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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
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  • Reducing risks of preterm death and improving developmental outcomes with delayed cord clamping by .
  •  by .
  •  by .
  • The ‘One-Stop’ care community model to achieve Hepatitis C elimination by .
• Area Studies
  • Curbing corruption in public procurement and aid by .
  •  by .
• Anthropology and Development Studies
  •  by .
  • Improving international development programming and policy to prevent gender-based violence and empower women and girls in Africa by .
  • Tackling negative perceptions of Afghan traders to enhance policy, services and collective action by .
• 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 .
  • Making Art in Tudor Britain: Transforming professional practice and enhancing interpretation in the UK and USA by .
• Biological Sciences
  • Enhancing clinical diagnosis and management of Xeroderma Pigmentosum, Cockayne Syndrome and trichothiodystrophy by .
  • Protecting pollinators: Influencing policy and retail to reduce and remove harmful pesticides by .
  • Banning international trade in pangolins to prevent extinction by .
  • Enabling clinical diagnosisand treatment of genetic diseases with immune or neurological dysfunction by .
  • Establishing conservation, economic and health initiatives in local communities in Papua New Guinea and Ecuador by ,  and .
• Business and Management Studies
  • Informing United Nations guidance to countries on sustainable development: new innovation approaches for achieving the SDGs by .
  • Driving sustainable urban waste policy and practice in India by .
  • Innovative price modelling to mitigate the financial risks of energy companies and investors in adapting to new, renewable energy systems by .
  • 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 .
  • Scrutinising Nuclear Policy in the UK: Revealing civil-military industrial interdependencies by and .
  •  by .
  • Boosting the economic impact of the creative industries by .
• Chemistry
  • The impact of novel photochemistry and automated chemistry methods in the search for new medicines by .
  • 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 .
  •  by .
• Communication, Cultural and Media Studies
  • Bringing the BBC’s Hidden History into the Public Realm by .
  • Changing Institutional Practice and Transforming Attitudes: Sisterhood and After at the British Library and Beyond by .
  • Supporting youth advocacy to achieve positive campaign outcomes and change in heritage organisations by .
  • Enabling the British Military’s Digital Media Strategy to better Manage Risk and Behaviour by .
• Computer Science and Informatics
  •  by .
  • Enabling better-informed government, public and private sector decision-making around social media content and public safety by .
  • Improving efficiency and effectiveness inpatient identification for clinical trial by .
• Economics and Econometrics
  • Shaping UK trade policy after Brexit by .
  •  by .
  • Improving the earnings of low-paid workers in the UK by .
• Education
  • Enabling second chance education for out-of-school children in Ghana and Ethiopia by .
  • Improving policy and practice on Integration, Education and Language for refugees and migrants by .
  • Education and Peacebuilding in Conflict-Affected Contexts: Influencing UNICEF 'sandkey international actors’ approaches to peace-promoting education policy and practice by .
• Engineering
  • Improving cancer and kidneystone treatment with quantitative texture analysis of medical images by .
  • Design Information for Improved Disc Life and Clearance Control by .
  • Enabling the developmentof novel sensor devices for medical, transport safety and forensic use by .
• 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 and .
  • Sussex Modernism: Reframing the Region’s Twentieth-Century Cultural Heritage by and .
  • 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 .
  • Challenging and Expanding the Canon of Early Modern Drama for Theatre Companies, Practitioners, and Audiences by .
• Geography and Environmental Studies
  • Changing global political, humanitarian, media and public understanding and actions on political violence by .
  •  by .
  • Building climate resilience in Africa by enhancing anticipatory risk management by .
• History
  • Seeing Kew anew: collaborating with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and with the BBC to challenge ‘plant blindness’in the UK by .
  • The Digital Panopticon: changing the way the history of criminal justice is understood, researched and taught by .
  • Building Bridges: Working between the UK and India to repatriate colonial archives and develop new knowledge, audiences and curricula by .
• Law
  • Shaping UK and EU trade policy and legislation by .
  • Strengthening Support and Legal Protections for Victims of Terrorism in Criminal Proceedings in Afghanistan by .
  • Improving economic governance in competition and public procurement by .
  • Improving mediation services for sexually-and gender-diverse families by .
  • Transforming legal and criminal justice responses to hate crime by .
• Mathematics Sciences
  • Mathematical modelling of COVID-19 shapes Ukraine’s national public health intervention and underpins regional decision-making in the UK by and .
  • Combating crop losses and improving global food supplies through mathematical modelling of “gene silencing” by  (crops).
  • Improving processes for generating flood risk assessments,used by insurance and other sectors by .
• 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 .
  • Innovating and Opening Up Live Coding for Artists and Non-Specialist Users by .
• Philosophy
  • Stimulating and Shaping UK Political Debate and Judicial Policy Concerning Gender Identity by Kathleen Stock.
  • Improving Childbirth Conditions through Better Communication by .
• Physics
  • Commercial exploitation of nanoparticle-based inksfor defence, authentication and retail use by .
  • Satellite data processing and analysis techniques enabled better forecasting for improved drought resilience in Africa by .
  • Impact of Sussex research on enhancing public interest, awareness and commercial investment in the development of practical quantum computers by and .
  • The impact of quantum computing research on the adoption of public policy directed towards developing quantum computing and its economic benefits by  (Pol).
• Politics and International Studies
  • Holding the UK government to account over arms export policy by .
  • Embedding religious engagement and freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) into foreign policy by .
  • Confronting Dominant Narratives and Powerful Interests on Water and Climate Security by .
• Psychology
  • Improving crowd safety procedures and reducing risk through social psychology by .
  • Improving children’s early years reading comprehension through policy,training and practice by .
  • Promoting mental health and well-being in schools through assessing peer group processes by .
  • Reducing alcohol-related harm through “Dry January” by .
  • Transforming team performance in elite sports, the military, and business by harnessing identity motives by and Rupert Brown.
• Social Work and Social Policy
  • Shaping policy and practice in self-neglect and adult safeguarding by .
  • Improving Child Care Social Work Practice through Talking and Listening to Children by .
• Sociology
  • Tackling sexual harassment and violence in higher education by .
  • Disrupting the online activity of extremist and terrorist organisations by .

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