Summary of the impact

In partnership with the US company Nalco, the University's Surfactant & Colloid Group developed a new multifunctional technology (Clean n Cor) for the oil industry that both removes accumulated deposits at a metal surface (enabling "break-through" of corrosion inhibitor to the metal surface) and inhibits corrosion. Clean n Cor technology not only protects assets such as oil pipelines against corrosion but also maximises oil production through enhancing water injectivity (water flow per unit pressure drop). Since its launch in 2007, it is currently one of Nalco's fastest growing new technologies and is used at over 100 production locations worldwide.

Summary of the impact

Founded in York in 1996, the Archaeology Data Service (ADS) has transformed how archaeological research is communicated in the UK, and impacted digital archiving throughout the world. Without the ADS, much of the fragile digital data (often the primary record of sites now destroyed) would have been lost. Instead, they are freely available to all. This impact extends across national heritage agencies, local government, commercial archaeology, and the public. Our resources are widely used with over two million page requests per month; almost half from beyond the HE sector. A recent study has concluded that the ADS is worth £5m per annum to the UK economy (Beagrie & Houghton 2013). The ADS has helped shape the digital preservation policy of English Heritage and informed practice in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Germany.

Summary of the impact

The impact of this research has been achieved through developing evidence-based recommendations for personal advisers in Jobcentre Plus — the UK's one-stop service for administering state benefits and helping claimants into work. By opening the `black box' of adviser- claimant interviews for the first time, the study produced the following key impacts:

1. Policymakers in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and on the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) gained an evidence-based understanding of a key area over which they have policy control;
2. Consequently, DWP policymakers and Jobcentre Plus managers made policy changes with respect to adviser-claimant interviews;
3. Through these policy changes and our training workshops, recommendations from our study have helped improve the service delivered by advisers to benefits claimants.

Beneficiaries were those claiming state benefits, Jobcentre Plus advisers and managers, and DWP and other Government policymakers.

Summary of the impact

Our research showed that powered rotation oscillation toothbrushes were superior to manual toothbrushes for the removal of plaque and reduction of gingivitis. This information has had impacts on national public policy, on commerce and on society.

1. The findings were used by the Department of Health in its evidence-based guidelines for preventing oral disease, which is NHS policy on preventive dentistry in England and Wales.
2. The research has also been used in worldwide marketing by Procter and Gamble (the manufacturers of the leading brand of powered rotation-oscillation toothbrush), and by another manufacturer as part of its marketing strategy for a new toothbrush.
3. Finally, as a result of this work there have been critical reviews of the research and of the toothbrushes in the media that have enabled more informed consumer choice for oral hygiene.

Summary of the impact

In 2007, as part of a major update of the national alcohol strategy, the UK Government announced that it would commission an independent national review of the evidence on the relationship between alcohol price, promotion and harm. Subsequently, in 2008, researchers from the University of Sheffield (UoS) were commissioned by the UK Department of Health (DoH) for an `Independent Review of the Effects of Alcohol Pricing and Promotion'.

The UoS research has played a crucial role in informing the debate and deliberations on the available Government options for interventions on alcohol consumption in England and Wales, by providing a robust evidence base to underpin the debate. The UoS research findings have been used to inform policy by senior decision-making bodies e.g. the House of Commons Health Select Committee and the UK Chief Medical Officer to inform policy. The findings have also stimulated the potential for policy intervention beyond England and Wales, e.g. in Scotland and Australia.

Summary of the impact

York research has, continuously since the early 1990's, underpinned the methods by which a substantial proportion of the total NHS budget is allocated by the Department of Health to the organisations providing or arranging healthcare. Despite numerous NHS reforms, our research has produced formulae appropriate to each new system. These formulae have driven NHS policy on allocations across geographical areas and health care administrative entities in England, thereby ensuring that the population of approximately 55 million people receives a share of over £90 billion of healthcare resources that is fair and better reflects relative health care needs.

Summary of the impact

A unified design methodology for tuning gas turbine engine controllers, developed by researchers in the Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering (ACSE), is being used by Rolls- Royce across its latest fleet of Civil Aero Trent engines. Trent engines are used to power, for example, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350 aircraft that have been adopted by the world's leading airlines.

This new methodology has made economic impact through the introduction of a new process for tuning gas turbine engine controllers leading to the adoption of a significantly changed technology. Indicators of impact are:

i) a new control law and design practice, resulting in a unified approach for different projects;

ii) reduced development effort by shortening and simplifying the design exercise and rendering it suitable for modular insertion; and

iii) streamlined verification requirements.

Summary of the impact

As a result of University of Sheffield research in 1995-2002, a new gold standard treatment for major bleeding on warfarin has been established, ensuring the more effective treatment of tens of thousands of patients requiring emergency anticoagulation reversal each year in the UK alone. The treatment, using prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC) was demonstrated to be superior to fresh frozen plasma (FFP), the standard alternative at the time, and two PCCs have now been licensed for this indication in the UK.

UK and international guidelines now recommend PCC over FFP.

Summary of the impact

The decision about whether to fund new health care interventions is increasingly being informed by evidence of cost-effectiveness in terms of the cost per Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY). The SF-6D health index is widely used internationally for calculating QALYs from patient reported health outcomes collected in clinical trials and other surveys. It contributes to health system efficiency from being used by health technology agencies around the world (including Australia, Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland and Norway) to calculate QALYs to facilitate decisions about the most efficient use of limited health care resources. The SF-6D is freely available to non-commercial bodies, including researchers and policy makers. Commercial benefits come from the licensing of the measure to pharmaceutical companies, health insurers and others to assess the cost-effectiveness of their products with 460 licenses being sold since 2008. A further 521 licenses are distributed on a non-commercial basis to academic researchers, public sector and charitable organisations.

Summary of the impact

A new procedure for the measurement and characterisation of polycrystalline exchange bias systems has been developed which has impacted significantly the manufacture of computer hard drive read-heads by companies such as Seagate Inc and Western Digital Corp. The new measurement procedure has enabled a typical 40% increase in the thermal stability of the antiferromagnetic materials used in computer hard drive read heads. The procedure has also improved the manufacturing process of the read-heads giving increased material performance and has resulted in a ~25% improvement in the resolution of detecting a bit.