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The University of Aberdeen has played a key role in designing and analysing surveys for European institutions to monitor and evaluate quality of life — a concept adopted as a key measure of economic growth in Europe in 2000. The research findings (including insights into particular aspects of quality of life, such as working life) have been used by the commissioning institutions to stimulate debate and shape policy. They have also been used by individual countries both within the European Union and further afield, notably in China and Rwanda. Interactive web resources have opened up the findings to policy makers and the general public.
This case study focuses on the impact of research undertaken within the European Research Centre (ERC) and the Centre for the Study of International Governance at Loughborough University between 1993 and 2009, primarily by Professor Linda Hantrais (1993-2008 and now Emeritus). The impact of the research has been created through high quality cross-national socio-demographic analysis which has underpinned policy formation and delivery at the European and national levels, with particular reference to social policy, citizenship and family policy. It has had a substantial further impact by generating advances in international comparative research methods and training.
For the last two decades, sociologists at Lancaster have demonstrated the centrality of social organisation and practice for climate change policy. This case study focuses on the impact of Elizabeth Shove's research in particular. Shove's work challenges the prevailing emphasis on individual attitudes and behaviours and shows that the consumption of energy, water and other natural resources is an outcome of shared social practices. Through innovative forms of interaction and collaboration ("working parties"; exhibitions, etc.) Shove has inspired organisations such as WWF, the Environment Agency, DECC, DCLG, DEFRA, the Scottish Government and the International Energy Agency to take social practices seriously as topics of policy, planning and intervention. Individual behavioural models are no longer the only point of reference in policy design.
Over the last seven years Surrey's research on the political representation and working practices of women has had significant influence on public debate about gender equality in Europe. The research has resulted in a number of high level policy and media debates about the position and role of working mothers, for example BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour. The Fabians' women network has also benefited from the work in shaping the network's presentation of key debates on women's rights in the UK.
The research has explored the impact of welfare transformations on the activities of social workers on the frontline. A key concern has been to explore the gap between, on the one hand, social work ethical statements and the commitments of practitioners on entering the field and, on the other, the workplace reality of marketization, austerity driven cuts and a range of restrictions placed on workers by new regulatory regimes. The research explores the potential, internationally, for a new `engaged' social work practice that draws service users, carers, academics, and practitioners together in defence of good quality, value driven social work.
Dr Penny Vera-Sanso's two research projects, Ageing, Poverty and Neoliberalism in Urban South India (2007-10) and Ageing and Poverty: the working lives of older people in India (2012-13), have had significant impacts on public debate and public policy in relation to the rights and well-being of people aged 60 and over. The research raised awareness and understanding, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and in India more widely, of older people's poverty and their contribution to the economy through their paid and unpaid work. This led directly to changes in state policy on pensions in Tamil Nadu, and influenced campaigns for older people's pensions, livelihoods and rights within India and internationally.
The research has had significant impact in the UK on the development of social and spiritual support for people at the end of life and their families. With Professor Holloway as Social Care Lead on the National End of Life Care Programme (NEoLCP) since 2009, the research has underpinned the launch of a framework for the delivery of social care at the end of life which is now in its second phase of implementation. The framework is endorsed by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and has led to local and regional Action Plans and social care practice initiatives. The research on spirituality has led to scoping and training initiatives in healthcare practice and in the funerals industry within the UK and internationally.
Work-related stress and work-life conflict are the biggest health and safety challenges in the UK with considerable costs to the economy as well as employees and their families. Research conducted by Professor Kinman over the last 15 years has made a significant contribution to enhancing knowledge of the mechanisms underpinning work-related well-being and ways in which this can be enhanced. In recognition of the unique nature of Kinman's work, the UoB is widely recognised as a centre of excellence in this field. Kinman has advised organisations, predominantly in the public sector, on ways to manage stress and enhance work-life balance and resilience. The significance and reach of this work has been demonstrated, most notably with academic employees and social workers. It has been used to develop interventions and informed changes to policy and practice at a national level in these sectors.
This case study shows how Alan Walker's internationally acclaimed research on active ageing has led to policy and practice changes locally, nationally and internationally in response to what is widely recognised as the grand societal challenge of population ageing. Walker developed the concept of active ageing which has been adopted by national governments in Quebec and Northern Ireland, national charities and Sheffield City Council, leading in each case to significant policy change which is benefiting older people. As a result of this work Walker was awarded the inaugural ESRC Impact Champion prize in 2013
Open University research has shaped how considerations of gender are factored into economic and social policy nationally and internationally by contributing to the case for Gender Impact Assessment (GIA) of policy on both efficiency and equality grounds. Many governments, international bodies, and civil society organisations now carry out GIAs, and many use, or aspire to use, methodologies developed by OU researchers. OU researchers regularly work on GIAs of UK policy, which has influenced policy making on welfare reform and on care policy. They also contribute to capacity building for GIA in the UK and abroad, and were leading members of an international project that led the World Bank, the IMF, and OECD to address the issue of gender and taxation.