Log in
This project, which commenced in 2000 and continues to this day, has addressed the settlement of conflicts within states. The project has yielded important findings in the areas of complex power-sharing, autonomy and self-governance, political participation mechanisms for non-dominant groups, peace-making and transitional arrangements in peace agreements. These findings have flowed into the policies and practices of major international actors (United Nations, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), and have been implemented in a number of sensitive contexts. The project findings were also applied directly in a significant number of international negotiations and settlements. This includes the independence of Kosovo and South Sudan, the peace negotiations on Darfur, UN planning for the transition in Libya, the United Nations-led negotiations on a settlement for the conflict in Syria, and the peace agreement and transitional arrangements addressing the deep crisis in Yemen.
Nigel Eltringham's research has enabled him to contribute to the creation of a regional mechanism for the prevention of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in the Great Lakes Region of Africa under the auspices of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and the office of the UN Secretary General's Special Advisor for the Prevention of Genocide (OSAPG). This is the only mechanism of its kind in the world. Eltringham's contribution is based on delivering training and facilitating workshops, using the findings of his research, which directly resulted in the formation of a series of committees, co-ordination offices and programmes designed to prevent genocide.
Through training courses, briefings and written reports, Justin Willis and Chris Vaughan have influenced policy-making and contributed to professional development in the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Department for International Development (DfID), and Ministry of Defence (MoD), as well as other governments. They have had similar impacts on NGOs and multilateral bodies, including the African Union and agencies of the United Nations. In so doing, they have contributed to innovation and entrepreneurial activity through the expansion of a non-governmental organisation, the Rift Valley Institute (RVI).
Jackson's research on post-conflict state-building has shaped processes of international intervention and internal reconciliation during and following conflicts in Africa and South Asia. His work has had impact in two main areas.
First, in Nepal where Jackson has directly contributed to securing successful implementation of the peace agreement to demobilise, rehabilitate and reintegrate 20,000 Maoist combatants though involvement in mediation between the Nepali military and government on the one hand, and Maoist combatants on the other.
Second, Jackson's research along with a government commissioned evaluation of the UK's peace intervention in Sierra Leone has resulted in the provision of expert advice on security sector reform to UK and foreign governments and non-governmental organisations, through:
When an effective orthography and literacy materials are lacking for a language, its speakers are disadvantaged in today's knowledge-based world, because education and information cannot be delivered effectively. In South Sudan, even the largest language communities are in this predicament. Our research results on lexical and grammatical contrasts of voice quality, vowel length and tone have enabled us to assist three language communities (Dinka, Shilluk, and Bari) to develop literacy resources. This is a contribution to increasing the pace of social, economic and political development in South Sudan.
Cherry Leonardi's research on local justice and traditional authority in Southern (now South) Sudan has influenced government policies and international aid agency programmes in the justice and governance sectors. It informed the drafting of a local government act by the Government of Southern Sudan [text removed for publication], by emphasising the importance and resilience of chiefship as a local institution of government and justice. It has also influenced the design of internationally-funded access to justice programmes in South Sudan, by recommending a bottom- up, empirical approach to judicial reform that focuses on the experiences and needs of litigants and local justice providers.
Prior to the E.G. West Centre's research, low-cost private schools were not on any agency's radar as having a positive contribution to make to "education for all"; our work changed that position dramatically. In terms of significance, since 2008 the research has led to changing awareness, attitudes and policies embracing a positive development role for low-cost private schools from international agencies such as DFID (Department for International Development) and national governments. Philanthropists and investors have also been inspired by the research to bring funding and expertise to improve opportunities for children in these schools. The reach of the research has extended to 20 countries in five continents, including Burkina Faso, China, Dominican Republic, Ghana, India, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone and South Sudan.
Countries with substantial non-renewable natural resource wealth face special opportunities and challenges. Research undertaken by Oxford economists has contributed to understanding these challenges and to improving policies for resource management, particularly in developing economies. The key impact is based on a central component of the research — resource revenue management, including long-run decisions about saving, investing, and consuming revenues, and short- and medium-run management of instability. Oxford research has been influential in shaping policy positions of the International Financial Institutions, particularly the IMF, and in influencing the policy debate in-country. It has thereby influenced policies for resource revenue management, particularly in the newly resource-rich countries of Africa.
Research into the characterisation, functional properties and applications of hydrocolloids which improves the stability of beverage products has been transferred to end users through the University's Phillips Hydrocolloids Research Centre. The associated development of industry standards for acacia gum supply has resulted in more than 44 companies since 2008 directly using the University's analytical services or adopting its methodologies, enabling improvements in productivity, product stability and costs. The Gum Arabic Board of Sudan invited the University to assist in improving gum arabic industry practices and methodologies for processing, storage and traceability from source in supply of consistent and quality materials, producing benefits in terms of volume of business.
Comparative legal and penological research conducted by Professor Dirk van Zyl Smit (DvZS) and Dr Róisín Mulgrew (RM) has had a significant effect internationally and nationally in shaping law and policy relating to the implementation of imprisonment in general, and on life imprisonment, sanctions for young offenders and the transfer and treatment of foreign and international prisoners in particular. This research has underpinned the creation and development of penal law and policy in states (e.g. Bangladesh and Malaysia), international and regional organisations (e.g, European Union, Council of Europe, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), as well as in the judgments and policies of international and regional human rights and criminal courts and tribunals (e.g. European Court of Human Rights and the International Criminal Court).