Impact reports and case studies

The impact of STFC research and technology can impact our lives in many different ways. Just as there are many impacts at different levels of society, there are many different ways to report this impact. This includes individual case studies on specific impact examples, studies of particular subject areas and facility types, reports on underpinning fundamental technology and studies which investigate the impact to entire industry sectors or the UK economy.

The following studies and reports illustrate this range of impacts and have been carried out either by or in collaboration with key stakeholders.

Impact studies on STFC facilities and departments

• "Study on the economic impact of the Research Councils (link opens in a new window)" (RCUK, 2007) – A series of Economic Impact Studies, undertaken by PA Consulting and SQW. The STFC relevant case studies are in part 2, section 3 (Protein Crystallography at the SRS and Lasers for Science Facility);
  
  

• "New Light on Science - the social and economic impact of the Daresbury Synchrotron Radiation Source, 1981 - 2008 " (STFC, 2010) – the wide range of impact that the STFC's Synchrotron Radiation Source (SRS) had over its lifetime - View a copy of the full report (PDF - 10919kB - link opens in a new window) or the summary report (PDF - 2434kB - link opens in a new window);

  
  
• "Lasers in our lives – 50 years of impact (PDF - 2829kB - link opens in a new window)" (STFC, 2010): the impact that lasers have had in our lives in the past 50 years and highlights the STFC’s role in this;
  
  
• "ISIS Impact (link opens in a new window)" - STFC ISIS facility impact case studies. Much of the science carried out at our ISIS facility maps directly onto the UK’s grand challenges of energy, environment, health and security. Examples demonstrate the significance of ISIS research to these fields;
  
  
• STFC Technology Department Impact publication – "Technology… impact! (PDF - 2344kB - link opens in a new window)" STFC’s Technology Department is crucial to the success of its research, innovation and skills programmes. This publication explains how its activities have produced impact through the development of skilled people for the labour market, working with companies to improve their performance, attracting investment from global businesses and improving public policy;
  
  
• "E-ELT Impact – The Impact of the European Extremely Large Telescope (PDF - 462kB - link opens in a new window)" (STFC, 2010). How the world’s largest infrared and optical telescope will benefit the UK by the UK E-ELT team including staff from the STFC’s Astronomy Technology Centre and UK Universities.

Impact studies on STFC research funding in universities

• "Study on the economic impact of the Research Councils (link opens in a new window)" (RCUK, 2007) – A series of Economic Impact Studies, undertaken by PA Consulting and SQW. The STFC relevant case studies are in part 2, section 8 (Studentships and Detectors research and its use for medical imaging);
  
  
• "Particle Physics - it matters (PDF - 10517kB - link opens in a new window)" (IoP/STFC, 2009): a forward look at UK research into the building blocks of the Universe and its impact on society. STFC is the UK funding agency for particle physics research;
  
  
• "Nuclear physics and technology – inside the atom (PDF - 9596kB - link opens in a new window)" (IoP, 2010): how research into the atomic nucleus is improving our lives and helping the planet. STFC and EPSRC fund nuclear physics research in the UK;
  
  
• "A new view of the Universe: Big science for the big society (PDF - 1531kB - link opens in a new window)" (RAS/STFC, 2010): This Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) booklet sets out some of the ways in which astronomy has an impact on wider society. From digital cameras to global positioning satellites (GPS), a series of articles explain how technology developed for astronomy has shaped our world, whilst case studies of former PhD students show how many astronomers and space scientists go on to influential careers in industry and commerce;

The impact of underpinning research and technology

• "Physics for an Advanced World (PDF - 4536kB - link opens in a new window)" (IoP, 2009): a look at the vital contribution that physics research has made to a number of major technological developments. Areas covered in which STFC has had a key role are cancer diagnosis and treatment, the global positioning system, lasers, magnetic resonance imaging and the World Wide Web;

Impacts of STFC skills development

• "Fourteen years after: Career Profiles of STFC PhD Students (PDF - 405kB - link opens in a new window)" - This study continues to follow the career paths of former STFC PhD students who were working outside the higher education sector in 2003. It describes how these former students have made use of the skills developed during their PhDs and the impact they have had on their organisations;

Impacts to the UK economy

• "The Case for Space: The Impact of Space Derived Services and Data (PDF - 636kB - link opens in a new window)" (SEEDA/Oxford Economics, 2009) - This report supports the evidence that the space sector is still among the UK’s fastest growing and most productive. STFC and the UKSA fund space research in the UK;
  
  
• "Physics and the UK Economy (PDF - 631kB - link opens in a new window)" (IoP, 2007): STFC funding helps to underpin the physics based economy. This report examines the contribution of physics to the UK and how the use of physics in the UK economy has changed. This research highlights the value generated by physics-based sectors for the economic prosperity of the UK;
  
  
• "The impact of universities on the UK economy (PDF - 963kB - link opens in a new window)" (Universities UK, 2009): This report details how the UK university sector, of which STFC partly funds, impacts the UK economy. The study calculates that through both direct and secondary effects the higher education sector generated over £59 billion of output and over 668,500 full time equivalent jobs throughout the UK economy in 2007/8