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Since 2008, Bangor Law School has pioneered research into the legal and risk barriers that inhibit SME participation in public procurement. This has had a transformational impact on 5 substantial non-academic communities: SMEs have benefited from improved access to public contract opportunities; Local Authorities have reduced procurer-evaluation hours and process times; the Welsh Government have implemented a Supplier Qualification Information Database tool improving tender-entry for SMEs; Representative Bodies (e.g. Confederation of British Industry) have extensively quoted our research findings to lobby Government to eradicate SME tendering barriers and our Tender Review Instrument has been adopted by International Agencies such as the Canadian Government.
Research into public procurement in the EU and its Member States undertaken by Professor Bovis has made a significant impact on the application of public procurement as a policy instrument in the UK. The impact of Professor Bovis' research is threefold: it has influenced parliamentary debate and legislative scrutiny in the UK by demonstrating the socio-economic and industrial policy dimension of public procurement; it has shaped change in the UK regulatory and legal environment of public procurement through advice to the UK government on procurement legal reforms; and it has affected a paradigm shift by extensive media engagement.
Researchers within the University of Cumbria Centre for Regional Economic Development (CRED) have published work on themes relevant to local economic policy across the UK. The research has focused in particular on the ways in which local and regional policymakers can influence growth processes in local economies; both directly through public sector procurement, and indirectly by providing advice and support to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). This research has been funded by public sector bodies specifically to inform their strategies, and to provide a basis for local economic policies. The findings have impacted upon the procurement practices of local authorities by drawing attention to the barriers to SME involvement in public contracts. Research on the nuclear supply chain has also influenced the Business Plan of the Cumbria Local Economic Partnership (LEP), and has been used in evidence to the Public Accounts Committee, UK Parliament.
The impact of the research has been to make a substantial contribution to changing the direction of innovation policy at a high level and in some matters of detail in the UK, at EU level and in other OECD countries. This has been done by developing theoretical and empirical underpinnings for demand-side innovation policies, notably in the use of large-scale public procurement budgets to drive innovation. The team's work is heavily cited and quoted in high level policy documents and has led to the design and application of several new types of policy instrument.
This research furnished evidence for school food reform in the UK, Italy, the USA and developing countries. Examining the pioneering experience of school food reformers in Europe, North America and Africa, the research showed that the power of public purchase can transform the quality of school food. The researchers demonstrated that the most important factor behind successful reform is a political culture that prioritizes the values of sustainability over price and cost-cutting concerns. This insight shaped the creation of the Food for Life programme, which has been implemented in over 4,000 UK schools. Furthermore, the research has influenced international public food policies, such as those of the United Nations. In recognition of these achievements, the research in this case study recently won the Economic and Social Research Council's Celebrating Impact Prize for outstanding impact on public policy.
Procuring Social and Economic Value through Construction is focused on improving the sustainability and profitability of, and ensuring public benefit from, the UK construction sector, demonstrating the following impact:
Research conducted in 2006-13 on the role of third sector organisations (TSOs) in delivering public services in Scotland has shaped public policy, improved the management/impact of TSOs in delivering public services, and influenced public opinion on the role of TSOs. This has been achieved through research for the Scottish Government and the ESRC, input into the Christie Commission on public services reform, and by affecting the management of TSOs in Scotland through training events and through Osborne's role as Vice-Chair of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO). It has also had an international impact, including in Denmark and Australia.
Research at UCL by Edkins, Ive et al, commencing in 1996, into the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and Public Private Partnership (PPP) has resulted in an independent and objective commentary on the use and practicalities of this procurement framework. It has also led to the development of training courses and reusable training materials for practitioners and the development of advocacy networks to influence policy-makers and wider discourse about PFI in the UK, New Zealand and beyond. As a result, UCL research has improved PFI/PPP guidance and training, and enhanced practitioners' abilities to deliver PFI projects, whilst analysis of project operations has informed the development of PFI as a continuing form of government procurement.
This case study refers to the development of strategic public affairs management and associated research on political risk and the regional economy at the University of Chester. It demonstrates both impact on business strategy at international levels and influence on government policy. The Bank of America (MBNA) case is evidenced as an example of effective public affairs research. The business is the largest service based centre in the region, accounting for 3% of Cheshire's GDP (2011). The research has informed both strategy and policy for business and government resulting in the retention of a major international business in the North West.