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The #REF2014 results came out, but the details are still unpublished. I led the Unit 36 submission for the University of the West of Scotland, which managed to achieve a 25% growth in 3-4* research activity. We were particularly successful in our Research Impact evaluation and the two case studies each related to my work. Until the full documentation is made available, here's a snippet of what was submitted, along with my research output details.

Research Outputs

Impact Case Studies

“Bringing Science to Society”: Influencing Public Engagement with Bioethics

Professor Andy Miah’s research on the ethics of human enhancement has transformed the working lives of three principal professional communities: curators of UK flagship festivals and exhibitions (Abandon Normal Devices festival, the Wellcome Trust, Edinburgh International Science Festival); journalists (coverage on doping); and politicians and civil servants working on technology policy (European Parliament, World Anti-Doping Agency). His pioneering research has led to the creation of new artistic work, shaped policy directions, contributed to public engagement with bioethics, and advanced debate on the ethics of digital and biological technology.

“We Are the Media”: Enabling Media Citizenship

Research from the Creative Futures Institute (CFi) has generated original understandings of how social media has triggered change within the practice of journalism. The evidence shows how findings from 3 inter-related projects were a catalyst for skills development and generated new contributions to both civil society and the creative community. Impact is demonstrated across 15 organizations where new community media collectives were developed around the Vancouver 2010 (W2 Centre & True North Media House) and London 2012 Olympics (#media2012 & #CitizenRelay). UWS research led these organisations to invest £115,000 additional funds and implement these findings in their current work.

 

There are a lot of people to thank beyond the researchers involved in the creation of the impact case studies. For legal reasons, their names are omitted from the final documentation, but institutions include Abandon Normal Devices, London 2012 Creative Programmer in the North West, FACT Liverpool, CamGlen, Media Trust UK, Wellcome Trust, STV, and the Edinburgh International Science Festival.