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Bio Nano Consulting (http://www.bio-nano-consulting.com) was established as an operating business in 2007 through a joint venture between Imperial College London and UCL, whose formation was underpinned by research produced by Professor Tony Cass's group at Imperial. The company is the first consultancy in Europe to focus on the increasingly important intersection between bio- and nanotechnology, and it facilitates the development and commercialisation of new biomedical and nanotechnology-based techniques. Since its start-up, the company has attracted numerous clients across the aerospace and diagnostics sectors, including Lockheed-Martin and [text removed for publication]. The company's activities have generated £6M worth of revenue and it has a growing portfolio. The company, which is based in London, currently has 8 full time employees.
Wells' research on corporate liability led to direct changes to UK law in the Bribery Act 2010 and has begun to have significant impact internationally. UK law now complies with the 1997 OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. Significant changes were made after Parliamentary scrutiny of the draft Bill, as a result of Wells' intervention, which have a major effect on all corporations, including multinationals, demonstrating the international reach and significance of this law. Her work has had further international reach and significance on the development of the OECD's Anti-Corruption Initiative and on the International Bar Association's Task Force (IBAHRI) on Tax Havens, Poverty and Human Rights.
There has been growing public and political debate on modernising the monarchy since the early 1990s, seeking to ensure the law best serves and harmonises with UK society for symbolic as well as practical purposes. However constitutional law is a highly complex area. Initiatives to replace uncertain 'floating' election timing with fixed-term Parliaments would involve reform of the ancient royal prerogative to dissolve Parliament. To allow female succession, or permit the monarch to marry a Roman Catholic, would mean overturning common law doctrine and ancient statutes respectively. Professor Blackburn's research and interventions have directly informed two historic legislative changes: the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 and the Succession to the Crown Act 2013. His publications-leading academic works on the subject — were widely consulted by policymakers and cited in parliamentary documents. He also presented evidence to the constitutional reform committees of both Houses of Parliament.
Research at the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering (DoEng) has led to the creation of a method for measuring strain throughout a range of civil engineering structures using Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing (DFOS) and computing the stresses in these structures. This detailed information and associated insights have reduced reliance on conservative safety margins, while giving greater assurance of safety. The result has been significant reductions in construction materials and construction time. The work has generated direct savings of over GBP15M in three major infrastructure projects from 2011 to 2013 including Crossrail. It has had a wider influence across the whole industry by setting standards for geothermal piles in 2012, which were instrumental in the creation of this new industrial sector, and by changing attitudes in construction about the value of instrumentation and modelling.
The impact case study relates to two documentaries, ABC Colombia (2007) and Home Sweet Home (2012). Enrica Colusso's practice-as-research exposes, challenges and critiques social structures and institutions, relations of power, oppression and resistance affecting marginalised communities. Her work prioritises the experience of ordinary people living in difficult times. Through the process of filming, screening and broadcasting of her documentaries, this work has had a direct impact upon the communities she films, on the organizations that support them, and on the audiences that view them. This work has an international reach, and significant impact in the following areas:
Peter McCullough's research into the religious literature and history of Early Modern England led to his appointment in November 2010 as Lay Canon (with portfolio for history) of St Paul's Cathedral, London. Through his work as a member of the Cathedral Chapter, public lecturer, preacher, curator, and artistic advisor he has reanimated the cultural heritage of the church, bringing new understanding of it to large numbers of civic groups, church goers, and visitors — this at a period when the `Occupy London' protests brought St Paul's renewed attention as a place historically associated with intense debate about freedom of public speech.
Planning obligations are used by local government to capture some of the financial windfall that accrues to land owners and developers when planning permissions are granted. University of Sheffield research into the incidence of planning obligations, their financial value, and variations in related local policy and practice has made a significant contribution to national policy development. This includes the shaping of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and the improvement of obligations policy implementation throughout the UK. The three main impacts of the research have been: (i) to provide evidence that has resulted in a much larger proportion of sites now contributing to infrastructure provision than was initially intended in national policy; (ii) to provide evidence that influenced the decision to restructure affordable housing grants, resulting in better use of around £2.8bn per annum of public expenditure and a greater supply of new housing for lower income households than would otherwise have been possible; and (iii) to inform best practice within local authorities, enabling many of them to use obligations to capture increasingly large contributions to infrastructure provision.
This research underpins two key areas of public impact. The first relates to issues of human rights in Mexico and raising these same concerns at the House of Commons with government Ministers and Members of Parliament in order to change policies and perspective, and directly advising ministers who then raised the issue with their Mexican counterparts, to the benefit of victims of human rights abuses in Mexico. The most tangible outcome of Watt's contribution to the Mexican Human Rights campaign was the presentation of human rights violations before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica (IACoHR) in the case of The United Mexican States vs Radilla. The Court made an unprecedented ruling, ordering the Mexican state to pay reparations to victims of violations and to investigate past abuses. The second aspect of its impact relates to dissemination of the research to a global audience via mass media such as the BBC World Service, Al Jazeera and The Huffington Post, in order to change public perceptions of these pressing human rights issues.
We have developed the Bailey-Method, design software FIRESOFT and a web-based information source for designers to use to produce safe and economical buildings. In buildings that have used the Bailey-Method, approximately 40% of the fire protection cost has been saved. The overall saving is about £20m in the UK over the REF period. The Bailey-Method has been presented in 2500 design guides (books), distributed to companies across Europe by ArcelorMittal, and translated into 17 languages. FIRESOFT and the associated quality assurance document enable using unprotected concrete filled tubular columns and have the British Standard status of Non Contradictory Complementary Information.
Essential services such as energy and water supply have, over the past three decades, been privatised by the British government with some reported negative results. One problem which became severe after privatisation is how to combine competitive markets with access to essential services because consumers in vulnerable circumstances find it difficult to obtain the best deals and good service. This research has helped regulators, policy makers and the energy and telecommunications industries to improve their understanding of the needs of the consumers in vulnerable circumstances and to develop policies and practices which take into account the multiple dimensions of vulnerability.