team' to support the work of the UK government around the 2013 Kenyan elections. His advice enabled representatives of the UK to identify potential new sites of violence and to increase the pressure on the electoral commission to better communicate electoral procedures to the public, which contributed, albeit in a small way, to a peaceful election.