Global Impact of OU Research Recognised

Two case studies detailing the impact of OU research have appeared in UKCDS's 'top 20 most impressive examples of UK research contributing to global development'. The 20 were selected from almost 7000 studies submitted to the Research Excellence Framework (REF), which assesses the research quality of UK universities.

UK Collaborative on Development Sciences (UKCDS) is a group of 14 UK government departments and research funders working in international development. A team of their experts reviewed 6,975 case studies before selecting the examples that best demonstrate research’s importance to inclusive, sustainable development around the world.

Under the heading Innovation in Africa, UKCDS wrote of the OU case study Innovation and the Private Sector in Inclusive African Development: 'In research that has transformed conventional thinking, academics from The Open University have provided evidence on the benefits of private sector investment and local innovation in Africa. Their work has supported changes in international policy that better integrate innovation, helping to strengthen emerging economies as well as improve local livelihoods.'

The case study highlighted the impact of a number of research projects led by IKD members under the theme Health, Innovation and Equity, including work on access to medicines, public/private partnerships in vaccines, and uses of agricultural innovation.

OU research into education-enhancing technologies also appeared in UKCDS's top 20. The judges wrote of The Impact of Mobile Learning Research on Practice in a Global Context: 'Research into the use of mobile technologies for learning at The Open University has played an important role in the effort to meet global education goals, with a number of their projects taken up internationally as new teaching approaches.'

Read more about UKCDs's top twenty, including the OU's Innovation in Africa and Education-enhancing Technologies.