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The Better History Forum (BHF), based at Anglia Ruskin University, has had significant influence on the formation of government policy on the teaching of history in schools, and was instrumental in shaping the current revision to the National Curriculum for history during 2011-13. Research undertaken by the BHF has changed the parameters of debate about the place of history in the classroom. Expert advice has been provided to the government through consultation with ministers and senior civil servants.
This case study concerns the public understanding of history as a practical discipline. Through a series of high-profile research publications, popular articles, and textbooks, Professor John Tosh's research has had an impact in two distinct ways. Firstly, these publications have been incorporated into teaching and lecturing practice internationally, influencing students' understanding of the discipline. Secondly, they have had an impact on wider public understanding of history as a practical discipline. The reach and significance of this impact is demonstrated by publication sales and readership figures, high-profile critical reception, political debate and wider public discourse.
Keele University's long-standing research expertise in local history, particularly that of its immediate region, has had a significant and enduring impact on professional practice, community resilience and individual well-being. Keele historians have provided vital assistance to local archivists and heritage practitioners in the preservation and public dissemination of the region's history and cultural heritage through the provision of substantial works of reference and support for study-days and community `road shows'. Their research has helped sustain local societies and encouraged a variety of volunteering initiatives, whereby groups and individuals are empowered to engage in their own study of the past.
`Zion 100' was a pioneering research project engaging the people of Hulme in the study of their own history as part of a wider effort to regenerate an inner city area of Manchester. It directly engaged over 2000 people with nearly 300 people participating in activities related to researching local history. Participants developed transferable skills and built self-esteem whilst preserving the heritage of their community. Historical material was uncovered by local residents and used to produce an exhibition and a series of historical enactments that brought over 1800 local people together. Zion 100 led to significant historical, cultural and social impacts that have helped to build a sense of increased community cohesion and intergenerational understanding. Publically accessible archive material has been produced along with educational resources for local schools.
In March 2013, the British Library (BL) launched the first national oral-history archive of the British Women's Liberation Movement (WLM). A permanent public resource preserving the voices of 1970s/1980s feminists, the archive was the outcome of 'Sisterhood and After: The Women's Liberation Oral History Project', a three-year Leverhulme-funded research-partnership project led by PI Margaretta Jolly, in partnership with curators at the BL and the Women's Library (WL). Through the national prominence this archive has achieved and the numerous curatorial, educational, cultural and community activities directly associated with it, the research is having a significant impact on the public perception of feminism, bringing it to life for new audiences.
The research addresses the need of the British Co-operative Group and its members across the UK for a stronger understanding of the development of the business model of co-operation in Britain, the importance of democracy in the governance and direction of the organisation and in adapting the model to future challenges. The project's findings are being used in the education of elected member officials who form the democratic bodies which govern the Co-operative Group, and employees who work for the organisation. Learning has focussed on the heritage of the co-operative movement and the development of the Co-operative Group's business model. It enhances the effectiveness of member democracy by increasing knowledge of the organization's development and democratic traditions.
The Exhibiting Europe project has generated change in the museum world with a pan-European reach. It has had significant impact on museum organizations, by helping them to improve their networking and lobbying activities; museum professionals, by suggesting ways to `transnationalize' their activities and historical narratives; and policy-makers in the cultural and museum field, by contributing to a high level policy dialogue with the European Parliament, the European Commission and EU member-states about ways to `narrate' Europe and European integration.
Our research on historians, TV history programmes and those who make them, brought together the perspectives of television scholars, academic historians and media industry professionals engaged in bringing history to the small screen. By involving key actors consistently throughout the life of the project, the researchers both challenged and begin to influence the shape of history programming on UK TV. Programme makers responded to the striking gaps in coverage our research identified in relation to class, race and gender. They also took the opportunity afforded by the research to think more widely/imaginatively about how their practices might alter to create different historical coverage on TV. The impact of our research extended beyond the UK as it provided the UK section of a report on televised history in Europe which was presented to the European Parliament in December 2011
Chartism (1838-58) was effectively Britain's civil rights movement. Professor Malcolm Chase's research has helped drive a reappraisal of Chartism that has asserted the movement's relevance to contemporary British democracy and citizenship. The work has directly shaped Parliament's representation of its own history and inspired a change in its curatorial policy. It has also fuelled a broader rediscovery of the movement as a grass-roots political and social movement engaging all levels of society. Working with broadcast and print media, Chase has developed public awareness of the political, social and international dimensions of the movement and its centrality to the fight for democracy. The work has also had significant impacts in Australia, promoting an informed understanding of the black Chartist William Cuffay, and on the family history community.
Research into the history of the emotions undertaken by members of the QMUL Centre for the History of the Emotions has made possible a series of impacts of local, national and international reach and significance, on public understanding of emotions, on contemporary art and culture, and on political debates about public policy, emotions and wellbeing. Impacts have been achieved through a range of activities, including practical interventions in schools, input into radio and television broadcasts, an artist in residence scheme, an international email list and blog, and policy discussions with think tanks such as the Young Foundation.