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Research on the status, distribution and ecology of sea turtles at the University of Exeter has driven national and international conservation policy, engaged millions of people worldwide and raised substantial funding for conservation. Governments including the UK, Cayman Islands, Cyprus and Gabon have used this research in making legislation and multi-million pound management decisions. Development of open-access animal tracking tools has facilitated a global network of over 135 countries, with more than 300 projects tracking thousands of animals from 118 species. The ability to adopt tracked animals online has attracted millions of visitors and raised funding for conservation projects world-wide.
Professor Barnes conducts world leading research on international regulation of fisheries. This informed his contribution to a research programme on Commonwealth fisheries policy. The research has helped to raise awareness, stimulate debate and change attitudes towards the international regulation of fisheries at the ministerial level and the local level through the Commonwealth study tour. The programme findings were published in `From Hook to Plate' and disseminated at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2009. Commonwealth members accepted the findings in this report, including the specific recommendations on fisheries regulation presented in Barnes's research.
Through accessible local history resources co-produced by academics and community volunteers, Riden has helped to open up previously academic-focused research to new, local audiences. He has empowered amateur historians through new research skills to take an active role in documenting and thereby conserving their communities' histories (this has included volunteers publishing their own research). He has contributed to an improved quality of visitor experience at a local heritage organisation through providing new knowledge and confidence to volunteer guides. Through translating the co-produced resources for use in primary and secondary schools, he has given children new research skills which they have then used to develop new understanding of their community's history.
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.
Southampton researchers have developed, commercialised and applied an array of new technological methods and interpretative approaches for managing the seabed through novel near surface geophysical imaging. This fundamental research has had demonstrable major impacts on areas as diverse as: improving the preservation and management of underwater cultural heritage (through providing direct UK government guidance and advice); enabling the sustainable use of the marine environment for the largest offshore infrastructure developments (including providers of nuclear power, wind power and trans-national energy connectors); enhanced mineral resource exploitation (for The Crown Estate — owners of the marine estate and regulators of the companies that exploit it); providing object detection service and training for the UK armed forces; assisting national and international law enforcement agencies in underwater search; and finally, disseminating these skills through postgraduate education to the UK and overseas marine survey sector.
Lancaster's History department has built on its tradition of service and consultancy to transform public resources for, and engagement with, the history of northern England (Lancashire, Cumbria, Northumberland, and the Borders). This has been achieved through: i) creating open-access databases of historical sources with tailored support for non-academic users; ii) training non-academics in historical research and engaging them in projects, thereby empowering people in the region and beyond to `do history', particularly through the Victoria County History, Cumbria: a community-based project fostering life-long learning, led by the department and funded through partnership with a charitable trust; iii) contributing to the development of a new archive centre in Carlisle, thus enhancing the region's archival infrastructure.
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 focuses on the impact of research carried out at the University of Cambridge into the history of evolution by Professor James Secord and co-workers, notably the impact of two research programmes: the Darwin Correspondence Project and Darwin Online. These projects have contributed to a substantial reorientation of public discourse on the history of evolution. The impact has been achieved through web resources; museum and library exhibitions; teaching materials for schools and universities; and radio and television programmes. These outputs have encouraged public understanding of the range of contributors to science, including women; an awareness of the diversity of positions in the evolutionary debate; and an appreciation of the complex relations between evolutionary science and faith. The projects have shown that the highest achievements of scholarship can be made freely accessible to a global audience.
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.
Research commissioned by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation from the University of Portsmouth on fisher livelihoods in Central Asia has generated impact in the public policy and economic/commercial arenas. First, it has influenced government policy (evidenced in the development of a national fisheries strategy) and prompted a legislative change which has decriminalised artisanal and recreational fishing in the Kyrgyz Republic [Impact 1]. Second, it has been instrumental in shaping the restocking and culture-based fisheries policy of a new regional FAO fisheries body (CACFish) encompassing Central Asia [Impact 2]. Third, Portsmouth researchers have contributed to improved production processes (economic/organisational impact) by helping develop and then deliver a national training programme to disseminate best aquacultural practices in Kyrgyzstan [Impact 3].