Research changing lives around the world: Examples of ESPA’s impact
March 26, 2015
The ESPA programme defines impact as a process which leads to change in people’s lives and/or the natural environment. If you read our Impact Strategy you will see that the programme expects all projects to have the potential to deliver significant and sustainable impact. We also recognise that building impact can take time and for this reason it may not always be seen whilst a project is in its operational phase. For this reason it is always a pleasure to be able to share stories of impact from our projects.
Many ESPA researchers work in British Universities which last year were evaluated for the excellence of their research and its impact as part of the Research Excellence Framework. I know that several ESPA research papers were submitted, and I’m very pleased hear that the programme has also contributed to at least three impact case studies, demonstrating the way that ESPA’s research is changing lives around the world.
The three impact case studies all have links to the early ESPA Strengthening Research Capacity and Programme Framework Grants rounds of funding. The case studies include:
- Restoring the ecosystem services of Lake Naivasha (Kenya) for globally-important exports, unique biodiversity and 3/4 million people submitted by the University of Leicester including results from ESPA project - East African Great Lake Observatory
- New Paths to Mangrove Conservation submitted by Edinburgh Napier University including results from ESPA projects - CAMARV: Capacity Building for Mangrove Assessment, Restoration and Valuation in East Africa and Swahili Seas.
- Influencing international climate mitigation strategies by understanding the role of tropical forests submitted by the University of Leeds including results from ESPA project - Capacity building for carbon- and biodiversity-based payments for ecosystem services in the Peruvian Amazon
All three of these examples had research building on previous research results and partnerships, with ESPA’s significant contribution being the link between the natural and social sciences. It highlights the importance of interdisciplinary research and international partnership in ESPA and its impact.
In this newsletter I also welcome another example of the difference that ESPA’s international research partnerships can make. I was very pleased to learn that Julie Razafimanahaka from Madagascar Voakajyv has been awarded 2015 Young Women in Conservation Biology Award. I had the pleasure of meeting Julie in Madagascar last year when I visited the P4GES project. This follows the British Ecological Society’s Founders’ Prize awarded last year to the Project’s PI, Dr Julia Jones from the Bangor University. During my visit to the P4GES project I was really impressed by the way the team was working and the results it was generating. The recent award to Julie Razafimanahaka recognises her leadership and I can clearly see how this is contributing to the value of the science and its potential future impact.
With ESPA’s academic impact recognised through nearly 130 academic publications and 1100 citations, it is pleasing to see growing recognition of the impact on the lives of people and the environment through examples including the three REF-2014 Impact Case Studies. The contribution of people and international partnerships to ESPA’s research is crucial to the results now being seen. My question now, is how we can build upon this success, something I will expand in the next issue of this newsletter before inviting you to contribute. With this in mind, the opportunity to consider such challenges will be made during our interactive sessions at the ESPA Annual Science Conference in 2015.
