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The UK's decision to introduce voluntary modulation led directly from research conducted at Newcastle University between 1993 and 2008 which demonstrated conclusively that broadening the scope of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies beyond supporting agricultural production through `modulation' would greatly benefit the environment and rural economies. The success of modulation in the UK then led to compulsory modulation being introduced throughout the European Union (EU). Up to 2013 modulation has generated outstanding impacts by providing more than €10 billion of new funding for environmental management and rural development across the EU.
The Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) has undertaken research providing a sustained contribution to understanding beneficiary-focused EU and UK rural development (RD) policies. This used novel, context-sensitive and mixed-method evaluation techniques to capture complex, systemic impacts and diagnose causal linkages between design and delivery, and policy performance. In so doing it has generated direct impacts in improved RD policy making and evaluation. The research has influenced restructuring in EU policy frameworks for RD and changed England's upland policy. By increasing policymakers' understanding of farm-level behaviours and responses to agri-environmental policy goals, CCRI's research has stimulated better-communicated and integrated advisory approaches.
The case study developed a set of acceptable benchmarks of economic performance using readily available data which are indicative of key policy-relevant facets of local economic performance, and it proposed a method for modelling rural economic performance, which is transferable to other UK environments and beyond. In doing so, this study has informed Defra's `Rural Evidence Base', and has contributed to the development of subsequent rural policy. This impact case study is based on a Defra award (2003-2004 plus a nine month extension) led by the Director of SERC Professor Sheela Agarwal.
Research at the University of Strathclyde has increased the economic and policy modelling capacity of the Scottish Government. This has been affected through collaboration between researchers at Strathclyde and the Office of the Chief Economic Advisor (OCEA) and the Scottish Government-funded Centre of Expertise in Climate Change, ClimateXChange. The improvement in modelling capability and scope has enhanced the process of policy formation and evaluation, as well as the outcomes from it. This has allowed for improved decision making in the Scottish Government, allowed significant budget savings, improved advice to Scottish Ministers, improved interaction with the Westminster Government and resulted in a more informed public debate on policy decisions.
Work by University of Stirling staff has contributed directly to improved wildlife resource management in the Central African region. Innovative research into the status and trends of key wildlife populations, ecological impacts, resource harvests and trade, drivers of resource use and assessing management success have contributed directly to new thinking on the issue, revisions of laws and policy and to success in attracting foreign aid for management issues. Stirling staff members now advise the Government of Gabon on resource management policies, National Park management and biodiversity issues.
Research by Rowan and ERG colleagues Black, Bragg, Cutler, Duck has addressed the science and policy challenges faced by statutory authorities meeting their duty to implement the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000. Assessing the sensitivity of aquatic systems to physical, chemical and biological pressures is the central theme, and through a series of commissioned projects funded by UK environment and conservation agencies, the research has:
Research and knowledge exchange led by Prof. Jefferies in sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) has driven the design and integration of SUDS into urban environments, into urban planning and everyday practice in the UK, Europe and worldwide. This research has contributed to the development of policies and established guidelines that have informed the set-up of operational and monitoring systems and the reduction of a training manual which is impacting widely on the sector (downloaded >40.000 times). Evidence gathered through this research has supported drainage policy nationally and now underpins important parts of urban infrastructure, improving environments and their resilience to flooding.
Research to quantify the ecological structure and spatial dynamics of terrestrial habitats in Northern Ireland (NI), and to assess the effects of recent land use change, has enabled the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) to develop and implement a science-based strategy for landscape-scale biodiversity management and conservation. It has directly facilitated the integration of NIEA and the Department of Agriculture for NI (DARD) biodiversity management strategies and their monitoring of the implementation of European Community biodiversity legislation (and cross-compliance).
The science information-base and time-series change models developed from the research have allowed NIEA to lead inter-governmental department discussion on biodiversity and land use issues. It has also guided the development of an NI habitat biodiversity management strategy. Specifically, the statistically structured field and analytical methods developed by the research for assessing terrestrial habitats at the regional landscape-scale have been adopted by NIEA as key to reporting on the biodiversity outcomes of implementing the European Community conservation Habitats Directive.
The research has provided a common ecological framework within which NIEA, DARD (including Forest Service) and non-government organisations (Ulster Wildlife Trust and Northern Ireland Environment Link) have been able to discuss and agree on biodiversity and agri-environment management practices in designated statutory conservation sites and the farmed countryside. It has also been key in guiding a NI assessment of the socio-economic value of habitats (ecosystem services).
A body of research on agricultural geography, with a strong regional focus on the Welsh Marches (the English counties bordering Wales), has led to changes in conservation policy and practice relating to rare breeds, primarily at the national level but also internationally; it has shaped farming policy at the regional level, particularly in Herefordshire, specifically leading to increased diversification in the farming sector across the county; and it has stimulated policy debate around the place of farming in society.
Bangor Research since 1998 has pioneered, through experimental, comparative and modelling studies and industry collaborations, quantification of the wider ecosystem effects of fishing, specifically on seabed habitats. Novel findings gave policy and economic benefits to the fishing industry and led to the sustainable, continued profitable development of the UK's largest blue mussel fishery and Isle of Man scallop fishery, with a combined value of £22M. It directly led to Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification of these fisheries and underpinned certification of dozens of other demersal fisheries. Additionally, the research has influenced UK retailer policies on sustainable fish sourcing, providing direct environmental and commercial benefits and improving public knowledge and sustainable consumption.