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Research undertaken at the University of Manchester (UoM) highlights how limited resources and poor coordination at the heart of the Greek government (the core executive) have circumscribed Prime Ministerial authority and severely hampered the ability of successive governments to develop and implement policy. This issue is particularly pressing, as many of Greece's recent economic woes can be attributed to this weak `reform capacity'. The research had a direct impact by changing party policy and informing the drafting of two new laws on restructuring the Greek core executive, in 2011 and 2013 respectively. These changes have survived the turnover of two different governments. Research findings have also been given extra impetus, with the strengthening of the Greek core executive identified in 2012 as a key priority by Greece's international creditors — namely the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Commission (EC) and the European Central Bank (ECB).
Following on earlier research which re-examined the construction of modern Greece, in 2008-12 Beaton researched the contribution of Byron (and Romanticism) to the creation of the Greek nation-state in the early 19th century, and has published the results in his 2013 book (3.4). The principal impact of Beaton's researches has been to challenge traditional Greek cultural and social assumptions about the continuity of their national identity from the ancient world. The main pathway is his distinctive contribution to the 200-year Greek debate about their national identity which has been intensified by the current socio-economic crisis. The principal beneficiaries are the Greek people, as reflected in public discourse in their mass media, and the non-Greek public interested in these issues. Other nascent beneficiaries are the worldwide community of Byron enthusiasts through cultural enrichment in their knowledge and understanding of Byron's role in creating modern Greece.
The impact being described in this case study relates to the influence of Professor Martin Gainsborough's research on the international donor community's thinking behind and design of governance programmes in Vietnam and on understandings of these issues in news media coverage. Donors, in particular the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Australian government aid agency AusAid, and the Irish government aid agency Irish Aid acknowledge that Gainsborough's research has been a major influence on their understanding of Vietnamese politics which in turn has informed how they have designed their policy interventions during 2008-13. The research has resulted in greater reliance by donors on Vietnamese government systems, new risk mitigation measures and moves to `mainstream' governance across a range of aid programmes. The impact of Gainsborough's research has also reached beyond Vietnam by informing the World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators.
Wilford's research-based evidence to a Standing Committee of the NI Assembly (NIA) tasked to review options for the reform of both the Assembly and the NI Executive has exerted impact on several of its recommendations, including a holistic review of the NIA's committee system; the strategic redesign of the Executive, including a reduction in the number of Executive Departments; provisions for an Official Opposition; and the `hollowing-out' of the Office of First and Deputy First Minister.
Research at Newcastle has been instrumental in developing an internationally recognised research collection of ancient Greek and Etruscan artefacts. Research insights directly influenced how the Shefton Gallery was presented in the Great North Museum: Hancock (GNM), and in particular informed the labelling and interpretation of the objects. By adding meaning and context to the artefacts, the research thus enabled museum staff to: i) deliver public lectures on the research collection thereby resulting in loans to national and international museums; and ii) develop educational resources and events (including worksheets, workshops and object loan boxes) to support innovative teaching in schools and universities. The research has therefore informed the understanding of the Ancient Greek and Etruscan past of the hundreds of thousands of visitors who visit the GNM annually as well as thousands of school-age children and students.