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REF impact found 26 Case Studies

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Setting the agenda for traditional building refurbishment

Summary of the impact

Approximately 70% of the existing building stock will still be in use in 2050. A series of projects funded by EPSRC, FP7, Historic Scotland and English Heritage has changed the level of awareness on the impact of climate change on the thermal and moisture performance of traditional and historic buildings when considering improvements to their energy efficiency. This has helped set the agenda for the refurbishment of traditional buildings, for example advice on for the Green Deal has resulted in DECC commissioning further work, including a Responsible Retrofit Guidance Tool developed by the Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance.

Submitting Institution

Glasgow Caledonian University

Unit of Assessment

Architecture, Built Environment and Planning

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Engineering: Civil Engineering
Built Environment and Design: Architecture, Building

Climate Change Data for Future Proofing Building Design

Summary of the impact

Exeter's Centre for Energy and the Environment has created novel probabilistic weather files for 50 locations across the UK, consisting of hourly weather conditions over a year, which have been used by the construction industry to test resilience of building designs to climate change. They have already had significant economic impact through their use in more than £3bn worth of infrastructure projects, for example, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Leeds Arena, and the Zero Carbon Passivhaus School. The weather files are widely available to professionals and endorsed by internationally leading building simulation software providers such as Integrated Environmental Solutions.

Submitting Institution

University of Exeter

Unit of Assessment

General Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Atmospheric Sciences
Built Environment and Design: Other Built Environment and Design
Economics: Applied Economics

Enhancing the understanding of materials in the historic built environment

Summary of the impact

Pioneering research, from 1995, at the Advanced Concrete and Masonry Centre into the mechanical and compositional properties of traditional mortars and roofing slate improved applied analysis and material sourcing in relation to the conservation of historic buildings. Authoritative guidance on the analysis of historic mortars and the specification of their replacements, based on UWS research, had an international impact, seeing incorporation into ASTM and CEN standards, and contributed to the development of a commercial Hydraulic Lime. A research network on climate change impacts in the historic environment influenced Historic Scotland policy for sustainability and materials research.

Submitting Institution

University of the West of Scotland

Unit of Assessment

General Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Built Environment and Design: Architecture
History and Archaeology: Archaeology

A climate change adaptation strategy for the Palestinian Authority

Summary of the impact

Significant climate change is forecast for the Middle East by the end of this century, leading to — amongst other things — greater water scarcity and falling agricultural productivity. LSE research resulted in the development of the Palestinian Authority's first climate change adaptation strategy. This in turn led to the creation of a Palestinian national committee on climate change and, with the implementation of specific recommendations from this research, the strengthening of climate change planning within the Palestinian Authority. The research also shifted regional priorities for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which subsequently included climate change in its 2011-2013 Strategic Framework as a policy priority for development work in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Submitting Institution

London School of Economics & Political Science

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

Guiding Sustainable Adaptations to the Impacts of Climate Change

Summary of the impact

The United Kingdom is today better adapted to climate risks as a result of a sustained programme of research completed by the School into the impacts of climate change on ecological, social and infrastructural systems. This work has had significant and continuing impact on the design and implementation of UK (and international) climate adaptation strategies and policies, especially with regard to flooding, the built environment and water and coastal management. Decision-support tools (such as climate scenarios and options appraisal) and direct policy advice produced by the School have been used by numerous public and private sector organisations to inform and guide their adaptation strategies and investments.

Submitting Institution

University of East Anglia

Unit of Assessment

Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Mathematical Sciences: Statistics
Environmental Sciences: Environmental Science and Management

The Development of Cultural Value in the Practice of Heritage Management in Greece

Summary of the impact

Kyriakidis's research has had impact on policy-makers within both national and local government. This has involved a scaling up of his impact activities that were based in Gonies (Crete) to include both national policy-makers and international organisations. As a result, he has become an influential international authority on the development of greater public engagement with heritage sites (including Pompeii), and on public policy in Greece. His research has resulted in a shift in policy at the Athens University of Economics and Business, which now engages with the provision of training in Heritage Management and is branching out from exclusively finance-based education. His CPD (Continuing Professional Development) courses have reached out to the commercial sector (particularly Leica).

Submitting Institution

University of Kent

Unit of Assessment

Classics

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Built Environment and Design: Architecture
History and Archaeology: Archaeology, Curatorial and Related Studies

Informing EU negotiations at the 2011 UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Durban, South Africa

Summary of the impact

A comparative methodology to assess the impact of climate change in different countries, implemented by Gosling for a report commissioned by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), informed EU negotiations at the 2011 UN climate change conference in Durban, South Africa. The conference concluded with the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action - a `road map' by which global legal agreement on climate change is to be implemented no later than 2015. For the first time, government ministers and their advisers attending an international conference were able to compare the impact of climate change in different countries, including those where scientific institutions have limited research capacity.

Submitting Institution

University of Nottingham

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Atmospheric Sciences

Valuing Urban Heritage: policy and practice

Summary of the impact

Heritage is a key component of contemporary urban regeneration policies. Rebecca Madgin's research is embedded with, and informed by, knowledge-exchange with public bodies. Her historically-informed and methodologically innovative approach to the heritage of the built environment empowers a diverse range of user groups — local councils, public bodies and third-sector `heritage' organizations — to develop a more sophisticated knowledge of the ways in which local communities understand and value the buildings and spaces that they inhabit. Specifically, the case study shows how Madgin's work has directly informed the planning policies of two organisations: Edinburgh World Heritage Trust and Leicester City Council.

Submitting Institution

University of Leicester

Unit of Assessment

History

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Built Environment and Design: Architecture
Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration, Sociology

Hope 10 Oct 2013

Summary of the impact

Hope's research in developing the PAGE2002 model of climate change has been used extensively by government agencies in the UK and US, as well as the IMF and the international community in order to improve their calculations for global carbon emissions and setting carbon emissions targets. The model was used in the UK government's Eliasch Review, in order to calculate the costs and benefits of actions to reduce global deforestation; by the US Environmental Protection Agency, in order to calculate the marginal impact of one tonne of CO2 emissions; and the IMF, whose calculations using the PAGE2002 model form the basis for their guidance on carbon pricing.

Submitting Institution

University of Cambridge

Unit of Assessment

Business and Management Studies

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Economics: Applied Economics

Crops and climate change research informs international policy

Summary of the impact

A novel large-area process-based crop simulation model developed at the University of Reading and published in 2004 has been used to explore how climate change may affect crop production and global food security. The results of Reading's modelling work have been used as evidence to support the case for action on climate change for international agreements and used by the UK Government to inform various areas of policy and, in particular, to help frame its position on climate change at international negotiations. The database and knowledge from this model also informed the development of Reading's innovative web-based tool that locates sites where the climate today is similar to the projected climate in another location - providing insight into potential adaptation practices for crop production in the future by linking to present-day examples. This tool has been used to inform and train farmers and policy-makers in developing countries and has supported policy implementation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

Submitting Institution

University of Reading

Unit of Assessment

Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Atmospheric Sciences
Economics: Applied Economics

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