Research Digest
Archive: 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003-2001
Estimating the economic value of medical research in the UK – 21 November 2008
Despite a growing international interest in understanding the health and economic returns on investment in medical research, there has been relatively little formal analysis, particularly in Europe. A joint report coproduced with RAND Europe demonstrates substantial returns from such investment and highlights the importance of the time lag between basic research and health gain: the quicker research is translated from bench to bedside, the greater the rate of return.
Full Report (wellcome.ac.uk) 
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Examining the role of migrant women in the European labour force – 13 October 2008
In response to increasing labour demand as well as increasing migration throughout the European Union, a study of women migrants from outside the EU finds that they are more likely than their European counterparts to be unemployed, underemployed, or employed in jobs that are not commensurate with their educational levels. The study also looks at how to improve their labour force integration.
Sustaining key skills in the UK naval industry – 21 July 2008
To preserve its ability to design, build and support complex warships and submarines, the UK's Ministry of Defence (MOD) asked RAND Europe for help with identifying labour implications for its shipbuilding programme. Research indicates that MOD will need to preserve and sustain several key technical skills, especially detailed designers and professional engineers for various stages of surface ship and submarine acquisition and support.
Although MOD has taken into account the requirement for these skills, its future maritime programme is likely to have to undergo modification or be augmented in order to sustain these technical skills in the long term.
Analyzing the UK and EU's civil justice arena – 23 June 2008
RAND Europe and RAND Institute for Civil Justice have joined to create a centre of excellence to deliver objective and empirical analysis of the UK and EU's civil justice arena. Professor Neil Rickman has been appointed as the director of ICJ Europe and is currently in the process of recruiting a blue-ribbon advisory board to include stakeholders in the civil justice system, including consumer attorneys, policymakers, academics, general counsel and corporate representatives.
Making grants efficiently in the culture, media and sport sector – 23 May 2008
A recent UK National Audit Office 'value for money' report looked at the efficiency of grant makers in the areas of culture, media, and sports. RAND Europe designed the research approach for the study and undertook the fieldwork.
During 2006-2007, the nine principal grant-makers sponsored by the Department of Culture, Media, and Sports received some £2 billion in funding from the Exchequer and the National Lottery and gave out grants totalling £1.8 billion. The report estimates that the cost of administering these grants was in the region of £200 million.
The study looked at whether this level of administrative spending was appropriate and efficient across a range of grant makers. The main findings of the report highlight that few of the grant-makers had management information on the cost of their grant-making processes. This meant that we had to generate estimates on the costs. Where our estimates showed variations in costs, in many cases these differences could not be explained by differences in the objectives of the grant programmes and the type of support offered to the applicant. In addition, grant applicants incur substantial costs in applying, which are not always considered by grant-makers. Finally, there exist a number of opportunities to improve the efficiency of grant making, including demand management and streamlining processes.Full Report (www.nao.org.uk)
Assessing the benefits of HRB research – 12 May 2008
In the first Irish study of its kind, the Health Research Board (HRB) in Dublin has assessed the cumulative outcomes of a selection of HRB-funded research projects over time to demonstrate the impact that HRB funding is having on people's health and the Irish economy. RAND Europe led the research with the Health Economics Research Group (HERG) in Brunel University. Using a pioneering approach called the 'Payback Framework' developed by the research collaborators, the HRB has been able to identify and assess these benefits. Top line results show that the eight projects, which received a combined total of 1.5 million euros of HRB funding in the early and mid 1990's, have had a direct impact or cumulative effect that has contributed significantly to health and economic benefits in Ireland.
Full Report(www.hrb.ie)
Radicalization or Rehabilitation – 15 April 2008
This study seeks to provide a preliminary overview of the challenges posed by radicalized and extremist prisoners, and to explore the potential for the radicalization of young European Muslims in the prison environment. The study draws on the body of existing prison theory literature, historical case examples and contemporary open sources. It draws a number of conclusions about the potential in prison for extremist activity, including radicalization, and highlights a number of areas where further research and action may be desirable. The report's key conclusions are:
- It is currently difficult to assess the extent to which radicalization is occurring in prisons
- The radicalization of prisoners is not a new or unique to the contemporary security environment and insights can be gained from historical precedents
- Imprisonment may enhance an individual's vulnerability to radicalization
- Radicalization of other inmates is one of many activities which extremists may undertake in prison
- A greater understanding of how radicalization and contemporary extremists operate in prisons is required
- Housing extremist prisoners is a complex issue
- "De-radicalization" of prisoners may be possible but requires greater assessment
- Preventative and resettlement initiatives should be given consideration alongside measures implemented within the prison environment
Archiving in the digital age – 08 April 2008
The digital revolution has fundamentally modified the way research is conducted, but also the way in which its results are circulated, reviewed, accessed and preserved. Libraries can no longer rely on stacking a print copy of a publication on one of their archive shelves. RAND Europe's report, Digital preservation: The uncertain future of saving the past, examines how research findings will be communicated in the future to help librarians and archivists preserve history.
Confronting the hidden economy – 03 April 2008
Despite slight variations in its definition, the term 'hidden' is used to describe an economy where income is undeclared for tax purposes. World-wide tax authorities tackle issues related to the hidden economy to reduce the amount of tax revenue lost and to be fair to taxpayers who comply with their obligations. Furthermore, Governments attempt to expose the hidden economy to reduce benefit fraud caused by unemployed people who are engaged in undeclared work while claiming benefit.
The UK National Audit Office asked RAND Europe to carry out a study to place the UK's performance in tackling the hidden economy within an international context. Comparing approaches of five international tax authorities, the study also sought to identify good practices that could be adopted by the UK. This research ties together RAND Europe's expertise gained in previous, related work for the NAO on benefit fraud and performance indicators for tax authorities.NAO Report (www.nao.org.uk)
Can the London 2012 Olympics help curb obesity? – 02 April 2008
It is often claimed that the London 2012 Games could help to address the UK's growing obesity problem. RAND Europe's Setting the Agenda for an Evidence-based Olympics examines the evidence of the health impacts of previous Games and highlights the lessons of the past.
Read More RAND Europe London 2012 Olympics Web Site
RAND Europe informs European Commission's thinking on food labelling – 06 February 2008
RAND Europe was commissioned by the Health and Consumer Protection
Directorate-General (DG SANCO) of the European Commission to conduct two
assessments of the possible impacts of revisions to the European food
labelling regulations. These impact assessments informed the
Commission's recent proposals to introduce mandatory front-of-pack
nutrition labelling in all pre-packaged food, to extend allergen
labelling to all foods and to set minimum standards for food labels in
Europe. The RAND Europe reports highlight the importance of providing
clear and consistent information to consumers to help them make informed
choices, and discuss possible impacts on European retailers and food
producers.
Full Report Full Report EU food Safety Web Site (ec.europa.eu)
Remuneration and its motivation of UK military personnel – 10 January 2008
UK military personnel are being deployed on operations more frequently
than any time in recent history. With recruitment and retention key policy issues for the Ministry of Defence, RAND Europe has studied the motivational impact of the current remuneration packages for serving personnel and new recruits.
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