A case study submitted to the Research Excellence Framework 2014 demonstrating the impact of the University's research.
Research by academics from the School of Politics and International Relations on conflict resolution has been used to enhance professional training in the field and improve democratic participation in conflict-ridden societies.
Professor Hugh Miall’s research, produced in partnership with Bradford academics, created a framework for conflict resolution that is one of the most widely referred to in the field.
Dr Elise Féron studied civil society organisations in four European cities, representing communities from Rwanda, Turkey and Kosovo. She found these organisations could play a constructive role in homeland conflicts by using social media, networking and dialogue.
Studies by Dr Florian Bieber, Dr Neophytos Loizides and Professor Feargal Cochrane focused on political representation in societies split by deep ethnic, racial and religious divisions. Inspired by the d’Hondt mechanism, as used in the Northern Ireland Assembly, Dr Loizides and Professor Cochrane drew on innovations that make power-sharing arrangements more durable.
The Research Excellence Framework 2014 showed that Kent ranks 17th in the UK for research intensity, has world-leading research in all subjects and that 97% of our research is deemed to be of international quality.
Contributing to the University’s REF success were the number of our world class publications, the number of research active staff and the demonstrable impact our research has made to the sciences and to economic, social and cultural understanding.