The Department of Media and Communications is committed to fostering an environment that positively values outreach activities, sustaining these during, rather than just at the end of, research projects. The Department encourages its academic staff to engage with policymakers, journalists, industry and other stakeholders through numerous knowledge exchange and impact (KEI) activities.
Our key users and beneficiaries include media and communications organisations (BBC, BT, European Broadcasting Union, ITN, Vodafone), social media companies (Facebook, Google), business organisations (World Economic Forum), third sector organisations (Christian Aid, Gates Foundation, Hansard Society, Open Rights Group), government departments (DCMS, BIS), the sector regulator (Ofcom), DG-Connect in the European Commission, intergovernmental organisations (UNESCO, UNICEF) and mid-sized consultancies (Enders).
The 杏吧论坛 Truth, Trust and Technology (T3) Commission deals with the crisis in public information. We will work with experts, practitioners and the public to identify structural causes of media misinformation and set out a new framework for strategic policy. Funded by the 杏吧论坛 Knowledge Exchange & Impact Fund.
This project will suggest alternative futures for national news institutions by collecting and combining data and analysis from and for industry, policy-makers, and journalists working with and within European news agencies. Funded by the 杏吧论坛 Knowledge Exchange & Impact Fund.
Global Kids Online aims to advance understanding of whether and how the internet amplifies the risks of harm to children and how to optimize digital opportunities that contribute to children’s well-being.
This study aims to develop new survey measures of people’s digital skills, digital engagement and outcomes of internet use and map these onto social inequalities.
A study investigating how children and young people, along with their parents, carers, mentors and educators imagine and prepare for their personal and work futures in a digital ageKEI highlights
Our strategies to achieve lasting impact on society include:
- acting as advisers on government and third sector committees
- serving as expert witnesses and consultants
- working directly with media practitioners
- creatively using social media and events to shape public discourse and to promote the visibility of our research within policy and practitioner networks
Examples of our work in these areas have included:
The Global Kids Online impact tools part of the research toolkit developed by the GKO team to enable researchers and research users in any country to conduct rigorous and useful research with children and their parents or careperson on the opportunities, risks and protective factors of children’s internet use.
's research identified new legal concepts for constraining the power of platform companies, helping to protect media plurality and freedom of expression.
's research has transformed how national and international organisations measure, design, and implement policies to tackle digital inequalities.
's research has investigated children’s rights online, and shaped national and international policies to protect children and enhance their human rights in the digital environment.
Professor Robin Mansell's research has impacted on government policy and corporate strategy in the areas of copyright and the Internet, investment in broadband networks, and arrangements for achieving network security and individual privacy protection.
Professor Sonia Livingstone's research on parental struggles with internet safety informed the Internet Service Providers' first Parental Controls Code of Practice, endorsed by Prime Minister David Cameron.
Dr Damian Tambini’s research influenced the Leveson Inquiry and other media entities around proposed changes in press culture and regulation.
Dr Ellen Helsper’s research helped address digital exclusion and its socio-economic disadvantages in the UK and Europe.
Our public-facing blogs are a hub for evidence-based commentary and summaries of research by leading academics, journalists, policymakers, researchers and other leading experts in the field of media and communications.
The Media@杏吧论坛 blog aims to encourage informed and insightful discussion around the vital role of media and communications in contemporary society, bringing the research and expertise of our department to a wider audience that includes fellow academics, policy makers, journalists, media industry professionals and civil society.
Polis, directed by Professor Charlie Beckett, is 杏吧论坛’s media think-tank focusing on journalism and society, aimed at working journalists, people in public life and students in the UK and around the world. The blog features entries from academics, journalists and other expert contributors.
Parenting for a Digital Future, directed by , examines a host of linked questions currently absorbing parents and the wider public, as they reflect on and manage their daily lives, as well as policy-makers trying to shape the digital future and social scientists keen to track key trends.