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In a drive to improve efficiency and to increase user participation, local authorities have been set eGovernment targets and priorities by central Government. However, limited resources, conflicting priorities and internal political pressure have resulted in a lack of focus when it comes to implementing such changes and progress towards achieving e-Government has a) been slower than expected and b) had less impact than anticipated.
Research undertaken at Brunel broadened knowledge of e-Government and delivered these benefits:
The research created a body of knowledge that enabled delivery of novel and effective change and is contributing to making the UK a world leader on e-Government.
International collaborations are now core features of higher education and international business, yet their intercultural aspects are frequently overlooked. The roll-out of global initiatives is less easily matched by the development of "global people" — people who can function effectively in culturally diverse contexts. In order to address this challenge, Spencer-Oatey and colleagues have been researching the nature of this competence and applying their insights to the development of training resources. These resources have been accessed by large numbers of professionals and practitioners throughout the world, helping them grow in intercultural understanding, adapt their behaviour, and apply their insights to training others.
Compendium software is used to map dialogue and information around socio-technical dilemmas with economic, public policy, educational and health impacts. In Australia, urban planners attribute stakeholder buy-in to dialogue mapping with Compendium. In the USA, a deadlocked environmental planning process used it to make progress, while Southern California Edison use it to manage environmental policy. In the NHS, it can map therapeutic group dynamics, while in Germany, a journalist summarised a medical ethics case to parliament with it. More than 170 companies and individuals have endorsed Compendium, a striking application being to control Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at work.
The research described below has impacted on policy and practice relating to Personal Development Planning (PDP) - the structured and supported process by which learners reflect upon their own development and plan their future development. The impact has primarily been on the UK Higher Education (HE) sector, but has also extended beyond the UK and into other types of organisation (e.g. graduate recruitment networks). More specifically, the research has: shaped the guidance offered to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) on implementing and developing PDP policies and processes for students; enhanced the practice of PDP practitioners; stimulated debate among these practitioners; and informed the development of resources for these practitioners. This has had an overarching positive effect on learner development in educational settings and beyond.
Working with a farming co-operative in India, this project developed new software design and deployment methodologies to create a mobile phone system, Kheti, (Ref 4) for providing on-the-spot, and locally relevant agricultural advice.
In trials, Kheti handled queries from over 100 different farmers, helping to avoid critical threats to their crops and livelihoods.
Software companies employed the methodologies: Safal Solutions applied them to microfinance IT projects in India, generating savings for over one million people; SAP Research used methods evolving from this project to create technologies for supply chain management by thousands of small-scale Cashew and Shea Nut farmers in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.
Queen's University Belfast has developed a number of biocatalytic processes for the production of pharmaceutical intermediates which have been applied commercially. The most significant involved Vernakalant, a new drug for treatment of the most common form of irregular heartbeat, now available in the EU, and currently awaiting approval in the USA and Canada. In addition, QUB has sold £300,000 worth of bioproducts and through the collaborations with Almac Sciences facilitated the initiation of their biocatalysis business which currently is a multi-million revenue earner for Almac Sciences and employs 30 staff, including 15 PhD graduates from the Queen's group.
This case study describes the impact of research undertaken within Business and Management on the ownership, governance and management of co-operatives, charities and social enterprises. It describes how developing the concept of communitarian pluralism led to changes in the management and teaching of social enterprise locally, nationally and internationally. We show the impact on professionals, and lecturers and students in other HEIs. We provide evidence that impact activities changed the way organisations and consultancy bodies conceptualise social enterprise, and how this catalysed the formation of an association to advance communitarian pluralist design principles.
Research conducted at the University of Bath has helped in the design and implementation of effective service recovery interventions, leading to improvements in the delivery of public services. The research has addressed an on-going question for changes to service delivery: what can be done by central government when it determines that local government performance is unacceptable? The findings of a detailed empirical study of English and Welsh central government interventions led to a typology of intervention options designed to guide actions based on the type of problem and the improvement capability available. Recommendations from the research have led to improvements in the effectiveness of Welsh Government interventions when local government service delivery is (or is at risk of) failing. The research has established a set of pragmatic operating principles for all Welsh Government interventions with corresponding benefits for policy makers, practitioners, communities and citizens.
Research undertaken by Professor Antoni Kapcia has had far-reaching influences on policy formation (internationally) and has improved the intelligence base on Cuba for journalists, business organisations and diplomatic missions. It has:
The impact of this work stems from the provision of better quality information models, and is manifest via: (a) reduced cost through improved reuse and less rework; (b) improved system interoperability; and (c) enhanced assurance and checking that information requirements are supported by the resultant systems. The approach has been applied in commercial environments, such as Shell (UK), where it has reduced development costs by up to 50% ($1m in one case). It has also been applied in the defence environment, forming a part of underpinning standards currently being implemented by the UK and Swedish Armed Forces.