Summary of the impact

Research carried out by the Department of Sociology at the University of Aberdeen into the nature and extent of communal division in societies emerging from conflict — particularly in Northern Ireland — has directly benefitted policy makers and community leaders through personal briefings and exposure on influential electronic media. The research findings have also benefitted action groups, peace practitioners, churches and other civil society groups in Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka and elsewhere through workshops and training materials; and they have raised awareness and understanding and stimulated debate through the purposeful use of online media outlets.

Summary of the impact

In Northern Ireland the display of symbols in public spaces has remained a highly contested and consistent cause of public disorder. The research outlined in this case study is a leading Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister Indicator for effective policies on community relations. Impact is evidenced through the research in five ways. It has (i) altered government policies; (ii) enhanced broader democratic participation in local government debates; (iii) increased conflict resolution opportunities as part of local peace-building schemes; (iv) informed United Nations' work on divided societies; and (v) facilitated mediation networks dedicated to changing the nature of public space. It has been carried out according to a government brief for the whole Northern Ireland population, thereby encompassing the maximum scope possible for impact within the legal jurisdiction of the state. The research has been transformative in understanding and tackling the extremely contested issue of how and when flags are used in public spaces in Northern Ireland and it has influenced United Nations' consultations on post-conflict policies.

Summary of the impact

This project is dedicated to the study of Ulster poetry, and focuses on enhancing knowledge of vernacular literature. It researches and utilises literary archives across the region to look at identity and cultural diversity within Northern Ireland. The core impact lies in:

• increasing awareness of and participation in the literary, linguistic and cultural traditions of Northern Ireland;
• interpreting this literature for audiences external to academia;
• facilitating contact with this literature in order to allow people to appreciate connecting with voices from the past;
• and, recalibrating literary knowledge with significant impact on education, policy makers, creative media and the general public.

Summary of the impact

Using powertrain system models arising from QUB research Wrightbus Ltd developed an advanced eco-friendly hybrid diesel-electric bus which won the New Bus for London contract worth £230M supplying 600 buses to Transport for London (commencing August 2012).

Demonstrating highly significant economic and environmental impacts the bus has twice the fuel economy of a standard diesel and emits less than half the CO₂ and NO_x. The full fleet reduces annual CO₂ emissions in London by 230,000 tonnes, improving air quality and reducing greenhouse gases.

The company continues to develop the technology in new hybrid vehicles reaching worldwide, including USA, Hong Kong, Singapore and China.

Summary of the impact

The research:

• Has considerably enhanced understanding of the forces at play in a society coming out of conflict;
• Has especially enhanced understanding of the role that the media, both in their formal structures and in their more diverse forms, have played and can play in promoting reconciliation and understanding;
• Has devised means and strategies to include previously excluded communities in the process of reconciliation;
• Has helped communities deeply affected by the conflict to tell their own stories and to share their own experiences of trauma, loss and reconciliation through use of the media;
• Has had an impact on post-conflict research internationally and has influenced approaches in other conflict cultures.