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Limitations in public access to water environments for recreation are a longstanding source of stakeholder conflict in which previous policy initiatives have been ineffective. Our research has demonstrated how recreational access to inland waters can be increased through stakeholder capacity building and partnership working. In England and Wales the research led to changes in policy decisions for access to water, revised planning policy guidance, improved recreational access, the creation of 102 new jobs, and the modification of management practices by private and public bodies. In Europe the research has shaped new approaches for the management of small waterways in 11 countries.
The findings of Prof. Warwick Funnell and Prof. Robert Jupe have stimulated international policy debates on government accountability and the provision of public services. By challenging conventional free market wisdom, their analysis of the limits to effective privatisation have been used by stakeholders concerned by the direction of public sector reform, including government representatives, professionals and political pressure groups. They achieved this through accessible publications and close partnerships with these stakeholders that provide a platform for associated discussion events, seminars and media commentary.
Lack of access to water and sanitation services (WSS) is a long-term material deficit in Latin American democracies, worsened since the 1980s by privatization and commodification policies. Research at Newcastle since 2005 has played a major role in supporting policy change to defend and enhance public services by providing evidence-based grounds for policy interventions and informed citizen participation. It has:
This case study describes a series of research projects undertaken by Professor Hulya Dagdeviren from 2004 to 2012 on issues related to the commercialisation and privatisation of water and sanitation services, which involved changes in the control and management of former public utilities. In particular, it focuses on the findings and impacts of the studies in relation to the access and affordability of these services for poor households in the developing countries. The results of these studies influenced the policy directions of international institutions, especially the UN agencies, which play an important role in funding projects and policy advocacy that ultimately shape the national policies of the developing countries.
Unique research at the University of Manchester highlights the shortcomings of public accountability and the high cost, to the public purse, of PPPs and the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) using critical financial analysis. Lead researchers have been invited to engage in dialogue with national audit regulators, give evidence to parliamentary committees and contribute to policy debate through international roundtables. The work has been used to challenge government policy and has significantly influenced the national and international public debate about the costs, affordability and value for money of PPPs. The UK government has now renegotiated existing PFI projects to achieve cost savings, and we have given evidence by invitation to international committees concerned with public accountability and policy development.
University of Manchester research during 2005-2012 into water sector technological innovation provided an evidence base that changed UK and European policy and practice. The research led to an extended remit for an independent review of UK water sector competition to include also innovation; underpinned sections on innovation in new UK water policy; inspired incentive reforms by the economic regulator, Ofwat and informed strategy for two high-level European innovation/technology platforms. Lead researcher Thomas advised key stakeholders at House of Commons All Party Parliamentary Water Group sessions, at an independent review, via keynotes and opinion pieces for industry roundtables, conferences, trade journals, the media, and on an Ofwat advisory panel.
Professor Paul Grout has had a significant impact on national policy on the delivery of public services by the private sector in the last five years. His research undertaken at the University of Bristol on private provision by regulated utility companies and public private partnerships, using both economic theory and empirical studies, paved the way for his central involvement in, and directly informed, key regulatory decisions. These decisions impact materially on almost every individual and organisation in the UK. His research also directly led to his appointment in 2012 to the Board of Ofgem (the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority), the UK energy regulator.
Research conducted at Aston University on the performance of the water and sewerage industry influenced water industry regulation and the shaping of the Water Bill 2013-14, which had its first reading in the House of Commons on 27 June 2013. Specifically, the research: changed understanding and awareness in the debate preceding the Water Bill by highlighting potential costs associated with vertically separating water companies (Impact 1); influenced the Water Bill's prohibition of mandatory company separation, while also providing evidence that facilitated the Bill's provisions to establish a Great Britain wide retail market for non-household water customers (Impact 2); and changed policy makers' awareness of panel cost and productivity assessment methods, thereby influencing consideration of their future application to regulatory cost assessment (Impact 3) .
Governments and major construction clients face significant challenges procuring and delivering large infrastructure projects. Robust and defendable infrastructure procurement is therefore increasingly important for addressing these challenges to deliver value (at minimum risk). Public- Private Partnership (PPP) research within the Grenfell-Baines School of Architecture, Construction and Environment (the unit of assessment, UoA) is led by Akintoye and Liyanage. Their work has made a direct positive impact on some of these issues, the extent of which has benefited several sectors — from construction and transportation, through to the water industry (e.g. Naismiths, iBE Partnerships; WDA Project Ltd; Navigant Consulting); and its reach and significance is evidenced through international engagement at the highest levels (e.g. Queensland Government Australia; Constructing Excellence; CIB; University of Hong Kong China).
Research by LSHTM has put handwashing with soap (HWWS) at the heart of international efforts towards diarrhoeal disease prevention, changing the way good hygiene practices are communicated globally. The research led to the global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap (PPPHW), a coalition of stakeholders interested in child health and handwashing, and a billion people have been reached through initiatives such as Global Handwashing Day (GHD). Millions more have benefited from the research through hygiene programmes set up by industry. The risk of death from diarrhoeal disease for those reached by these campaigns has been substantially reduced.