Liverpool John Moores University Research Impact

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research impact at Liverpool John Moores University

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Research document

Transcript of Liverpool John Moores University Research Impact

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research impactat Liverpool John Moores University

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Impact on Policy and Practice

n Influencing criminal justice policyn Inclusive approaches to social exclusion n Mentoring in teacher education

Impact on the Environment

n Unique and Innovative approaches to corporate responsibilityn Advancing maritime technologyn One island, one global impact

Impact on Health

n Caring in the community: clinician use of remoteand mobile technologyn Multi-disciplinary approaches to harm-reductionn Tackling the negative health impacts of alcoholn Lifestyle behaviour change interventions thatimprove health outcomesn Impact beyond intent: 3-D imaging in radiotherapy

Impact on Culture and Through PublicEngagement

n Promoting science in societyn An observational impactn Freedom to writen Guaranteeing the future for creative communities

Impact on Business

n Sustainability in supply networksn A Co-operative approach to businessn The impact of the economic crisis and credit crunchon UK citiesn Banking on a fresh start

IntroductionResearch is defined asoriginal investigationundertaken in order togain knowledge andunderstanding. It includeswork of direct relevanceto the needs ofcommerce, industry, andto the public andvoluntary sectors; theinvention and generationof ideas, images,performances, artefacts,including design, wherethese lead to new orsubstantially improvedinsights; and the use ofexisting knowledge inexperimentaldevelopment to producenew or substantiallyimproved materials,devices, products andprocesses, includingdesign and construction.(Source RAE 01/2005)

For comment or contributions to futureeditions please contact the LJMUCorporate Communications Department

t: 0151 231 3369

e: [email protected]

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The impact of our researchProfessor Andrew Young, Director of Research, LJMU

Impact is right at the front of research, whether it concerns the Research ExcellenceFramework (REF 2014) or grant applications which now require ‘Pathways to Impact’statements. It is easy to appreciate how such emphasis has arisen and surprising to thinkthat impact has been pretty much ignored until recently. Its origins lie in the need to openlydemonstrate a return on investment of public funding for research that goes beyond ouracademic peers and benefits the wider community through a transfer of knowledge. Thisis not just economical impact, but also societal and cultural, additionally considering policyinfluence and the ability to inform debate.

As a truly engaged University, across the community, industry and business, we are wellplaced to demonstrate the wider value of our research activities. Whilst we performedextremely well in the REF impact pilot exercise we will not sit back. Impact is here for thelong haul and is something that we must consider before engaging in any research.

However, the word impact itself can be misleading and arguably more useful terms are‘benefit’ and ‘change’. So we must ask ‘who benefited?’ and ‘what changed?’

This publication serves to bring together some examples of this from across the University.

Measures of research

LJMU is one of the leading research-activecontemporary universities in the UK with the RAE2008results confirming World-leading and internationally-excellent research quality right across the Institution. We continue to be ranked 1st in the North West forgrowth of research expenditure in recent years. Ratesof growth of competitively won external grant incomeare more than twice that of research-intensiveUniversities in the region.

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Impact on Policy and Practice

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We were impressed by the high standards of the reportsproduced and George’s ability to write accessible research for apolicy and practice audience. His significant knowledge andexperience in criminal justice policy and practice resulted in aninformed analysis of the failings and achievements of a high-profilegovernment initiative. These reports attracted a great deal ofinterest and have become a respected source of information aboutthe reformed community sentences framework.

Richard Garside, Director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies”

Influencing criminal justice

Research by Professor of Criminal Justice George Mair has contributed significantly to thepublic policy debate around the use and effectiveness of non-custodial sentences.

It is possible to make a strong argument that themain penal policy issue since 1945 has been thedevelopment and use of non-custodial sentences.Professor Mair, from the LJMU School of Law, isacknowledged as an authoritative commentator oncommunity penalties, how they are used by thecourts and whether they are effective both in the UKand internationally. Selected examples of currentaffairs and media coverage in this area include BBCRadio 4 current affairs programme ‘The Report’ forits examination of whether community sentencesare a ‘soft’ option, and a debate in The Times withJohn Thornhill (Chair of the Magistrates’ Association)as to whether fines can replace communitysentences in 2009.

Professor Mair has been influential in a range ofcontexts. For example his research into fines andcautions fed directly into the 2004 independentInquiry into alternatives to prison chaired by LordCoulsfield. The report by the Commission of Inquirycontained a number of radical proposals to increasethe effectiveness of and confidence in alternatives to

custody, and recommended government legislationto re-introduce a unit fine system.

The Coulsfield report included a call for much greatercommunity involvement in community-basedsentences. The first community justice court in theUK, the North Liverpool Community Justice Centre,opened in 2005 and was the subject of anindependent evaluation by Professor Mair andcolleague, LJMU’s Dr Matthew Millings in 2011. Theoutcome report ‘Doing Justice Locally’ highlightedthe ways in which the Centre is working well, butalso provided fresh perspectives into ongoingdebates about the structure and organisation ofcontemporary criminal justice provision. The studyfeatured on BBC North West Tonight and ProfessorMair was interviewed for BBC Radio Merseyside.

Professor Mair’s research has also informedprofessional opinion and advocacy. His research intoprobation officer attitudes towards the OffenderAssessment System (OASys) was used by theNational Association of Probation Officers (NAPO) to

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help form its response to the introduction of theassessment tool. He was also invited by NAPO tocomment on Home Office plans to roll outaccredited programmes. More widely, and on aninternational level, Professor Mair accepted aninvitation to advise the Canadian government on itsplans for electronic monitoring in 2000, being theonly UK speaker in a national seminar on ‘ElectronicMonitoring in Canada’. In 2011 he delivered a shortcourse on current issues in community penalties atthe University of Porto for Portuguese probationofficers.

Between 2007 and 2009, Professor Mair wasinvolved in four high level, invitation-only seminarsorganised by the Centre for Crime and JusticeStudies (an independent public interest charity) todiscuss the results of three of his research reportson the use of the community order and suspendedsentence order. The seminars, chaired by thePresident of the Queen’s Bench and the Director ofthe National Probation Service, were attended byJudges, magistrates, Home Office officials andsenior members of the Probation Service. The first

publication in the series, co-authored by ProfessorMair and colleagues in the LJMU School of Law, wassubsequently used by the House of CommonsJustice Committee in its report ‘Towards EffectiveSentencing’ in July 2008. The third and final reporton the use of the community order and suspendedsentence order was discussed on the ‘Todayprogramme’ on BBC Radio 4 and in The Guardian;and was also discussed in the House of CommonsJustice Committee report ‘The Role of the ProbationService’, published in July 2011.

Additionally, Professor Mair provided comments forthe Evening Standard on the Green Paper ‘Breakingthe Cycle’, which were published in the paper inDecember 2010. He was interviewed on BBC RadioNewcastle in August 2011 about sentencingfollowing the riots, and featured on BBC Radio 4’s‘Profile’ in September 2011 commenting uponBernard Hogan-Howe’s appointment as Met PoliceCommissioner. His research was also noted in theHouse of Commons Justice Committee 2011 reporton ‘The Role of the Probation Service’.

Key references: Mair, G., Cross, N. and Taylor, S. (2007). The use and impact of the Community Order and the SuspendedSentence Order, London: Centre for Crime and Justice Studies http://www.crimeandjustice. org.uk/opus216/ impact-community-order-2007.pdf n Mair, G., Cross, N. and Taylor, S. (2008). The community order and the suspended sentence order: the views andattitudes of sentencers, London: Centre for Crime and Justice Studies http://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/opus677/ccjs_sentencers_views.pdf n Mair, G. and Mill, H. (2009). The Community Order and the Suspended Sentence order three yearson: The views and experiences of probation officers and offenders, London: Centre for Crime and Justice Studieshttp://www.crimeandjustice. org.uk/opus1292/Three_years_on.pdf n Mair, G. and Millings, M. (2011) Doing Justice Locally: theNorth Liverpool Community Justice Centre, London: Centre for Crime and Justice Studies http://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/opus1828/Doing_Justice_locally.pdf n www.ljmu.ac.uk/LAW

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Inclusive approaches to social exclusion

Research by members of the Centre for the Study of Crime, Criminalisation and SocialExclusion (CCSE) has led to enhanced collaboration between young people, the police andCouncillors on measures intended to counter anti-social behaviour.

Sections 30-36 of the Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003allow for the ‘Dispersal of groups and removal ofpersons under 16 to their place of residence (or to aplace of safety)’. The Act introduced powers todisperse groups in designated dispersal zones.Importantly, these groups can be dispersed if ‘anymembers of the public have been intimidated,harassed, alarmed or distressed as a result of thepresence or behaviour of groups of two or morepersons in public places’. In terms of practicalities,the focus is upon ‘presence’ rather than ‘behaviour’within a designated zone and failure to disperse canresult in arrest and summary charge. Additionally, anyyoung people under 16 years in a designated zonesubject to a 9pm to 6am curfew should besupervised if they are out during this period.

The exclusionary potential of Section 30 DispersalOrders, and the disproportionate impact of the orderson young people, has been the focus of a research

team involving Dr Janet Jamieson, Professor SteveTombs and Dr Joe Yates from the LJMU School ofHumanities and Social Sciences. Their recentresearch has sought to critically assess theimposition, implementation and impacts of the useof dispersal powers in Merseyside, in which youngpeople and key stakeholders (including the police, theyouth service and local residents) have beeninterviewed.

The research highlighted that young people feel thatthey are rarely consulted about the imposition ofSection 30 Dispersal Orders despite evidence thatthe powers impact significantly upon them. Indeed,lack of information and awareness is likely to havecontributed to the fact that the majority of the youngpeople participating in the research viewed dispersalpowers as unjust and unfair. Overall, the researchraised questions regarding the usefulness ofdispersal orders, and concerns that their use

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increases the risk of further alienating young people,who already constitute a marginalised and excludedgroup within British society.

To address some of the issues drawn out during theresearch process, the research group planned andhosted a ‘Dispersed’ Young People’s Conference todisseminate the findings of their research, but alsoto provide a forum in which young people couldspeak about their experiences of dispersal orders.The event itself was the outcome of a partnershipwith Liverpool Integrated Play and Youth Service, theLiverpool Schools’ Parliament and Sefton Voices.Young people attending the conference were able todirect questions to Councillors, including a panel ofsenior figures from the community safety field.

“The Section 30 Conference was a very informativeday. It is not very often that young people areincluded in a research scheme…This will continue tobenefit all young people in Liverpool.” Nikki Beattieof the Liverpool Schools' Parliament

“The conference was a great success and allowedyoung people to challenge Councillors and staff in aperceptive and thought provoking way. We were alsoable to explain the processes and procedures thattake place when an order is requested so that they

could understand what happens in situations likethese and why.”Councillor Ann O’Byrne, LiverpoolCity Council

As a direct result of the conference and researchevidence from the LJMU researchers, Liverpool CityCouncil Community Safety Select Committee furtherdebated the use and impact of Section 30 DispersalOrders but specifically invited young people to attendand direct questions to leading policy makers. TheCouncil then established a Task and Finish Groupwith Liverpool Schools’ Parliament and the YouthCouncil to ensure that all Section 30 Dispersal Ordersin Liverpool now incorporate consultation with youngpeople. The National Standing Committee for YouthJustice has also used the research to inform theirpolicy-lobbying on matters relating to children andanti-social behaviour.

The research has generated related projects withinthe CCSE, while more dissemination events areplanned to increase the reach of the researchfindings. This includes the hosting of additionalconferences bringing policy makers, practitioners andyoung people together, and to develop a knowledgeexchange website with the Children’s Rights Allianceof England, the National Youth Association and theNational Standing Committee for Youth Justice.

It is not very often that young peopleare included in a research scheme…This will continue to benefit all youngpeople in Liverpool ”

Key references: Evans, R., Jamieson, J., O’Brien, D. and Yates, J. (2010) Section 30 Dispersal Powers: Emerging Findings froma Northern City, ECAN Bulletin, Issue 2, http://www.howardleague.org/ecan/ n www.ljmu.ac.uk/HSS/CCSEResearchCentre.htm

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Mentoring in teacher education

Mentoring is recognised as a critical issue in the education of teachers. An ongoingprogramme of research involving members of the Centre for Educational Research andEvaluation Services (CERES) has not only influenced mentoring practice, but enhancedrecognition of the professional learning and development opportunities afforded to this role.

Research exploring mentoring at various stages of theteacher education continuum is a key theme withinCERES. This work is highly collaborative andinvestigates mentoring in the context of initial teachereducation, induction (of newly qualified teachers), andcontinuing professional learning and development. Thebody of work has had a wide-ranging and positiveimpact regionally, nationally and internationally. It has:

n advanced the academic knowledge-base relatingto mentoring theory and practice

n informed and underpinned programmes ofprofessional training and development in teachereducation

n enabled the development of materials for use byHigher Education institutions, government agenciesand schools in the delivery of professional learningand development

Professor Marion Jones from LJMU’s Faculty ofEducation, Community and Leisure has been heavilyinvolved in driving the research over a period of more

than ten years. Professor Jones has coordinated aseries of externally-funded inter-related studies, eachsubsequently addressing issues that emerged fromthe former.

Cross-cultural research explored the perceptions ofmentors and trainee teachers in England andGermany, and further work investigated theexperiences of newly qualified teachers during theiryear of induction. In particular, tension inherent inthe induction tutor’s role as both a mentor andgatekeeper was highlighted as a major issue.Questions were also raised about the professionalknowledge base of mentors’ practice and whatinformed it. As a consequence the TeacherDevelopment Agency (TDA) funded a study toexplore this latter issue. This revealed that in workingwith pre-service and newly qualified teachers, themajority of mentors drew extensively on theirprofessional experience as classroom practitionersteaching children and young people, paying lessattention to principles involved in mentoring adultlearners in a professional practice context.

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Concerns regarding the needs of the mentorsthemselves, and how these could be adequatelyaddressed through relevant and high quality trainingand development, formed a key component of anEU-funded Comenius 2.1 project. A significantoutcome of this work was the development of a five-day intensive training course in mentoring for thosesupporting novice teachers in Europe.

From these collective studies emerged evidence thatthe process of mentoring resulted in reciprocallearning benefits for both mentors and mentees withpotential impact on the wider community of practice.Furthermore, subsequent research has helped tohighlight that working with trainee and newlyqualified teachers affords mentors with opportunitiesfor professional learning and development.

While the initial focus of the research on mentoringwas firmly located within initial teacher education andinduction, it has gradually expanded into relatedareas along the teacher education continuum. Theresearch has led to the production and application ofresources that have influenced teacher educationpolicy and practice in the following ways:

n LJMU delivers a regional ‘Mentor Training andDevelopment Programme’ across clusters of over

500 primary and secondary partnership schools

n development of the LJMU recognition frameworkfor mentoring and coaching, by the Head ofProfessional Learning, Nicola Hepworth from theFaculty of ECL. The Framework has been adopted bythe employment based initial teacher training routeTeach First nationally with endorsement from theTDA

n the research and materials derived from theresearch informed training and developmentprogrammes for mentoring at national andinternational level including the delivery of a five dayintensive course in Budapest (November 2008)attended by 33 mentors and teachers from tenEuropean member states aspiring to becomementors

“It has helped me to articulate what the goals ofmentoring are, and has empowered me to setpersonal targets on what aspects of my provisioncould be improved. For example, the framework hasreasserted the importance of theory underpinningmentoring, and I am determined to keep moreabreast of pedagogic developments next year tobecome a more effective mentor.” Teach First SubjectMentor

It has helped me to articulate what thegoals of mentoring are, and has empoweredme to set personal targets on what aspects ofmy provision could be improved.

Teach First Subject Mentor”“

Selected peer reviewed publications: Jones, M. (2009). ‘Induction mentors’ needs - a needs analysis approach: the Englishperspective and a comparison of findings from twelve European countries’, Research in Comparative and International Education,4(1), 4-21 n Jones, M. & Straker, K. (2006) What informs mentors’ practice when working with trainees and newly qualifiedteachers? An investigation into mentors’ professional knowledge base, Journal of Education for Teaching, 32(2), pp. 165-184doi:10.1080/02607470600655227 n Hurd, S., Jones, M., McNamara, O. and Craig, B. (2007). ‘Initial Teacher Education as a driverfor professional learning and school improvement in the primary phase’, Curriculum Journal, 18(3), 307-326 n www.ljmu.ac.uk/ECL

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Impact on the Environment

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Unique and innovative approaches tocorporate responsibility

Collaboration between United Utilities Plc and researchers from the Built Environment andSustainable Technologies (BEST) Research Institute is making a real difference to thecompany’s customers, environment, society, the development of its workforce and infinding solutions to complex water treatment and conservation issues.

Water management and conservation is a keyresearch theme within the BEST Research Institute.Collaboration with United Utilities Plc has developedover a number of years with many examples ofimpact that have arisen directly as a consequence ofjoint initiatives. BEST Professors Rafid Alkhaddar andAhmed Al-Shamma’a have been instrumental incementing the University’s relationship with UnitedUtilities.

Research into water-saving in power showers is ofparticular significance. United Utilities wanted todevelop an environmentally friendly alternative tohigh-water, high-power using ‘power showers’. Theyasked LJMU researchers to examine public attitudeand perceptions to water use and saving, combinedwith a technological study of shower performancecharacteristics and a home trial on acceptability ofwater saving devices. The research utilised expertisefrom the Liverpool Business School, the School ofPharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences as well as theSchool of Built Environment. This interdisciplinaryapproach successfully determined that showerscould be improved to run more efficiently to savewater but still give excellent customer satisfaction bychoosing an appropriate shower head to give areduced amount of water flow. This was followed byfurther testing of shower heads with a privatedeveloper which was even featured in the BBCprogramme ‘The Apprentice’ during 2010.

United Utilities estimated that overall, 1.6 mega litresof water a year will be saved by the new low-flowshowerheads installed as part of the study. Inaddition 18.9 tonnes of CO2 emissions can beavoided, and 96,222 kWh of energy can be saved.Importantly, it has also allowed metered customersto reduce their water bills by an average of £33 ayear.

Richard Critchley, United Utilities’ Water ResourcesPlanning Manager, said: “LJMU was chosen as theacademic partner for this piece of research becausewe were impressed by the fact that they were ableto set up a single team that comprised of expertisefrom a number of different disciplines.”

In addition to showing clear high water and energy

savings, the research results also informed both localand national strategies and influenced internationaldevelopments in water saving and it formed part ofthe Market Transformation Programme by theDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.The Programme produces Government StandardBriefing Notes, which contain relevant informationfrom the evidence base and details all references andassumptions behind the figures. These BriefingNotes are public consultation documents that allowstakeholders to examine the data and assumptionsbehind the proposed Government Standards andrelated projections. The success of this project hasalso led the BEST Research Institute to file a patenton the above research and development combinedwith the advance use of microwave technologies asa new and unique solution to the heating source fordomestic showers.

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n LJMU researchers have since tested a number of shower heads for water efficiency as part of United Utilities’ policy to provide metered customers with an aerated shower head. They hope that the results will help to form part of United Utilities’ intention to reduce the daily water consumption by the north west of England population from 140 litres/head/day to 120litres/head/day

n United Utilities Wastewater Innovation Team andBEST Research Institute academics supported asuccessfully completed three-year KnowledgeTransfer Project (KTP) investigating biologicalphosphorous removal from wastewater. One of themain advantages of this project was the recycling ofsludge produced at the plant and used as feed for thephosphorous accumulating bacteria. The KTPProgramme has gained national recognition, by beingselected as one of only seven organisations tofeature in KTPs Business Profile Inserts ShowcasingFlagship KTPs, launched in 2010. Research intobiological removal of Phosphorous from wastewatercontinues, partly funded by United Utilities.

n over 300 United Utilities staff have gone throughformal training at LJMU gaining postgraduate

qualifications as part of the company’s investmentand commitment to skills development

n BEST staff have contributed to United Utilities’sustainability agenda and 25-year business plan(2010-2035) to reduce the carbon footprint of theprocesses used in wastewater treatment, and alsoto implement the use of cleaner technologies toreduce chemical use

n this partnership has led to success in otherprojects supported by national and internationalfunding bodies including TSB, Carbon Trust, DEFRA,MoD, the EU and the US. The work involved researchand development of energy from waste programs,and unique advance sensors for the industry with theinvolvement of many research institutes, SMEs andlarge companies from the UK, EU, Japan and US.Total fund awarded so far is over £4 million. Thesuccess of these projects has also led to thepublications of five patents, three spin off companiesand helped one of the UK SME to raise a £15 millionfund from Venture Capitalists to undertake thedevelopment of large scale industrial plants for wasteprocessing

www.ljmu.ac.uk/blt/best/

…we are pleased that the work we have carried outin partnership with Liverpool John Moores University hashighlighted so effectively just how much water and energyour customers can save.

Ben Nadel, United Utilities' Water Resources Strategy Manager”“

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Advancing maritime technology

The Liverpool Logistics, Offshore and Marine Research Institute (LOOM) has developed asystematic risk and security-based decision support methodology for large maritimesystems with a variety of novel risk analysis and decision making models.

Maritime security is becoming a paramount researchissue, therefore risk and security-based decisionmaking is vital for an organisation to remaincompetitive in its business. Research at LJMU hasled to modelling advances in maritime technologywith particular reference to the operations of largemaritime systems such as ocean-going ships, fireand rescue services, port terminals and offshoresystems.

LOOM researchers (Professor Jin Wang, Dr AlanWall, Dr Zaili Yang, Dr Jun Ren and Professor IanJenkinson) have in particular focused activities onmaintenance planning, evacuation planning,operational strategy planning and risk controlmeasure selection by applying flexible and noveltechniques. The validation and implementation ofsuch applications has led to the identification of theneed to handle a variety of data of both a quantitativeand qualitative nature in a way that needs to betransparent, systematic, consistent and reliable.

Models have been developed to support risk/securitymodelling and decision making under uncertainty:

n innovative risk and security assessment anddecision making models have been applied tosupport the analysis of a wide range of problemsassociated with large maritime systems

n a risk-based decision model incorporating theDelay Time Concept was applied to the optimalinspection planning of fishing vessel operations

n an innovative fuzzy Bayesian approach formodelling accident scenarios of maritime systemshas been developed; a fuzzy rule-based approach forport security assessment; a fuzzy evidentialreasoning methodology for knowledge modellingbased on both numerical data and human knowledgein liner shipping operations and container supplychain management and a multiple criteria decisionframework for vessel selection

At the managerial level, the developed models havebeen applied to support security planning of portterminals, piracy/terrorist related risk evaluation, shipselection decision making for charterers and safetymanagement. At a strategic level, the developedmodels have been applied to evaluate maritime

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safety regulations, to facilitate ship accident investigations, to analysehuman and organisational factors and to enhance risk-based containersupply chain management. This research has received considerableattention and recognition in the international risk and security society.In 2008, a prestigious Institute of Marine Engineering, Science andTechnology Denny Medal was awarded for LOOM’s work ‘Facilitatingthe Treatment of Uncertainty in Marine Formal Safety Assessment’published in the Journal of Marine Design and Operations.

Complementary to model development, LOOM academics have beenworking with Risktec Solutions Limited on the completion of aKnowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) that has created a new businessdelivering a comprehensive programme of safety and riskmanagement training courses, to clients in high risk industries. Thenew training business has enabled Risktec to increase their marketshare and to operate their overall company with a much strongercapacity. The KTP was awarded the highest grade of ‘Outstanding’ in2010 and was selected as the Best Knowledge Transfer Partnership(KTP) in the North West for the KTP Regional Partnership Awards 2011.

Job creation is an intended outcome from LOOM’s involvement ininternational collaborations as part of EU funded research projects: 50new jobs are expected to be created through 'Intelligent Transportationfor Dynamic Environment' (InTraDE, 2010-2014; involving six industrialand academic partners from France, Belgium, the UK and Ireland; totalfunding €3.5 million); and a further 50 jobs created through‘Strengthening the Development of Sustainable Connectivity in NorthWest Europe for Freight and Logistics with the Support of ICTInnovative Solutions’ (WEASTFLOWS, 2011-2015), involving 22 partners; total funding €4.5 million). The total job enhancement inNorth West Europe global scale is estimated to a minimum of 300,000jobs.

www.ljmu.ac.uk/eng/researchgroups/morg

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One island, one global impact

Dr David Wilkinson is pioneering the potential role of man-made vegetation in combatingglobal warming by attempting to influence policy and informing discussions on novel waysto address global warming.

In 2004, Dr Wilkinson, a Reader in EnvironmentalScience at the School of Natural Sciences andPsychology, published a research paper in the Journalof Biogeography describing the tropical cloud foreston Green Mountain, Ascension Island in the SouthAtlantic. He argued that it had much to teach us,both about the theory of how tropical forests developover time, but also the potential role of man-madevegetation in combating global warming. At the timethe article attracted considerable media interest,being featured in the New Scientist andsubsequently in other newspapers and radioprogrammes. However, with increasing concern overthe human impact on our planet in the last few yearsits influence has been growing.

Arguably, Dr Wilkinson’s work and ideas have beenkey in drawing the attention of academic ecologiststo the global importance of man-made vegetation - agrowing area of research now often described under

the title of ‘novel ecosystems’. Yet the influence ofDr Wilkinson’s ideas has been much wider than itseffect within the academic community, influencingpolicy and informing discussions of potentialresponses to human cause climate change anddeforestation in the wider media.

Dr Wilkinson’s ideas are now seen by the FREdomeVisionary Trust as a key example in their proposals totake carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere bygrowing new forests in desert areas. As a directresult of this, Dr Wilkinson was invited to a meetingof the All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Groupat Westminster in November 2010 to comment onthe relevance of his Ascension Island research tothese ideas. Dr Wilkinson suggested that AscensionIsland demonstrates this approach in the situationwhere clouds from the ocean can potentially providea supply of water. As he explained at the meeting inWestminster:

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“New forests can develop surprisingly quickly andwe must start to seriously think about using largescale modifications to vegetation on land as a way ofreducing global warming. While many of these ideasseem rather drastic we need to think through boththe science and politics of them now, so we areready in case a changing climate demands rapidaction in the near future”.

By invitation, Dr Wilkinson is now a member of thescientific and technical advisory committee for theFREdome Visionary Trusts carbon cycling project andalso recently lectured on his ideas on global ecologyat the prestigious Max Plank Institute forBiogeochemistry in Germany. David also sits on theboard of directors of the Gaia Charity founded byJames Lovelock; one of the charity’s activities is themanagement of a nature reserve in Devon where old

agricultural land has been converted to woodland - anexample of how land use change can contribute toremoving carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

During the summer of 2011, Dr Wilkinson’sinvolvement with the FREdome Visionary Trust led toLJMU being the coordinating Institution for a €1million grant application to the EU (coordinated byDr Colm Bowe at LJMU. Dr Bowe’s own researchidentifies suitable areas for the production offorrestry species. Dr Wilkinson provided scientificinput to the application for a project to supportcountries affected by drought and famine by raisingawareness of how desert coastal soil can betransformed into a viable and sustainable habitat fortrees and other plants.

www.ljmu.ac.uk/nsp

New forests can develop surprisingly quicklyand we must start to seriously think about usinglarge scale modifications to vegetation on land asa way of reducing global warming.”“

Media coverage: ‘The accidental rainforest’. New Scientist No. 2465, 18 September 2004, pp 44-45 n ‘Man-made rainforestbaffles scientists’. The Independent, 16 September 2004, p14 n ‘Charles Darwin’s ecological experiment on Ascension’. BBCNews website, 1 September 2010 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11137903) n ‘David Wilkinson: Anenvironmental scientist who is not afraid to look into the future’. Ode Magazine, January/February 2010 n ‘Ascension Island:Another Green World’. The Economist, 16 December 2010

Key references:Wilkinson, D. (2006) Fundamental Process in ecology: an Earth Systems approach Oxford University Press.This book was awarded the British Ecological Societies book prize in 2007 n Wilkinson, D.M. (2004). ‘The parable of GreenMountain: Ascension Island, ecosystem construction and ecological fitting’, Journal of Biogeography, 31, 1-4

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Impact on Health

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Caring in the community: clinicianuse of remote and mobile technology

Researchers from the Centre for Health and Social Care Informatics (CHaSCI) have shownthat through the introduction of mobile working for clinical staff, an NHS trust inMerseyside is making a positive impact on patient care, reducing its costs and increasingstaff efficiency.

CHaSCI brings together knowledge, skills, experienceand expertise from the Faculty of Health and AppliedSocial Sciences, the Faculty of Technology andEnvironment, and the Faculty of Science. Its staff leadthe development of informatics research on keypriorities identified by health service organisations,including primary care trusts, social services and otherassociated non-NHS health and social care providers.

NHS trusts are seeking to introduce innovative ways inwhich health services are delivered, including movingservices closer to patients in the community. Makinggreater use of emerging technologies is one way inwhich trusts can seek to enable such changes, andMersey Care NHS Trust and North Mersey HealthInformatics Services were keen to understand theimplications of introducing remote mobile working forcommunity-based clinicians prior to rolling out thetechnology across the entire Trust.

Dr Farath Arshad and Dr Paul Fergus from CHaSCIperformed an independent evaluation that focussed onpractitioners from the Trust’s Learning DisabilitiesDirectorate who were using a new mobile technologyequipment pack during the course of their working daywhilst visiting patients in their homes. Their studyprimarily sought to determine the effectiveness of thetechnology and its acceptability to staff.

The study findings demonstrated that cliniciansbelieved that the mobile technology allowed them towork (remotely) with greater flexibility and efficiency.Through improved access to email, internetresources and documents on shared drives,clinicians reported more effective provision ofinformation directly to patients. Overall, the mobiletechnology was reported to have had a positive effecton work processes leading to enhanced benefits topatients and cost savings (through ‘Payment byResults’ and reduced travel costs).

One of the main outcomes from the study was thatMersey Care reviewed their estates strategy, in orderto move clinicians from fixed physical infrastructuresinto those that are more flexible. The Trust and NorthMersey Health Informatics Services subsequentlyintroduced greater use of information technology, withimproved functionality for practitioners working in thecommunity, and implementing flexible working for awider set of clinicians. The collaboration between anNHS Informatics service and a university informaticscentre therefore fostered developments supportingeveryday business process, while linking in blue-skiesresearch, prototyping and evaluation skills from LJMU.

Collaboration on the remote mobile project has led to aMemorandum of Understanding between NorthMersey Health Informatics Services and CHaSCI whichwill see new projects in the areas of telehealth, webtechnology, developing local functionality for maps ofmedicine and developing bespoke health informaticsshort courses for health professionals.

“The approach to health and social care is rightlybecoming more collaborative, and traditional publicsector organisational boundaries are being crossed inthe interests of patient/service user wellbeing. Inpartnership with LJMU we have a real opportunity toprogress in terms of research, development, qualityassurance and other key areas.” Mark Bostock, DirectorNorth Mersey Health Informatics Services

Key references: Arshad, F., Fergus, P. and Appleton, S. (2009). Evaluating remote mobile technology. HiNOW 4 (2), 16-18 http://www.bcs.org/upload/pdf/hinow-winter09.pdf n www.ljmu.ac.uk/chasci/ n Farath Arshad and Lynda Brook (2010).Computer Games Applications for Children in Palliative Care. Health Services Journal. September 2010. http://www.hsj.co.uk nArshad, P. Fergus and S. Appleton (2010). ‘Evaluating Remote Mobile Technology in a Clinical Environment. International Conferenceon Developments in eSystems Engineering’. 6th-8th September. London. IEEE Computer Society n Farath Arshad (2009) HealthInformatics Research. The Newsletter of the Association for Informatics Professionals in Heath and Social Care. April 2009. Ed. JonLeach. ASSIST News and Views. P6-7 n Farath Arshad, Wallymahmed, Sanjay Dabhi (2009). Diabetes Online - Patient Management(DO-PM). International Conference on Developments in eSystems Engineering. 14th-16th December. Abu Dhabi, UAE. IEEEComputer Society n F. Arshad and B. Thompson (2007). ‘IT for health: are Midwives Connecting for Health – a look back’. Journal ofRoyal College of Midwives. RCM Vol 11, No1. December 2007 p525-527

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The emergence of manufactured and syntheticpsychoactive substances known as ‘legal highs’present multiple challenges, not least the speed atwhich new substances come on to the market andtheir wide availability. Inevitably, the effects andcomposition of these substances will initially beunknown, but LJMU staff in conjunction with a widernetwork of experts, are helping to provide importanthealth and clinical information that allows for theformulation of a more accurate policy and timely healthresponse to these drugs.

Identifying the properties of psychoactive compoundsand legal highs is a speciality of Dr Simon Brandt inthe School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences.Dr Brandt’s work includes impurity profiling andmedicinal chemistry investigations to characterise andidentify psycho- and neuroactive drugs and as such,his work assists law enforcement personnel whomonitor the circulation and distribution of substances.

Immediately following the government’s ban on thelegal high mephedrone and related compounds(cathinones) in March 2010, Dr Brandt and Dr HarrySumnall from LJMU’s Centre for Public Healthcollaborated to investigate new alternative (legal)products, and in particular those marketed as NRG-1.Individuals buying NRG-1 over the internet wouldbelieve it to contain naphyrone, however analysis ofnew legal high products showed that not only did thecomposition of the products vary dramatically, but thatthey did not in the main, reflect the product description(many were in fact banned cathinones). Therefore,those people purchasing ‘legal’ highs could actuallybe inadvertently buying illegal substances. Thesefindings formed the basis of a letter published in theBritish Medical Journal in July 2010. Its impact wasimmediate, with it being a key reference in theAdvisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD)report to the Home Secretary recommending thatnaphyrone and related compounds be brought undercontrol of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Class B)and a UK import ban applied.

“Test purchasing has demonstrated that what youthink you are buying is often not what is in thepacket. The harms and effects of your purchase maybe different and/or greater than you expect”Professor Les Iverson, Home Office Advisory Councilon the Misuse of Drugs

ACMD is an independent expert body that advisesgovernment on drug-related issues in the UK. DrHarry Sumnall has been appointed to the ACMD for athree-year term from January 2011, and Dr Brandt hascontributed to the ACMD 'New PsychoactiveSubstances' Working Group. Just as ACMDmembership reflects expertise from a range ofdisciplines and agencies (e.g. law enforcement,Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory ProductsAgency), Dr Brandt and Dr Sumnall maintaincollaborations across psychopharmacology, psychiatry,forensic sciences, criminology and public health sothat emergent trends in drug use and theirimplications on drug policy can be identified.

Multi-disciplinary approaches toharm-reduction

Experts from the Centre for Public Health and the School of Pharmacy and BiomolecularSciences have joined forces to influence government policy and inform health professionalsof the availability and dangers of psychoactive recreational drugs.

Key references: Brandt, S.D., Sumnall, H.R.. Measham, F. and Cole, J. (2010). ‘The confusing case of NRG-1’, British MedicalJournal. 341:c3564 n De Paoli, G., Brandt, S.D. and Pounder, D.J. (2011). Mephedrone. ‘Banned but still available on theinternet’, British Medical Journal. 342:d1629 n www.ljmu.ac.uk/pbs/ www.cph.org.uk/

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Tackling the negative impacts of alcohol

Research by the Centre for Public Health is at the forefront of influencing health servicedesign and delivery, assisting with the development of multi-agency strategies to addressalcohol-related harms. The Centre currently forms the basis of government policy andguidance produced both nationally and internationally.

In the last ten years, alcohol has become anincreasingly important policy issue in England,requiring multi-agency action to tackle the health,social and community safety issues that can beassociated with alcohol consumption. However, theintelligence required to underpin action to addressalcohol-related harms has not always been available.In 2003, LJMU’s Centre for Public Health (CPH), andthe North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO),instigated work to address the gap in knowledge byproducing local indicators of alcohol-related harm.They researched drinking behaviours both in thegeneral population and in more vulnerable groups,and promoted evidence-based prevention activity.

Poor health relating to alcohol consumption is stronglyrelated to deprivation and in 2006 the Centredeveloped a set of indicators of alcohol-related harmthat could be used in each local authority in the northwest of England to understand their individualsituation and develop appropriate interventions totackle alcohol-related problems (Regional AlcoholIndicators for the North West of England, 2006). TheDepartment of Health subsequently adopted theprovision of such health intelligence for the entirecountry, and the Centre, through the NWPHO nowprovides 26 national measures on an annual basis tohelp prioritise and target local areas of concern. Thisalso provides a baseline for monitoring progress inreducing alcohol-related harm as part of the LocalAlcohol Profiles for England, known as LAPE. Data isavailable for 326 local authorities and 151 primary caretrusts on topics such as alcohol consumption, alcohol-related crime, hospital admission and mortality.

These indicators have now formed the basis of theUK Government’s response to alcohol harm,informing the National Audit Office’s ‘Value forMoney’ report and being included in the nationalframework set out by ‘Safe, Sensible, Social: NextSteps in the National Alcohol Strategy’. The mostrecent commissioning guidance, ‘Signs forImprovement: commissioning interventions to reducealcohol-related harm’, released by the Department ofHealth, states:“Directors of Public Health are encouraged to usethe National Data Set from NWPHO”

The Centre for Public Health research group alsocontributed to the development of guidance issuedby the former Chief Medical Officer (CMO) forEngland in December 2009 on the consumption ofalcohol by children and young people. The CMO is themost senior advisor on health issues to thegovernment and the guidance issued by the CMO isinfluential in terms of both national and local publichealth policy. The guidance was produced in responseto growing concerns about the increasing number ofyoung people consuming alcohol and the high levelof alcohol-related harms. Professor Mark Bellis’research specifically highlighted the strong linksbetween alcohol consumption and negativeoutcomes, including regretted sex, teenagepregnancy and being involved with violence.

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“The work to support us in producing this report hasbeen carried out by Professor Mark Bellis and his teamat the Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John MooresUniversity. I am deeply grateful to them for theirexcellent contribution.” Sir Liam Donaldson, the thenChief Medical Officer for England, December 2009

The Centre is building on this national reputation forexcellence in alcohol related research and analysis bycontributing to the development of a new nationalstrategy through the appointment of Professor Bellisto the Chair of the government sponsoredResponsibility Deal network for alcohol.

In addition to this strong national profile, the Centre

is working at an International level with the WorldHealth Organization (WHO) to tackle alcohol-relatedviolence, and has been designated a WHOCollaborating Centre for Violence Prevention. Thiscollaborative work includes a number of joint WHOand Centre for Public Health publications such as‘Preventing violence by reducing the availability and harmful use of alcohol’ and ‘Youth, violencealcohol and nightlife’, online at www.who.int/violenceprevention/publications.

The Centre for Public Health www.cph.org.uk North West Public Health Observatorywww.nwpho.org.uk LAPE www.lape.org.uk

The work to support us in producing thisreport has been carried out by Professor MarkBellis and his team at the Centre for Public Health,Liverpool John Moores University. I am deeplygrateful to them for their excellent contribution.

Sir Liam Donaldson, the then Chief Medical Officer for England, December 2009”

Selected peer reviewed publications: Hughes K, Quigg Z, Eckley L, Bellis MA, Jones, Calafat A, Kosir M and Van HasseltN. (2011). ‘Environmental factors in drinking venues and alcohol-related harm: the evidence base for European intervention’.Addiction, 106 (supplement 1), 37-46 n Bellis MA, Morleo M, Hughes K, Downing J, Wood S, Smallthwaite L and Cook PA(2010). ‘A cross-sectional survey of compliance with national guidance for alcohol consumption by children: measuring riskfactors, protective factors and social norms for excessive and unsupervised drinking’. BMC Public Health. 10: 547. n Bellis MA,Phillips-Howard PA, Hughes K, Hughes S, Cook PA, Morleo M, Hannon K, Smallthwaite L and Jones L (2009). ‘Teenage drinking,alcohol availability and pricing: a cross-sectional study of risk and protective factors for alcohol-related harms in school children’.BMC Public Health 9:380. n Bellis MA, Hughes K, Morleo M, Tocque K, Hughes S, Allen T, Harrison D and Fe-Rodriguez E(2007). ‘Predictors of risky alcohol consumption in schoolchildren and their implications for preventing alcohol-related harm’.Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy 2:15. n Bellis MA, Hughes K, Hughes S and Anderson Z. (2009) ‘ViolencePrevention: the evidence’. World Health Organization and Liverpool John Moores University

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Lifestyle behaviour changeinterventions that improve healthoutcomes

Physical activity and health in the real world is the approach taken by a group of researchersin the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences (RISES). Their work with familiesand young children has received external recognition for excellence and features in highprofile media

With levels of childhood obesity remaining a concernand knowledge that cardiovascular fitness isdeclining in children, evidence that weightmanagement interventions are effective and make adifference is crucial to the health of futuregenerations. The Physical Activity, Exercise andHealth (PAEH) research group has been a key partnerin the development of a community lifestyle changeintervention for obese children and their families:GOALS (Getting Our Active Lifestyles Started). Forthe past five years GOALS has been piloted acrossLiverpool with LJMU researchers working alongsideproject partners Liverpool Primary Care Trust,Liverpool City Council, the University of Salford andAlder Hey Children’s Foundation Trust.

GOALS is distinctive in that researchers supportwhole families to make sustainable changes to theireating and physical activity habits over the period oftime that they engage with the programme (betweenfive and seven months). Following a social cognitiveapproach, the objective is to enable children tobecome less overweight, and the GOALS team haveevidence that the intervention does indeed make adifference in terms of weight reduction and bodymass index, but also on psychosocial wellbeing andfamily relationships.

Such is the need for and confidence in the GOALSprogramme, that the intervention has been pilotedas a model of best practice outside of Liverpool inSandwell and Bentley (West Midlands) and Blackburnwith Darwen (Lancashire). In addition, GOALS ishighlighted as an example of validated local practiceby the Centre for Excellence and Outcomes inChildren and Young People's Services (C4EO). ThisCentre shares evidence of excellence in local practicein conjunction with national research and data about‘what works’, with those who work with and forchildren and young people, including all localauthorities across England.

A particular distinguishing feature of the GOALSprogramme is that it draws upon knowledge andexpertise from other RISES projects, including‘SportsLinx’ (one of the largest health and fitnessprogrammes in Europe) which has successfullytranslated and disseminated findings to influencepolicy and practice in community settings. Forexample, SportsLinx research into children’s physicalactivity led to the international re-design ofplaygrounds to promote increased exercise levels.

In 2011, SportsLinx was awarded the major share(70%) of the international Louis BoundelleFoundation Award, from the European ChildhoodObesity Group. The award is internationallyrecognised as being one of the most prestigious ofits kind and reflects the history of SportsLinx and thelink between the scientific evidence produced by theUniversity, the co-planning of nutrition and sport andphysical activity and the quality and creative deliveryby the local authority.

RISES researchers have drawn on what they havelearned through the SportsLinx and GOALS researchto provide educational messages through the media.A notable example of this is Channel 4’s ‘GenerationXXL’ in which Paula Watson and other members of theresearch team appeared (January 2010). This long-termobservational documentary follows seven obesechildren for a decade, revisiting them every two yearsto discover what it's like to grow up as an obese childin Britain today. The seven children visited LJMU foranatomical, fitness and psychological assessments.

Additionally, a group of families attending GOALSappeared on a special edition of Panorama ‘SpoiltRotten?’, 13 April 2010), documenting preventableillnesses in children. The programme showed thesupport GOALS provides for children who are obeseand their families in making positive, healthy changesto their lifestyles.

Key references: An interview with Paula Watson and further information is available at: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/generation-xxl n Watson, P.M., Dugdill, L., Pickering, K., Bostock, S., Hargreaves, J., Staniford, L. and Cable, N.T.(2011). ‘A whole family approach to childhood obesity management (GOALS): relationship between adult and child BMI change’,Annals of Human Biology, 38(4), 445-452 n Stratton, G.S. and P.M. Watson (2009). ‘Young people and physical activity’, In: L.Dugdill, D., Crone, and R. Murphy (eds) ‘Physical Activity and Health Promotion: Evidence-based Approaches to Practice’, Oxford,Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 150-169 n Stratton G, Canoy D, Boddy LM, Taylor SR, Hackett AF, Buchan IE. ‘Cardiorespiratory fitnessand body mass index of 9-11-year-old English children: a serial cross-sectional study from 1998 to 2004’, Int J Obes (Lond).2007Jul;31(7):1172-8 n www.ljmu.ac.uk/sps/

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Impact beyond intent: 3D imaging inradiotherapy

What started as a narrowly defined project in radiotherapy technology by researcherswithin the General Engineering Research Institute (GERI), has gone on to impactneurological research, satellite-based geo-surveying, security and surveillance, imageanalysis and even art conservation

Collaboration between LJMU’s General EngineeringResearch Institute (GERI) and The Christie NHSFoundation Trust has developed the fastest, mostaccurate and most robust in-treatment imaging systemof its type available in the world for the delivery of highlytargeted radiation therapy. It encompasses a numberof world firsts:

n it is the first, intelligent, adaptive 3D measurementsystem

n it is the first multi-sensor, expandable, networked,3D sensor system

n with a measurement speed of over 50 millionthree-dimensional measurements per second it is thefastest 3D system in the world today

n it is the first to have in-built measurement validationwhich enables it to evaluate its own performance – andits adaptive nature means it is the first to be able torespond to its own measurement errors by modifyingits method of operation

Not only does the system deliver high accuracy andreliability, it has the ability to cope with treatment sitesof differing size (from a few millimetres for brain tumourtreatments, to over half a cubic metre in the case of thethoracic cavity). Furthermore it overcomes difficultiesinherently associated with patients, most significantlymovement. Clinical trials have validated the use of thetechnology and it has provided clinicians with a uniquenew insight into the actually movement of such patientsand how that might impact on treatment.

When consulted about their experience of receivingradiotherapy, patients frequently cite “keeping as stillas possible” as source of anxiety to them. Given thatthe new 3-D instrument has the capability to displayvideo images in real-time (showing the exact positionof the patient), a further project was derived in which asimplified version of the information from theinstrument is projected into a pair of virtual realitygoggles worn by the patient during treatment, and whouses it as feedback on how well they are keepingposition. This effectively replaces the passive role of

the patient, to ‘be still’ and instead actively recruits thepatient into the much more positive task of maintainingtheir position aided by the instrument. Initial trials withthis system are on-going at present.

The heart of the instrument is its complex imageanalysis software. Whilst the virtual reality project mightbe seen as an extension of the original instrumentationdevelopment work, the functionality and ideas in thissoftware are obviously transferable to other applicationsand the impact of the work has extended outside of theoriginal radiotherapy boundaries. One of the softwareelements within the system is a device called a “phaseunwrapper”. The challenging nature of the radiotherapyapplication meant that existing phase unwrappers wereno longer adequate. GERI created some of the fastest,most accurate and most robust phase wrappingalgorithms available for the new instrumentation andwhich have subsequently been applied elsewhere,including:

n advanced brain scanning systems developed by theImaging Group at the Helen Wills NeurologicalResearch Institute at the University of Berkley, California

n satellite-based Synthetic Aperture Radar systemsdeveloped by EADS-Astrium and the EuropeanSouthern Observatory

n Laser Optical Engineering (East Midlands) whichmanufactures optical systems for, amongst otherthings, traffic surveillance

New application areas for this work are still emerging;the National Conservation Centre, (European Museumof the Year 2008), have recognised the potential ofGERI’s techniques for quickly and accurately capturingthe 3D shape of artworks. Along with them andindustrial colleagues from around Europe, GERIresearchers are developing applications for funding torealise low-cost, portable, versions of the technologyfor use across the world’s museums.

www.ljmu.ac.uk/GERI/

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Impact on Cultureand through Public

Engagement

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Promoting science in society

Anthropological research inspires considerable public interest and anthropologists withinLJMU’s School of Natural Sciences and Psychology have showcased their research atprestigious outreach events, and contributed to television documentaries that both raisepublic awareness of science and have economic impact.

The work of the Research Centre in EvolutionaryAnthropology and Palaeoecology is truly international,with active field projects and collaborations on threecontinents - Africa, Europe and North America.Researchers have investigated several humandispersal events including the first movements outof Africa two million years ago, the arrival of peoplein northern England at the end of the last ice age, andthe first arrivals in the Americas. This work wasexhibited at the Royal Society Summer ScienceExhibition (London, 2005): ‘The Oldest American?Footprints from the past’; and presented at theBritish Association for Advancement of Science (nowknown as the British Science Association) festival(Exeter, 2004): ‘Peopling of the Americas: new datafrom Mexico’. This work has caused controversywithin the scientific community, and raised manyquestions, and recent work has redated andreconsidered the Mexican site (Morse et al 2010).

Several seminal pieces of work have laid foundationsfor academic contributions to televisiondocumentaries on human evolution, including the

‘Thermoregulatory model of bipedalism’ (1991) and‘The Expensive Tissue Hypothesis’ (1995). This latterpaper presented physiological evidence to stronglysupport the idea that the addition of increasinglylarger amounts of meat in the diet of ourpredecessors was essential in the evolution of thelarge human brain. Our large brains came at themetabolic expense of our guts, which shrank as ourbrains grew. Professor Peter Wheeler, co-author ofthis original work has since acted a consultant to theBBC series ‘Walking with Cavemen’ (2002), andeditions of ‘Ape Man and Horizon’ (BBC, 2005). Thishighly-cited and controversial work still causes muchdebate today beyond the academic communityamongst nutritionalists, vegetarian and vegancommunities and complementary medicinepractitioners. It is the focus of blogs and countlessweb-based discussion forums, and even videos onYouTube. ‘The Expensive Tissue Hypothesis’ has alsocontributed to theories about food preparation,including cooking which breaks down food cells andfrees-up energy to power a larger brain, see:‘Horizon: Did cooking make us Human?’ (BBC, 2010).

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The Centre’s Primate Biology Research Group is recognised as one of the main researchunits on conflict resolution and management, conducting considerable fieldwork in CostaRica and Mexico. Professor Filippo Aureli has published key work, including a volume‘Natural Conflict Resolution’ that has become a classic for scientists interested in thetopic. Notably, Professor Aureli has been an invited to a number of international meetings,with participants from academia and beyond, to discuss how insights from conflictmanagement in animals might be applicable to humans. Furthermore, Filippo andcolleagues supported a nature reserve proposed by villagers in Punta Laguna, Mexico.They performed primate fieldwork in the area, studied the local ecology and the behaviourof resident spider monkeys to inform the reserve management plan.

Additional examples of outreach, research dissemination and expert consultancy include:

n ‘Do Primates Avoid Fights and What Happens When They Fight With Friends?’,symposium at the Festival of Science of the British Association for the Advancement ofScience, Liverpool 2008

n ‘Extinct’ Channel 4, 2001 (Series 1, episode 3, examining the remains of theColumbian Mammoth, Dr Silvia Gonzalez)

n ‘Ape-man’ (BBC, 2000) and Walking with Beasts (BBC, 2001; expert consultantProfessor Alan Turner)

n ‘Chimpanzee consolation behavior’, September 2008. ABC Radio National (Australia);BBC News Online; CBC Radio (Canada); The Times, 9 September 2008, p.15

n ‘Altruism and deception in primates’, New Scientist 18 June 2009 n ‘Monkeys go out on a limb to show gratitude: Alturistic behaviour in primates relieson reciprocity’, Nature News 12 January 2010

Key references: Aiello, L. and Wheeler, P. (1995). ‘The expensive tissue hypothesis: the brain and the digestive system in humanand primate evolution.’ Current Anthropology, 36, 199–221 n Aureli, F. and de Waal, F.B.M. (2000). ‘Natural Conflict Resolution’.Berkeley: University of California Press nGonzalez, S., Huddart, D., Bennett, M.R., and Gonzalez-Huesca, A. (2006). ‘Human footprintsin Central Mexico older than 40,000 years ago’, Quaternary Science Reviews, 25, 201-22 n Morse, S.A., Bennett, M.R., Gonzalez, S.and Huddart, D. (2010) ‘Techniques for verifying human footprints: reappraisal of pre-Clovis footprints in Central Mexico.’ QuaternaryScience Reviews, 29, 2571-2578 nwww.ljmu.ac.uk/rceap/

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An observational impact

Testimony to its strong outreach and education programme, the Astrophysics ResearchInstitute (ARI) produced the strongest physics performance in the Research ExcellenceFramework Impact pilot exercise conducted by the Higher Education Funding Council forEngland in 2010.

This exemplar case study described the impact ofARI research upon local industry and wider society.It explained the role of the ARI in setting up andsupporting Spaceport, a visitor attraction developedas a partnership between LJMU and Mersey Ferries,which grew out of the desire to engage with a wideraudience and, in particular, to explain the breadth ofastronomical research and knowledge to families.Working closely with scriptwriters and designers,LJMU's scientists and Spaceport project partnersproduced storyboards for all the exhibits andinteractive displays and continue to advise oncontent.

Spaceport allows the ARI to publicise its entireresearch programme to a wide audience and is anestablished ‘public face’ for LJMU’s National Schools’Observatory (NSO), an online educational facilitywhich provides thousands of UK pupils and teacherswith the opportunity to explore the heavens directfrom their own classroom.

The ARI has also led the development and operationof the world's largest robotic telescope, the LiverpoolTelesecope, situated in La Palma, Canaries.Electronic pictures taken by the telescope are sentback to the ARI management control centre for

distribution to research astronomers and to schoolsvia the NSO.

Spaceport is a key component of Mersey Travel’stourist portfolio which has the aim of enhancing theregeneration of the Seacombe and Birkenhead areason the banks of the Mersey. The attraction regularlyexceeds visitor number predictions (currently at100,000 per year), and brings considerable incomeinto a regeneration area. Using the standard STEAM(The Scarborough Tourism Economic ActivityMonitor) model for determining the economicbenefits of tourism in the City Region for day visitors,this equates to a net gain of more than £2 million peryear. Spaceport also contributed towards thesuccess of Mersey Ferries being ranked 1st in theCity Region in 2008 (when Liverpool was EuropeanCapital of Culture) for a paid tourist attraction, and anindependent Market and Opinion Research Institute(MORI) Poll from 2006 found that 97% of visitors toSpaceport were either satisfied or very satisfied withtheir visit. Due to this success, the original targetsfor the regeneration have been met or exceeded.These included the creation of an estimated 50 newjobs, both direct and indirect, which equates to agross value of £1.4 million added per annum to theCity Region.

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Some interesting facts...

n input from LJMU, with a good mixture of cutting-edge astronomy and curriculum-centred content, hasensured that Spaceport is now a prime destinationfor school trips from across the north west ofEngland and north Wales as more than half of thevisitors are school children

n around 30,000 observations successfullydelivered to over 1,000 schools from the LiverpoolTelescope and with over a million web pages servedevery year and an average of 4,000 unique visitorseach week, the NSO has established itself as aleading astronomy website for UK schools

n Spaceport and LJMU staff continually work togetherthrough regular training for Spaceport staff (to ensureaccuracy and currency of material) and the developmentand refreshing of special and interactive exhibits

n the annual ‘Merseyside Astronomy Day’ draws

people from across the country for a series of talksdelivered by professional astrophysicists and havesold out every year; additionally LJMU astronomersgive regular research lectures

n strategic importance of the relationship withLJMU was highlighted in a submission by MerseyTravel to the Science and Technology SelectCommittee of the House of Commons in 2006

n the ‘Jeremiah Horrocks Day’ in 2007 broughtchildren from deprived areas and under-performingschools for a full day of activities based on research

n LJMU staff continue to work with a number oflocal companies developing technology forapplication to the telescope and to a variety of othersimilar facilities. This technology has generated anumber of export orders for local industry

www.astro.livjm.ac.uk

Spaceport is a unique attraction, botheducational and entertaining.

Councillor Mark Dowd, Chair of Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority”“

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Freedom to write

Motivated by creating involvement for culturally disadvantaged groups, research in EnglishLiterature and in Creative Writing addresses issues of social inclusion to enrich ways inwhich people view their own lives and cultures.

Interest in exclusion and writing has developed intocomplementary collaborative projects involving stafffrom the School of Humanities and Social Science andthe Liverpool Screen School.

The Free to Write initiative developed a workbook forcreative writing within inmate communities,encouraging inmates and ex-offenders in life-writing andhelping them articulate their experiences to a wideraudience. Funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, theproject brought together a range of organisations,including HMP Liverpool, Merseyside Probation Serviceand Liverpool City Libraries. Significantly, it hasinfluenced the teaching of creative writing within prisonenvironments, leading to the establishment ofnetworks of prison and probation services and creativewriting staff; providing bonding structures betweeninmates and social organisations; highlighting the plightof individuals within the penal system and impacting onthose involved. It is well recognised that creativewriting in prisons has rehabilitative benefits for inmates,but much of the good done on the inside is lost whenoffenders are released. Free to Write offers prisonwriters the opportunity to continue their creativity oncethey are on the outside.

Extended research has resulted in dissemination of thework by both established writers and ex-offenders to awider audience through its contribution to the annual‘Writing on the Wall Festival’ in Liverpool (2003). Thisprompted wide-ranging discussion of the penal systemand, more specifically, the ways in which recidivism istackled. Continuing research aims to produce ananthology of inmate writing underpinned by a morereflective analysis of writing in a prison context.Research by Dr Gareth Creer, Free to Write projectleader, resulted in crime novels provoking debate aboutcriminality and processes of rehabilitation. His novels,(published under Adam Creed) are described as:

“Pungent, edgy, visceral ... as good a snapshot of thestate of the modern British crime novel ‘as you're likelyto encounter” The Independent, Barry Forshaw on‘Suffer the Children.’

The Archive of Working-Class Writing is acollaboration between five Higher Educationinstitutions (including LJMU, Brunel, Manchester,Reading and de Montford universities) to create anonline archive of British working-class writing sincecirca 1700, offering public access to a range ofdigitised texts with associated bibliographical andauthorial data. The project also works withstakeholders outside of Higher Education to fosterlinks between historical archives, local historyprojects and contemporary creative writing projectsinvolving socially disadvantaged or excluded groups.The Archive will be an incrementally expandingrepository for rare and recovered working-classauthors and their works, and will also be the homesite of a journal dedicated to the literary criticism andanalysis of working-class writers and writing.

The Archive offers a resource to facilitate writingprojects and a place in which writers can publiciseand archive their work. Research by Dr Helen Rogerson convict narratives presents its findings within theWorking-Class Writing Website, strengthening linkswith Free to Write.

Key references:Creed, A. (2009), Suffer The Children. London: FabernRogers, H. (2009). ‘The Way to Jerusalem: Reading,Writing and Reform in an Early Victorian Gaol’. Past and Present, 205(1), 71-104 n www.ljmu.ac.uk/HSS/index.htm

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Guaranteeing the future for creativecommunities

A unique European partnership involving researchers from the Liverpool School of Art andDesign has not only lead to the development and sustainability of print facilities inLiverpool’s Bluecoat, but positioned printmaking in a pivotal role in internationalcontemporary art practice.

The Eight Days a Week research project is an ongoinginternational exchange programme that initiated in1998 as joint activity between Liverpool and itsGerman partner city Cologne. LJMU’s Neil Morris isa founder of the collaborative programme and hassince seen the landscape for the discipline ofprintmaking change. Neil Morris a Reader inContemporary Printmaking, has experienced first-hand how Eight Days a Week has opened-up artists’practices to new audiences and new communitieswithin Europe, generating informed and critical publicdebate through the exploration of new and originalstrategies for exhibition and creative dialogue.Clearly, the advent of global communication hasenabled much greater international collaboration andfor a wider community of printmakers across theworld to be connected.

To date, over 90 initiatives have been organisedbetween Liverpool and Cologne. Eight Days a Weekis therefore the laboratory for artistically challengingexchanges, exhibitions, residencies, publications andperformances in formal and informal, private andpublic spaces. Indeed, printmaking residencies area significant and ongoing aspect of the partnership,many of which have been hosted by Liverpool ArtCentre, the Bluecoat (‘Injured text’, 2006; ‘GraphicAuthorship’ 2006). They are a means of engaging inresearch around the questions raised by the projectoverall around collaboration, and provideopportunities for artists, local communities and otherorganisations to develop access to the visual artsthrough educational and other participation activities.The outcomes are disseminated through theproduction of exhibitions, print editions andinternational conference papers.

The research has singularly contributed to theestablishment of the viable and broad rangingtechnical infrastructure at the Bluecoat facility.Extensive research has been conducted andsubsequent training and guidance provided toincorporate non-toxic intaglio practices and furtherdirection provided towards the installation of silk-screen facilities. Housed in two studios, printmakingis now available to a broad range of communitiesinterested in exploring the creative and commercialpossibilities of print. The Bluecoat can now exploit itsprintmaking workshops to the benefit of visiting

national and instead of/international artists, privateusers, community groups and Higher Educationinstitutions.

Alongside the benefits arising culturally from thisactivity, the Bluecoat’s ability to attract public andprivate funding has been enhanced by its printmakingcapabilities. It generates revenue from the provisionof courses as well as achieving targets aroundcommunity engagement and education, which areessential to its on-going funding structure. TheBluecoat now employs two artists to work in theprintmaking facility.

In parallel, a series of benefits have been achievedboth regionally and internationally. Printmaking in thenorth west of England has developed a significantreputation for collaborative cultural exchangeprojects, including the ongoing ArtLab ContemporaryPrint Studio at the University of Central Lancashire.Furthermore, the Triple Echo – Artists in Print initiativedeveloped jointly between LJMU, the University ofCentral Lancashire and Wirral Metropolitan College,facilitates opportunities for students and staff in artand design institutions to experience inter-collegiatedialogue and prepare for professionally presentedexhibitions and publication. Likewise, in Eight Daysa Week, partner institutions in Cologne, creativenetworks and off-shoots throughout Germany haveevolved, for example in Hagen, Simonskall,Wiesbaden and Berlin, as well as further afield inTunisia, Poland, Peru and the USA.

www.eightdaysaweek.org.ukwww.thebluecoat.org.ukwww.ljmu.ac.uk/LSA/index.htm

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Impact on Business

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Sustainability in supply networks

The Centre for Stakeholder Research (CESTA) is driving sustainable public procurement onMerseyside as a significant step to achieving public service reform.

Sustainability has gained considerable importance incontemporary business policy with environmentaland social-cultural links becoming increasinglyprominent in all business sectors. In the privatesector, sustainability can provide competitiveadvantage through the optimal use of resources andsecuring stakeholder approval emphasisingeconomic, ecological and social aspects of businesspractices. This ‘Triple Bottom Line’ addresses impacton profit, planet and people and demands thatorganisations engage with, and are accountable to,broad stakeholders. In the public sector,sustainability is being introduced to drive localeconomic growth and increasingly through itsengagement with social enterprise and the thirdsector. It is seen as an approach to deliver socialgrowth at regional and community levels.Fundamental changes in how organisations engagewith diverse, non-traditional stakeholders are neededto turn rhetoric into action and ensure the extendedimpacts in practice do not marginalise or exploitvulnerable stakeholders.

Significantly, Liverpool Business School’s Centre forStakeholder Research works to identify challenges andsolutions to deliver sustainability in supply networks. Itdraws on research covering stakeholder theory,knowledge management, diversity and social inclusionto focus predominantly on developing models fordelivering sustainability through changing professionalpractice. Research aligned to CESTA has shown thatthe introduction of innovative public sector procurementapproaches and use of a sustainable procurementcosting model in a social economy can lead toefficiencies, economic growth and stakeholderengagement. This evidence in-part underpins thecreation of the Unit for Social Enterprise in Knowsley,Merseyside, a joint initiative co-led by Dr JoanneMeehan, Head of the Centre for Stakeholder Researchin conjunction with Knowsley Community and VoluntaryServices, Knowsley Housing Trust, Knowsley Council,Knowsley Chamber of Commerce, and severalsuccessful social enterprises. The Unit utilises researchfindings to lead on sustainable public procurementthrough local policy changes and engagement with thethird sector and local communities.

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Essentially, the Unit works proactively to ensure thatpublic procurement commissioning in key sectorsdelivers social growth, environmental benefit andeconomic sustainability (the Triple Bottom Line). Over40 social enterprises have been involved with theUnit to date and research by the Centre is beingutilised to deliver knowledge-led solutions tocomplex social problems in Knowsley. Longer termimpacts of these interventions are being monitoredusing the Social Return on Investment and innovativestakeholder engagement models developed.

Further examples of ways in which the work ofCESTA has supported local organisations include:

n helping leading social business FRC Group gaina greater understanding of the relationships between

the different elements of its businesses and trainingprogrammes and how they produce the impactsagainst the Triple Bottom Line of economic, socialand environmental dividends

n working with CEL Group and Procurement forHousing to develop an on-going programme of‘Thought Leadership’ communications and dialoguewith purchasing professionals, commissioners andpolicy makers on contemporary issues in order totranslate the academic research into practitionercontexts

n assisting FSquared to develop their capacity todemonstrate the value created in their clients' supplychain operations, with a specific focus onemployment of marginalised individuals

Knowsley's Unit for Social Enterprise has beena truly innovative approach, bringing togetherkey partners in the borough to deliver growth inthe third sector in an inclusive, engaged manner.The academic team has challenged thinking andtheir research has contributed to delivering asustainable approach for the sector.

Jackie Davies, Chief Executive Officer, Knowsley Community and Voluntary Services”

Key references: Meehan, J. and Bryde, D.J. (2011). ‘Sustainable Procurement Practice’, Business Strategy and theEnvironment, 20(2), 94-1067 n Rotheroe, N. and Richards, A. (2007). ‘Social return on investment and social enterprise:transparent accountability for sustainable development’, Social Enterprise Journal, 3(1), 31-48 n Mason, C., Kirkbride, J.and Bryde, D. (2007). ‘From Stakeholders to Institutions: The Changing Face of Social Enterprise Governance Theory’,Management Decision, 45(2), 284-301 n www.ljmu.ac.uk/LBS

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A Co-operative approach to business

Co-operation as a business model is the focus of collaborative research between LJMU’sSchool of Humanities and Social Science and the University of Liverpool, which aims toimpact upon the future development of economic policies and structures in Britain andbeyond.

In 2013 the Co-operative Group will be 150 years old.Originally founded as the Co-operative WholesaleSociety, it is now the world’s largest consumer co-operative. If present trends continue it can lookforward with great optimism to many years ofsuccessful trading, but British co-operation has notalways been in such robust health. Periods of declinehave in-part contributed to the absence of the co-operative business model and co-operation withinbusiness curricula in secondary schools, anduniversities, even through to programmes atpostgraduate level. In view of this neglect of co-operation as a recognised alternative businessmodel, a team of historians, including Dr TonyWebster, LJMU’s Head of History, has beenassembled to compile and publish a comprehensivebusiness history of the Co-operative Group.

Dr Webster is working in collaboration with ProfessorJohn Wilson and Rachael Vorberg-Rugh of theUniversity of Liverpool, and the research team willpublish a book to coincide with the sesquicentennialanniversary of the organisation. Unlike previousbooks, this one will focus on the development of theCo-operative Wholesale Society and the Co-operativeGroup as business organisations, the first time suchan approach has been attempted. In view of theneglect of co-operation as an alternative businessmodel, the aim is to produce a highly readable butacademically respectable business history which willhelp to put co-operation back at the centre of debateabout how best to organise our economy andbusinesses.

The research team are working through the archivesof the Co-operative Wholesale Society and theNational Co-operative Archive at the Co-operativeCollege in Manchester, researching how theorganisation evolved, how it was managed, and howit adapted to the dramatic changes experienced inBritain during this period. They are also interviewingmany people who were involved in the key decisionsof the last 20 years including former and currentmembers of senior management, and people from

other parts of the hierarchy of British co-operation,people who worked in or were connected with co-operative societies.

The project outputs (book, articles, conferencepapers and other public events) will bring British co-operation into the public, political and academicmainstream, from which it has become progressivelymarginalised in recent decades. This contributestowards plans for the United Nations Year of Co-operatives in 2012 and will be strongly promoted(assisted by the Co-operative Group and the Co-operative College) at a range of conference and otherevents during that year organised by the internationaland UK co-operative movements. A similarprogramme of events is being planned for 2013,during the 150th anniversary of The Co-operativeGroup’s foundation.

This project impacts on the emerging strategy of TheCo-operative Group, offering major insights into thereasons for the decline of the Group in the late 20thcentury and for its renewal/revival since the 1990s.Its value to the international co-operative communityis a great focus as the project involves (incollaboration with The Co-operative Group and TheCo-operative College) a strategy for disseminatingthe findings and promoting debate about them,among co-operators both in Britain and globally.

The work on international co-operation will feed intothe wider international debate about theeffectiveness of different models of co-operation, andthe reasons for their revival in certain parts of theworld (especially Britain) in the last 20 years, asubject of particular interest during the recent globaleconomic crisis in which co-operatives andparticularly co-operative financial organisations faredmuch better than their investor-led counterparts. Theproject is intended to have a significant impact in thedevelopment of economic policies and structures.

www.ljmu.ac.uk/HSS/114630.htm

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The European Institute for Urban Affairs specialisesin policy challenges which concern all urban decisionmakers locally, nationally and internationally. Its highquality research has influenced the attitudes andpolicies of many organisations and helped set theurban policy agenda in the UK and Europe in recentyears.

In 2009, John Healy the Communities and LocalGovernment Minister, commissioned the Institute toassess the impact of the credit crunch onregeneration. Its major study showed the risks toregeneration revealing a flight from risky investmentsand locations to safer areas. It underlined the needfor new financial models and approaches to helpsustain regeneration because of the growingpressure on public resources.

A year later, this analysis was updated, focussingparticularly upon the north of England. It showed thatthe recession was hitting the north particularly hardalthough its larger cities were doing better thansmaller and more peripheral towns. It showed thatpublic and private organisations had displayedconsiderable ingenuity in keeping projects going butthat public expenditure cuts were starting to chokerecovery in many places.

Such is the interest in understanding the impact ofthe recession on areas of the UK, the Institute hascontinued this strand of work with a review of anti-recession measures for Nottingham City Council andis currently carrying out a major study assessing theimpact of the recession on Bristol and Liverpoolfunded by the Economic and Social ResearchCouncil.

“This report is a compelling and inspiring call toaction. It couples realism about the scale of thechallenge and the tough choices we face, anunderstanding of the serious constraints facingprivate sector developers and investors, withpractical examples of how we can move forward. Itincludes important messages for Government, as

well as organisations working on the ground." HughMorgan Williams, Chair the Northern Way.

The Institute works extensively with clients in thepublic, private and voluntary sectors at local, regional,national and international levels; recent clientsinclude the European Commission, the EuropeanSpatial Planning Observation Network, theDepartment of Work and Pensions, the Equality andHuman Rights Commission, the Homes andCommunities Agency and English Partnerships. Itcombines proven professional experience withacademic rigour. It is widely trusted and respectedfor its objectivity, independence, honesty andjudgement. It has a lengthy track record of evaluatingthe urban regeneration programmes of nationalgovernment and others in the UK and Europe. Itjudges which policies work where, how and why -and which do not.

Additional examples of the Institute’s work include:

n the Institute is leading an international consortiuminvolving the University of Paris, University of Tampereand the Metropolitan Research Institute, Budapestassessing the performance and prospects of secondarycities in Europe for the European Commission. Theresults could influence the Commission’s allocation ofresources to urban areas

n the Institute has played a major role in evaluatingdifferent kinds of strategic partnership. This includesthe evaluation of Local Area Agreements (LAA) andLocal Strategic Partnerships (LSP) for Government;the evaluation of Liverpool City Region’s Multi-AreaAgreement; the evaluation of LAAs and LSPs role inpromoting equality for the Equality and HumanRights Commission

n the Institute has done much to explore thedynamics of regenerating deprived communities. Ithelped evaluate ‘New Deal for Communities’ fornational government as well as local communities asin Liverpool

The impact of the economic crisisand credit crunch on UK cities

Researchers from the European Institute for Urban Affairs are making a major contributionto our understanding of the causes and impact of the recession and fiscal crisis upon citiesin the UK.

Key reference: Parkinson M., Ball, M., Blake, N. and Key, T. (2009). The Credit Crunch and Regeneration: Impact andImplications, Report for the Department for Communities and Local Government n •Parkinson, M., Evans, R., Jones, G.,Karecha, J. and Meegan, R. (2010). The Credit Crunch, Recession and Regeneration in the North: What’s happening, what’sworking, what’s next? Report for The Northern Way. www.ljmu.ac.uk/eiua

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Banking on a fresh start

Evidence from the Research Unit for Financial Inclusion demonstrated that dischargedprisoners were less likely to re-offend if they were given access to a bank account onrelease.

‘Banking on a Fresh Start’ is the outcome of aresearch study carried out by Dr Paul A Jones fromLJMU’s Research Unit for Financial Inclusion onbehalf of The Co-operative Financial Services. As aresult of this research, it is now easier for prisons tooperate a banking initiative and this has contributedto widening access to banking for prisoners inprisons throughout the UK.

The project investigated the impact and effectivenessof the prisoner banking initiative established as apartnership project with HMP Forest Bank in Salford,Greater Manchester and The Co-operative Bank. Itanalysed the nature, dynamics and extent of prisonerand ex-offender financial exclusion, and examined theimportance of access to banking within currentGovernment penal policy. The study further exploredhow the delivery and operation of the bank accountproject could be developed to serve the ongoingneeds of prisoners and ex-offenders after release. Ittook an holistic approach to assessing thecontribution access to a bank account could make tothe long term social and financial inclusion of ex-offenders and to the reduction of re-offending rates.

“The report ‘Banking on a Fresh Start’ has enabledThe Co-operative Bank to focus attention on how theindustry can help to tackle social and financialexclusion amongst ex-offenders as they re-integrateinto society. Contributing to the national debate, thereport has shown the important role that bank accounts can have in prisoner rehabilitation and, supports The Co-operative’s call for

all banks to play their part to ensure that, whereappropriate, all inmates have this opportunity." TimFranklin, Chief Operating Officer, The Co-operativeFinancial Services

The research has directly contributed to wideningaccess to banking for prisoners in prisons throughoutthe UK by revealing the importance of the issuewithin prisoner rehabilitation and demonstrating howbanks can develop positive partnership relationshipswith prisons. The study directly informed the nationalpolitical and Ministry of Justice agenda on bankingand prisoner rehabilitation and, through the BritishBankers Association, contributed to the developmentof policy on prisoner banking.

A follow-up report, ‘Still Banking on a Fresh Start’(2009), revisited some of the key themes of theoriginal study and offered an update on thedevelopment of the initiative and its impact on policywithin the wider banking sector. It explored how TheCo-operative Bank’s initial pilot project had expandedsignificantly and has now become part of a mainstream service offered to HMP Forest Bank and to nearly 30 other prisons throughout the country.

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This is a worthwhile piece ofwork towards combating financialexclusion and has contributed tothe national debate.

Angela Knight CBE, Chief Executive, British Bankers' Association”

Selected peer reviewed publications: Jones, P.A. (2008). ‘Banking on a Fresh Start. A research study into the impact ofthe Co-operative Bank’s project to enable prisoners to open bank accounts in HMP Forest Bank’, Liverpool: Liverpool JohnMoores University n Jones, P.A. (2009). ‘Still Banking on a Fresh Start: Progress report on the impact of The Co-operativeBank’s project to enable prisoners to open basic bank accounts’, Liverpool: Liverpool John Moores University n

www.ljmu.ac.uk/HEA/financialinclusion/index.htm

Importantly, it examined the impact of access to bankaccounts on re-offending rates among prisoners atHMP Forest Bank and revealed a significantreduction in re-offending rates among accountholders in comparison with national averages.

“The LJMU study revealed how The Co-operativeBank's intervention to enable prisoners to open abank account has been a major contribution tothe reduction of re-offending rates of prisonersleaving Forest Bank."Trevor Shortt, Director of HMPForest Bank

Both research reports were widely reported in thepress and on radio and television. Examples of theirimpact include:

n assisting the British Banking Association toprompt the National Offender Management Serviceto introduce a revised Prison Service Instructionregarding identification for prisoners wishing to openbank accounts. It is now easier for UK prisons tooperate banking initiatives for prisoners

n in 2009, The Co-operative Bank received a ‘BigTick Award’ from Business in the Community (BiTC);this recognition was reaffirmed with a re-accreditation from BiTC in 2010. The LJMU research

study provided the evidence which formed the basisof the award

n in November 2010, HMP Forest Bank, run bySodexo Justice Services (formerly Kalyx), won theprestigious Guardian Public Services Award for itspartnership working with The Co-operative Bank indeveloping the bank account scheme for prisoners.The Award was made on evidence gained from theLJMU research reports. The Guardian wrote at thetime of the award:

“The initiative at HMP Forest Bank, Salford, is theresult of a unique partnership between Kalyx, whichmanages the category B prison, and the Co-operativeBank. It has now been extended to more than 30prisons nationwide, a policy that is supported byresearch from Liverpool John Moores Universityshowing that having a bank account can help reducereoffending rates by almost a third. (The Guardian,November 2010)

"LJMU's research reports have certainly made asignificant contribution to UNLOCK's efforts toexpand access to banking across the entire prisonestate.” Chris Bath, Director of Projects, NationalAssociation of Reformed Offenders (UNLOCK)