Impact Global Location: Ecuador

REF impact found 26 Case Studies

Currently displayed text from case study:

A measure for the creative economy

Summary of the impact

Professor Pratt's work on the conceptualisation, measurement and operationalization of the cultural and creative industries has had significant impact within the field of cultural and economic policy at the urban, regional, national and international levels. These ideas have been taken up and used by policy makers to identify the contribution of the cultural economy. Professor Pratt's work has been instrumental in devising the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Framework for Cultural Statistics (2009), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Creative Economy Report (2010 and 2013), and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) report on the economic and social consequences of copyright for the creative industries (2013).

Submitting Institution

King's College London

Unit of Assessment

Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management 

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration

3. Forest-climate research results in improved forest management

Summary of the impact

We conducted research on the impact of land-use change that has resulted in international action to improve forest management. Our research demonstrated that clearing forests to grow crops for biofuels leads to large carbon emissions. In light of these findings, the UK Government amended its biofuel policy to include mandatory sustainability criteria. Leeds researchers co-established with a number of businesses the charity United Bank of Carbon, resulting in the investment of £1.5 million and the protection of 200,000 hectares of forest. Our research underpinned a forest-based climate mitigation scheme resulting in the investment of an additional £440k in forest protection.

Submitting Institution

University of Leeds

Unit of Assessment

Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Environmental Sciences: Ecological Applications
Biological Sciences: Ecology, Other Biological Sciences

Case Study 1: The Movement Assessment Battery for Children a universal standard of assessment and intervention to improve the lives of children showing movement difficulties

Summary of the impact

Research examining the best ways of identifying and diagnosing motor impairment in children has established a universal standard of assessment: the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC). Co-authored by Sugden (University of Leeds), a complete new edition was developed in 2007. The second edition contains a new standardised test of motor impairment, a new criterion referenced checklist and a new intervention manual based on participation and learning, all informed by the authors' theoretical, empirical and professional research. The MABC is used in educational, health, and psychological services globally to provide detailed and accurate profiling of children 3 - 16 years, and through assessing children's motor skills and providing guidelines for intervention, it is used to determine strategies across the world to improve participation in activities in daily living for children with movement difficulties.

Submitting Institution

University of Leeds

Unit of Assessment

Education

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

Conservation activities and biodiversity training in Sumaco National Park, Ecuador

Summary of the impact

Preziosi and his research group have taken a leading role in conducting biodiversity research in the Ecuadorian Amazon, working in collaboration with national and local governments and indigenous communities. It is critical to monitor and conserve biodiversity in the Ecuadorian Amazon and preserve this unique habitat for local, national and international benefit. Preziosi's research group have demonstrated that indigenous people can be trained to monitor biodiversity accurately. The impact of introducing these new skills to local people in the Payamino community is that they have been empowered to locally monitor and adaptively manage their own resources. By educating local people about the importance of biodiversity, Preziosi's research group have changed the behaviours and attitudes of the community, leading to reduced participation in environmentally harmful practices.

Submitting Institution

University of Manchester

Unit of Assessment

Biological Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Environmental Sciences: Ecological Applications, Environmental Science and Management
Biological Sciences: Ecology

CS6 Biosecurity and sustainable tourism in the Galapagos Islands

Summary of the impact

The impacts in this case study arise from research into the pathways, and processes by which novel vectors and vector borne diseases may be introduced into the Galapagos islands. On the basis of the research, the Ecuadorian government changed national legislation on biosecurity, and implemented a suite of new mitigation measures including requiring all aircraft flying to Galapagos to have disinsection treatments, and banned direct international flights to the archipelago. The work increased general awareness of potential impacts from introduced diseases on Galapagos biodiversity, and the need to improve the biosecurity of the islands, influencing policy decisions in a range of other international organisations including UNESCO. The globally important biodiversity of Galapagos is the basis of a significant fraction of the tourist and national economy of Ecuador.

Submitting Institution

University of Leeds

Unit of Assessment

Biological Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Biological Sciences: Microbiology
Medical and Health Sciences: Medical Microbiology

Encouraging adoption of new children’s vaccines through the development of methods for decision support modelling

Summary of the impact

LSHTM researchers have developed four computer models to help decision-makers make evidence-based choices about new vaccines and vaccine schedules. These models analyse the public health impact and cost-effectiveness of different options under different assumptions and scenarios on a country-by-country basis. They are used by national immunisation managers and key decision-makers, international committees and partner organisations (e.g. the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation). LSHTM's researchers have built on this research for WHO, informing global recommendations on vaccine timing and schedules.

Submitting Institution

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Unit of Assessment

Public Health, Health Services and Primary Care

Summary Impact Type

Health

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Medical Microbiology, Public Health and Health Services

Improving Social Justice in LGBTIQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans*, Intersex and Queer/Querying) Communities: The Impact of the Queering Paradigms Project

Summary of the impact

The LGBTIQ Social Justice project Queering Paradigms (QP) grew out of the research theme on Sexuality, Gender and the Body. Driven by the UoA member, Prof. Scherer, QP is a global and local academic-cum-activist network with international reach to Germany, Nepal, Australia, US, Ghana, Argentina, Ecuador and Brazil. QP has informed and improved LGBTIQ Social Justice, it has led to policy changes at HEIs (UK, US); sustained engagement with and support of local activists; improved awareness and changed attitudes; informed policy debates inspiring further activism for social change; and changed of religious attitudes (Nepal).

Submitting Institution

Canterbury Christ Church University

Unit of Assessment

Theology and Religious Studies

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies
Philosophy and Religious Studies: Religion and Religious Studies

Improving the way consumer credit risk is assessed

Summary of the impact

Credit scoring, the process of estimating the risk of lending to consumers, has traditionally estimated the likelihood of default over a fixed period, usually 12 months. Research carried out at Southampton's School of Management has led to a gradual shift by many financial institutions in the UK and elsewhere towards an alternative method that estimates default over any period. This approach provides accurate risk estimates over any time period. It also allows for the inclusion in the "scorecard" of economic conditions and the lending rates charged — features whose absence from previous scorecards was identified as contributing to the sub-prime mortgage crisis.

Submitting Institution

University of Southampton

Unit of Assessment

Business and Management Studies

Summary Impact Type

Economic

Research Subject Area(s)

Mathematical Sciences: Statistics
Economics: Applied Economics
Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services: Banking, Finance and Investment

Influencing pension policy in the ageing society

Summary of the impact

Professor Robin Blackburn has written extensively on pension policy and has advocated the need for strong public pension provision. Following the financial crisis that began in 2008, Blackburn's ideas have attracted much interest, especially given that he had identified many of the problems that would come to afflict private schemes. His work has been recognised globally: for example, he was invited to speak at a conference organised by the EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, and his research has been cited by the United Nations' Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Blackburn's highest-profile work has been in Ecuador, where he has addressed the President, cabinet ministers, and senior civil servants.

Submitting Institution

University of Essex

Unit of Assessment

Sociology

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Economics: Applied Economics
Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services: Banking, Finance and Investment

Chang

Summary of the impact

Chang's research has covered a wide range of public policy, including industrial policy, trade policy, privatisation, and agricultural policy, as well as theories of state intervention. By successfully challenging the then prevailing orthodoxy on economic development, his research has had significant influence on the actions of many national governments, multilateral institutions (e.g., the UN, the World Bank) and NGOs (e.g., Oxfam). Chang's research has also had substantial impact on public debate concerning economic policies, especially but not exclusively those regarding development issues. He has had two best-selling mass-market books (together sold 1.15 million copies as of December 2012) and gained worldwide media exposure for his views.

Submitting Institution

University of Cambridge

Unit of Assessment

Politics and International Studies

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Economics: Economic Theory, Applied Economics, Econometrics

Filter Impact Case Studies

Download Impact Case Studies