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Armed conflict does not only result in death: injury and disablement as a consequence of political violence blights the lives of many and places demands on the public purse, yet is rarely researched. Limb loss, brain injury and psychological trauma is prevalent worldwide yet often ignored in communities ruptured by conflict and war.
The work of researchers at Surrey on the needs of the injured population as a result of armed conflict in Northern Ireland has provided the first comprehensive picture of an injured population and is being used to advocate at the regional and national level for a pension for those disabled in the Troubles and for improved services.
This case study refers to the body of survey research evidence on public attitudes to community relations, gathered over a period of two decades in Northern Ireland. The thesis on `impact' is that this body of work influenced government policies, public debate and good practice in equality procedures during the period 2008-2013. The survey results have become ubiquitous within debates and reports within/from government, political parties, journalists, lobbyists and NGOs and as a consequence have had significant and wide-ranging effects on Northern Ireland society.
In Northern Ireland the display of symbols in public spaces has remained a highly contested and consistent cause of public disorder. The research outlined in this case study is a leading Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister Indicator for effective policies on community relations. Impact is evidenced through the research in five ways. It has (i) altered government policies; (ii) enhanced broader democratic participation in local government debates; (iii) increased conflict resolution opportunities as part of local peace-building schemes; (iv) informed United Nations' work on divided societies; and (v) facilitated mediation networks dedicated to changing the nature of public space. It has been carried out according to a government brief for the whole Northern Ireland population, thereby encompassing the maximum scope possible for impact within the legal jurisdiction of the state. The research has been transformative in understanding and tackling the extremely contested issue of how and when flags are used in public spaces in Northern Ireland and it has influenced United Nations' consultations on post-conflict policies.
James Loughlin's peer-reviewed research on the British monarchy's role in Ireland formed the essential basis for Irish state broadcaster's, RTÉ's, account of Elizabeth II's historic visit to the Irish Republic in 2011. He was advisor to the programme-makers from inception and his work formed the spine of the resulting documentary, `The Queen and Us'. Loughlin's research fundamentally shaped how the programmers presented knowledge of the monarchy's standing in Ireland, both historically and contemporaneously, and influenced strongly their creative practice. Audience levels reached 400,000+, including the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh themselves. The work spread worldwide via the RTÉ player.
The importance of public and user involvement in the development and delivery of research, policy and practice is now widely recognised. Nonetheless, service providers continue to experience difficulties in meaningfully involving service users and carers in their work in spite of the fact that this is a legal and policy requirement. Researchers, policy makers and providers do not always have the knowledge and skills effectively to involve the public and service users and carers. This case study describes the very significant impact of one piece of research designed to address these challenges in Northern Ireland. This research is presented as an example of impact because it has resulted in significant changes to the policies and practices of the three key organisations funding the research.
During the conflict, community relations work had low strategic importance. Morrow et al (1997) demonstrated that the absence of an overarching conceptual framework stifled government policy and so subsequently developed a ground breaking model of community relations engagement to be mainstreamed into government policy (around equity, diversity and interdependence). Following two major government reviews of community relations in 2002 and 2003-5, these research findings were adopted as central to public policy and resource allocation, and reconfigured as `A Shared Future'.
Since 2008, the core concepts of Morrow et al's work have been explicitly integrated into the vision and values of many policies and practices around reconciliation, community relations and a shared future demonstrating a continuing, cascading impact at local, regional, national, European and international levels.
This case study relates to Professor Marianne Elliott's research into the history of religion, identity and conflict in Ireland. Through original research, covering many centuries, Elliott has demonstrated how conflicting identities have been based on simplified origin-myths. This case study describes some of the ways in which her research has benefitted a wider public. Through engagement with community organisations such as the Northern Ireland Community Relations Council, through dialogue with religious leaders and prominent peace campaigners, and through vigorous engagement in public discussion and media debate, Elliott's research has made a tangible contribution to the processes of peace-building and reconciliation as well as heightening public understanding of Irish history.
Research carried out by the Department of Sociology at the University of Aberdeen into the nature and extent of communal division in societies emerging from conflict — particularly in Northern Ireland — has directly benefitted policy makers and community leaders through personal briefings and exposure on influential electronic media. The research findings have also benefitted action groups, peace practitioners, churches and other civil society groups in Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka and elsewhere through workshops and training materials; and they have raised awareness and understanding and stimulated debate through the purposeful use of online media outlets.
This innovative research has had an enduring influence on shared education policy debates in Northern Ireland. It directly affected the understanding and attitudes of the most important education policy actors, including the Department for Education Northern Ireland and the Good Relations Forum. It has been significant in two ways. First, it has been widely acknowledged as providing especially robust and reliable evidence of public support for greater sharing in education (e.g. through shared campuses for Protestant and Catholic schools). Secondly, it has been recognised as a model of best practice for consulting the two main communities, unionist and nationalist, about reforms to education provision.
While effective treatments for heroin addiction exist, 10% of individuals are non-responsive to treatment and suffer major health and social consequences. Although small, this severe group incur the highest cost to society. Supervised Injectable Opioid Treatment (IOT) involves administration of injectable diamorphine (pharmaceutical heroin) in supervised clinics. Research by King's College London (KCL) demonstrated that IOT is a clinically effective and cost-effective treatment of chronic heroin addiction that has previously appeared untreatable. KCL research has had a significant impact on drugs policy in the UK by providing high-quality evidence, pivotal in the Department of Health identifying IOT as a necessary second-line treatment and in their decision to expand provision of the treatment to an increasing number of clinics.