Research impact stories

93% of our research impact was assessed as either ‘outstanding’ or ‘very considerable’ in the latest REF 2021 exercise. Discover the research behind our impact case studies, and the academics seeking to address the world’s most pressing challenges.

Our REF submissions

We submitted research for 25 Units of Assessment in the Research Excellence Framework. You can see some of our submissions by unit of assessment below.

• Allied Health Professions
  • Defining targets for effective hypertension management in the very elderly by Chakravarthi Rajkumar.
  • Reducing risks of preterm death and improving developmental outcomes with delayed cord clamping by Heike Rabe.
  • Improving early HER2-positive breast cancer management based on patient choice and preferences by Lesley Fallowfield.
  • Changing the clinical management of childhood asthma and eczema by Somnath Mukhopadhyay.
  • The ‘One-Stop’ care community model to achieve Hepatitis C elimination by Sumita Verma.
• Area Studies
  • Curbing corruption in public procurement and aid by Liz David-Barrett.
  • Generating Understanding of Political Party Membership in the UK by Paul Webb.
• Anthropology and Development Studies
  • Anthropological insights improve the humanitarian response to Ebola by James Fairhead.
  • Improving international development programming and policy to prevent gender-based violence and empower women and girls in Africa by Lyndsay McLean.
  • Tackling negative perceptions of Afghan traders to enhance policy, services and collective action by Magnus Marsden.
• Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
  • Revelations: changing understandings and influencing artistic and curatorial practices through the innovative display of early science photography by Ben Burbridge.
  • Making Art in Tudor Britain: Transforming professional practice and enhancing interpretation in the UK and USA by Maurice Howard.
• Biological Sciences
  • Enhancing clinical diagnosis and management of Xeroderma Pigmentosum, Cockayne Syndrome and trichothiodystrophy by Alan Lehmann.
  • Protecting pollinators: Influencing policy and retail to reduce and remove harmful pesticides by Dave Goulson.
  • Banning international trade in pangolins to prevent extinction by Jorn Scharlemann.
  • Enabling clinical diagnosisand treatment of genetic diseases with immune or neurological dysfunction by Keith Caldecott.
  • Establishing conservation, economic and health initiatives in local communities in Papua New Guinea and Ecuador by Mika Peck, Alan Stewart and Jo Middleton.
• Business and Management Studies
  • Informing United Nations guidance to countries on sustainable development: new innovation approaches for achieving the SDGs by Adrian Ely.
  • Driving sustainable urban waste policy and practice in India by Fiona Marshall.
  • Innovative price modelling to mitigate the financial risks of energy companies and investors in adapting to new, renewable energy systems by Michael Coulon.
  • Shaping the UK’s Industrial Strategy, the Scottish National Investment Bank and the European Commission’s Horizon Europe programme by Mariana Mazzucato.
  • Implementing Transformative Innovation Policy in Colombia to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by Matias Ramirez.
  • Scrutinising Nuclear Policy in the UK: Revealing civil-military industrial interdependencies by Phil Johnstone and Andy Stirling.
  • Redesigning global climate technology policy and funding to meet the needs of poorer developing countries by Rob Byrne.
  • Boosting the economic impact of the creative industries by Roberto Camerani.
• Chemistry
  • The impact of novel photochemistry and automated chemistry methods in the search for new medicines by Brian Cox.
  • Protecting pollinators: Influencing policy and retail to reduce and remove harmful pesticides by Liz Hill.
• Clinical Medicine
  • Providing the evidence base for national policies and interventions towards eliminating podoconiosis by Gail Davey.
  • ARK-Hospital Programme: Improving the NHS initiative on good antimicrobial stewardship in NHS acute Trusts by Martin Llewelyn.
• Communication, Cultural and Media Studies
  • Bringing the BBC’s Hidden History into the Public Realm by David Hendy.
  • Changing Institutional Practice and Transforming Attitudes: Sisterhood and After at the British Library and Beyond by Margaretta Jolly.
  • Supporting youth advocacy to achieve positive campaign outcomes and change in heritage organisations by Pollyanna Ruiz.
  • Enabling the British Military’s Digital Media Strategy to better Manage Risk and Behaviour by Sarah Maltby.
• Computer Science and Informatics
  • Inspiring new understanding and engagement with the Science of Consciousness by Anil Seth.
  • Enabling better-informed government, public and private sector decision-making around social media content and public safety by David Weir.
  • Improving efficiency and effectiveness inpatient identification for clinical trial by Natalia Beloff.
• Economics and Econometrics
  • Shaping UK trade policy after Brexit by L Alan Winters.
  • Tools for Trade Policy: Facilitating better trade policy-makingvia research-based software and training by Michael Gasiorek.
  • Improving the earnings of low-paid workers in the UK by Richard Dickens.
• Education
  • Enabling second chance education for out-of-school children in Ghana and Ethiopia by Kwame Akyeampong.
  • Improving policy and practice on Integration, Education and Language for refugees and migrants by Linda Morrice.
  • Education and Peacebuilding in Conflict-Affected Contexts: Influencing UNICEF 'sandkey international actors’ approaches to peace-promoting education policy and practice by Mario Novelli.
• Engineering
  • Improving cancer and kidneystone treatment with quantitative texture analysis of medical images by Chris Chatwin.
  • Design Information for Improved Disc Life and Clearance Control by Chris Long.
  • Enabling the developmentof novel sensor devices for medical, transport safety and forensic use by Robert Prance.
• English language and literature
  • Mobilising and Moving Beyond the Archive: A Re-Engagement with Victorian Visual Practice, Generating Innovation with Curators, Artists, and Schools by Bethan Stevens and Hannah Field.
  • Sussex Modernism: Reframing the Region’s Twentieth-Century Cultural Heritage by Hope Wolf and Sara Crangle.
  • Developing and supporting the practice of copy editors and English language teachers through greater understanding of the difference sbetween American English and British English by Lynne Murphy.
  • Challenging and Expanding the Canon of Early Modern Drama for Theatre Companies, Practitioners, and Audiences by Matthew Dimmock.
• Geography and Environmental Studies
  • Changing global political, humanitarian, media and public understanding and actions on political violence by Clionadh Raleigh.
  • Redesigning global climate technology policy and funding to meet the needs of low-and middle-income countries by David Ockwell.
  • Building climate resilience in Africa by enhancing anticipatory risk management by Martin Todd.
• History
  • Seeing Kew anew: collaborating with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and with the BBC to challenge ‘plant blindness’in the UK by Jim Endersby.
  • The Digital Panopticon: changing the way the history of criminal justice is understood, researched and taught by Tim Hitchcock.
  • Building Bridges: Working between the UK and India to repatriate colonial archives and develop new knowledge, audiences and curricula by Vinita Damodaran.
• Law
  • Shaping UK and EU trade policy and legislation by Emily Lydgate.
  • Strengthening Support and Legal Protections for Victims of Terrorism in Criminal Proceedings in Afghanistan by John Jupp.
  • Improving economic governance in competition and public procurement by Kamala Dawar.
  • Improving mediation services for sexually-and gender-diverse families by Maria Moscati.
  • Transforming legal and criminal justice responses to hate crime by Mark Walters.
• Mathematics Sciences
  • Mathematical modelling of COVID-19 shapes Ukraine’s national public health intervention and underpins regional decision-making in the UK by Konstantin Blyuss and Anotida Madzvamuse.
  • Combating crop losses and improving global food supplies through mathematical modelling of “gene silencing” by Konstantin Blyuss (crops).
  • Improving processes for generating flood risk assessments,used by insurance and other sectors by Omar Lakkis.
• Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies
  • Syncphonia: Enhancing Young People’s Experience, and the Teaching of Ensemble Music Making, Through Digitally-Networked Musical Scores by Ed Hughes.
  • Innovating and Opening Up Live Coding for Artists and Non-Specialist Users by Thor Magnusson.
• Philosophy
  • Stimulating and Shaping UK Political Debate and Judicial Policy Concerning Gender Identity by Kathleen Stock.
  • Improving Childbirth Conditions through Better Communication by Tanja Staehler.
• Physics
  • Commercial exploitation of nanoparticle-based inksfor defence, authentication and retail use by Alan Dalton.
  • Satellite data processing and analysis techniques enabled better forecasting for improved drought resilience in Africa by Seb Oliver.
  • Impact of Sussex research on enhancing public interest, awareness and commercial investment in the development of practical quantum computers by Seb Weidt and Winfried Hensinger.
  • The impact of quantum computing research on the adoption of public policy directed towards developing quantum computing and its economic benefits by Winfried Hensinger (Pol).
• Politics and International Studies
  • Holding the UK government to account over arms export policy by Anna Stavrianakis.
  • Embedding religious engagement and freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) into foreign policy by Fabio Petito.
  • Confronting Dominant Narratives and Powerful Interests on Water and Climate Security by Jan Selby.
• Psychology
  • Improving crowd safety procedures and reducing risk through social psychology by John Drury.
  • Improving children’s early years reading comprehension through policy,training and practice by Jane Oakhill.
  • Promoting mental health and well-being in schools through assessing peer group processes by Robin Banerjee.
  • Reducing alcohol-related harm through “Dry January” by Richard de Visser.
  • Transforming team performance in elite sports, the military, and business by harnessing identity motives by Vivian Vignoles and Rupert Brown.
• Social Work and Social Policy
  • Shaping policy and practice in self-neglect and adult safeguarding by David Orr.
  • Improving Child Care Social Work Practice through Talking and Listening to Children by Gillian Ruch.
• Sociology
  • Tackling sexual harassment and violence in higher education by Alison Phipps.
  • Disrupting the online activity of extremist and terrorist organisations by Suraj Lakhani.

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