Log in
Professor Tariq Modood - awarded an MBE for services to social sciences and ethnic relations in 2001 - is one of the UK's most prominent analysts of and commentators on Muslims and multiculturalism. He has developed firm research-based arguments for why and how Muslims should be accommodated in Britain. The impact of his work since 2008 includes: the operation of legislation on religious discrimination and incitement to hatred; the operation of racial equality policies in higher education; the increasing prevalence of his view amongst Muslims and others that Britain's distinctive form of moderate secularism should be seen as a valuable resource for the accommodation of Muslims; his participation in the creation and enhancement of mechanisms of Muslim participation in governance; awareness raising and agenda setting through his regular contributions to public events and media discussions (traditional broadcasting and social media); and the continuing adherence to multiculturalism, despite challenges to it, among Muslim and government actors, and their awareness of the importance of the macro-paradigm level of analysis that he has developed
Work undertaken at the University of Manchester (UoM) has provoked debate, and challenged established lines of thought, by `myth busting' current claims about racial diversity and segregation — such as `Britain is becoming a country of ghettos' — which have hitherto dominated public and policy debate. A sociologically-informed demographic approach, developed at UoM, has been adopted by local authorities for monitoring neighbourhood population change and ethnic diversity. Additionally, research findings have been used by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), national policy-makers and local government to promote alternative, sociologically-informed understandings of race, segregation and diversity, challenging the current policy focus. Taken together, these twin interventions have resulted in increasingly critical and robust examinations of race, segregation and diversity, both nationally and locally.
Increasing immigration, the rise of the British National Party, and the London bombings put social cohesion firmly on the policy agenda. James Laurence and Anthony Heath's research (2008) on the predictors of social cohesion provided the key empirical foundation for policies implemented by the Department for Communities and Local Government from 2008 onwards. These policies in turn impacted the practices of local authorities in a variety of domains, including the allocation of social housing and the funding of community projects. The research was also cited by a number of organizations beyond government in their policy documents, from the Equality and Human Rights Commission to consultancies such as Ipsos MORI.
Being recognised in law as an `ethnic minority' has far-reaching consequences, including the right of access to welfare and protection from race discrimination. As part of an industrial tribunal case in September 2008, research conducted at Strathclyde was used as expert testimony that resulted in giving Gypsy/Travellers in Scotland such legal status. This judgment has meant that the entire population of this group now has access to protection under Race Relations legislation. As a result, the case has been cited to support other cases that challenge decisions which affect the everyday lives of Gypsy/Travellers. The research and case has also directly shaped public policy by the Scottish Government in relation to human rights, and in subsequent policy on equality, accommodation and employment. At the local level for individual Gypsy/Travellers, the ruling has implications for their access to services, with health care and social work organisations now explicitly including guidance on support for this ethnic group.
The research into mixed racial people, couples and families has enhanced social awareness, corrected misconceptions and celebrated the heritage of these groups. Impact centres around educating various publics through channels such as a prime time viewing on BBC2. The research has also manifested itself in: (i) a successful on-line resource (Mix-d Museum) in collaboration with the third sector, (ii) materials which have influenced school curricula, and (iii) training resources for teachers. One organisation has presented the materials emanating from the research to over 250 foster carers within a year. The British Academy recognised the research as an exemplar which contributed to the reintroduction of its Small Grant scheme.
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.
The past fifteen years have seen intense debate around the social and political impact of rising ethnic diversity, with a range of stakeholders consequently reliant on the provision and diffusion of sophisticated and evidence-based analysis. Research undertaken at the University of Manchester (UoM) has risen to this challenge, reaching out to a variety of individuals and groups, providing timely research-based interventions to help shape, inform and improve policymaking and political discussion in this critical yet poorly understood area. Sustained collaboration, alongside the targeted dissemination of findings to key decision makers and civil society organisations has enhanced public debate, and shaped key interventions made by: Governmental actors (e.g. DCLG, GO-S, Electoral Commission), the three main political parties, Parliamentary Committees (APPGM & MAC) and a number of civil society organisations (e.g. Runnymede Trust, Changing Minds).
A theme within Professor David Mosse's anthropological research focuses on the relationship between policy, practice and effects in international development. His field-based ethnographic research challenges assumptions about policy implementation and the nature of success and failure in aid programming. His novel approach to questions of policy analysis and policy change has been widely influential on thinking among policymakers and practitioners across a range of organisations, sectors and countries. It has enhanced the capacity for adaptive self-critical understanding of the aid process among practitioners and aid organisations, while also demonstrating the importance of researcher-practitioner engagement in improving the delivery of aid and development programmes.
Research conducted by John Turnpenny shaped the recommendations of the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee (EAC). In 2010, the EAC addressed the need to embed sustainable development across government policy-making. This followed the closure of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP) and the end of funding for the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC). The EAC determined to change how it engaged with experts, while reaffirming and expanding its role in the overall scrutiny of government sustainability policy. Turnpenny's findings formed the basis of two of the thirteen headline recommendations in the EAC's 2011 report Embedding Sustainable Development Across Government. In addition his suggestions helped influence significant changes in the way that the EAC operates, and contributed to its wider impact among other policy actors.
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.