Impact case study database

The existence of onchocerciasis on the island of Bioko and its detrimental effects on the health, well-being and socio-economic development of the island’s population required interventions. As a mass drug administration programme was not succeeding, research was conducted by a UoG researcher aimed at achieving control by elimination of the disease’s insect vector. Elimination of onchocerciasis transmission on the island of Bioko, Equatorial Guinea, in 2005 has now protected more than 350,000 people, especially since 2017 when the last adult worms within patients died. Freedom from onchocerciasis allowed communities to increase agricultural production to improve their livelihoods, with consequent benefits to health, agricultural productivity and the country’s economy.

UoG research enabled the island of Bioko to be free of onchocerciasis vectors. The impacts of the research not only had immediate effects after the successful control of the disease in 2005 but they also had accruing beneficial effects on human health and well-being, household income and agricultural productivity from then onwards. However, this could only be indisputably confirmed in 2017 due to the long-term nature of the infection. The adult worms responsible for the disease can live for up to 12 years, so those infected before the control campaign would retain morbidity until either they or the worms died. Therefore, the success of the vector elimination programme in 2005 could only be demonstrated unequivocally a minimum of 12 years after the intervention, i.e. by 2017 within the eligible impact period.

A study conducted in January and February 2014 found that 22% of 150 households in Bioko had at least one positive case of onchocerciasis [ 5.1, page 1022], whilst another study only detected one positive case in a sample of 543 people [ 5.6, page 14]. Further studies, also conducted in 2014, showed an overall seroprevalence of 7.9%, but, significantly, only in samples of individuals 10-years-old or older [ 5.3, page 1; 5.5, page 1]. This evidence showed that the vector control of 2005 had led to a permanent cessation of transmission. This conclusion was reinforced by a study in 2016-2017 that found no evidence of current infection or recent transmission and no evidence of onchocerciasis vectors, concluding that WHO serologic criteria for the cessation of MDA had been met [ 5.4, page 2]. At the time of these studies, the population of Bioko who had benefitted from the interventions since 2005 had reached 334,463 and the resulting health and well-being benefits would, amongst other improvements, have translated into an increase in productivity of agricultural workers.

Research by UoG resulted in agricultural economic growth in Bioko. Given that apart from detriments to life quality, onchocerciasis-infected farmers weed 34% less of fields than healthy farmers, the elimination of the vector in Bioko will have had similar economic and health impacts to those in the OCP area but on a proportionally smaller scale. In the OCP’s 11 West African countries economic benefits accruing from onchocerciasis control exceeded US$500,000,000, saving 640,000 disability adjusted life years (DALYs) per annum and adding 15,000,000 hectares of new land available for agriculture, benefits that were reviewed in 2019 [ 5.7]. Although disaggregated data separating Bioko from mainland Equatorial Guinea (Rio Muni) are unavailable, an indicator of impact relevant to Bioko since the vector elimination is the overall percentage of gross value added to the economy by agriculture, which had been 1.1% in 2010, increased from 1.9% in 2015 to 2.3% in 2020 ( http://data.un.org/en/iso/gq.html). Regarding crops grown on the island, data for Equatorial Guinea [ 5.2] show that gross values increased after 2005 and during the impact period after 2013 (Table 1). These data refer to Equatorial Guinea as a whole and include the mainland where onchocerciasis remains prevalent and where no onchocerciasis vector control took place (only MDA control), so the benefits on Bioko were probably higher than the reported numbers suggest.

Table. 1 Gross Production Values (constant 2014-2016 million US$) for Equatorial Guinea of crops grown on Bioko, including some requiring labour-intensive farming.

|| Year | % increase 2005-2018 | % increase 2013-2018 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Crop | 2005 | 2013 | 2018 ||| | Bananas | 12.37 | 14.61 | 15.94 | 28.9 | 9.1 | | Cassava | 17.31 | 21.52 | 23.95 | 38.4 | 11.3 | | Coconuts | 2.54 | 2.95 | 3.02 | 18.9 | 2.4 | | Plantains | 12.86 | 14.53 | 15.50 | 20.5 | 6.7 | | Sweet potatoes | 21.70 | 32.42 | 38.03 | 75.2 | 7.3 |

Another country adopts a strategy to control onchocerciasis developed by UoG researcher.

The demonstration that successful onchocerciasis control can be achieved by vector control in a delimited area such as Bioko has influenced strategies to control the disease elsewhere. For instance, the example of the control in Bioko [ 3.6] influenced advocacy for an insecticidal campaign along the Sanaga River in the Littoral Province and elsewhere in Cameroon [ 5.8, page 2; 5.10] and was used [ 5.9, ref. 18 on page 2; 5.11] to underpin a plan published in 2019 for a DFID-sponsored programme combining MDA using a novel macrofilarial drug (doxycycline) with vector control, also in Cameroon. This plan is being implemented in the South West Province of Cameroon, an area with loiasis co-endemicity, where MDA with ivermectin has been proceeding for 12 years yet onchocerciasis persists with a higher than expected prevalence and intensity.( https://countdown.lstmed.ac.uk/sites/default/files/centre/CS.%202.%20Implementing%20Alternative%20Strategies%20for%20Oncho%20Control.pdf). The Non-Governmental Organization Sightsavers stated that the “demonstration that river blindness control can be achieved through focal vector elimination has had impact wider than just Bioko, as it has informed strategies to combat river blindness elsewhere” [ 5.11, page 2] and regarding control on the Sanaga River the Yaoundé Initiative Foundation stated that “The lasting impact of this success is reflected by the continuation of this vector control programme in Cameroon over a limited length of the Sanaga river, thereby protecting farmers and allowing them to increase their productivity” [ 5.10, page 2].

The harm caused by cassava virus diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) was considerable by the time the CBSD started spreading fast in the mid-2000s, as more than half of all cassava plants were already infected with CMD on an area of 3 million square kilometres. The two diseases together caused estimated annual losses of about USD3,000,000,000 (Thresh et al., 1997, African Journal of Root and Tuber Crops 2, 13-19; Hillocks and Maruthi, 2015, Food Chain 5, 116122) to some of the poorest people on the planet who depend on cassava for food and income, particularly during droughts. Through 5CP, we supplied virus clean and improved cassava varieties resistant/ tolerant to both diseases, which was the only sustainable way to control the epidemics. The impact of our research was felt at several levels.

NRI research benefitted farmers and cassava seed entrepreneurs in Tanzania. At the farmer level, the partners of 5CP, supported by NRI’s research, produced clean (virus-free) cassava varieties, and been given free to farmers and cassava seed entrepreneurs (CSEs) since 2014 in Tanzania. The 5CP went on to produce a total of 3,665,406 ‘breeders seed’ (first step in the development of a variety) of 10 cassava varieties by 2017 [ 5.1, 5.7-5.10 and the 5CP project final report].

This work of 5CP, ably supported by NRI through virus diagnosis, tissue culture and training, created awareness and high demand for healthy cassava seed by farmers desperate for good quality seed resistant to the two diseases devastating their livelihoods [ 5.1-5.3, 5.7-5.10]. This transformative impact on farmers, their households and communities were recognised by major donors such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and it led them to further fund two projects for commercialisation of clean cassava seed and development of a formal cassava seed system in Tanzania for the first time [ 5.7]. The BEST Cassava Seed Champion projects have already trained a total of 280 CSEs, which sold cassava seed to approximately 47,000 smallholder farmers by the end of 2019 growing season, and indirectly benefitted over 1,000,000 farmers and their households in 11 Regions in Tanzania alone [ 5.1, 5.7]. “All these benefits would not have been possible without the participation and capability of NRI to clean, virus index and introduction of cassava in 5CP. The economic and food security benefits of this work has been the greatest I have seen in my 40 years of work on cassava” [ 5.2].

The work also led to a change in the spending habits of Tanzanian farmers. The commercialisation of clean seed, and success of an entirely new market for it, demonstrated a historical behavioural change among Tanzanian farmers; the willingness to purchase healthy cassava seed from CSEs, where previously they relied solely on using their own seed for planting in the new season. This attests in the most meaningful way to the benefits to productivity and thus livelihoods they experienced first-hand from use of the improved cassava varieties [ 5.1, 5.2, 5.5]. “Yes, there is increasing behavioural change in cassava farmers and are willing to pay and buy cassava planting materials” [ 5.5].

Research conducted at NRI informed the amendment in the Tanzania Seed Act. At the policy level, our procedures for cleaning cassava from virus infections had the most significant impact as they became a key part of developing cassava seed systems and institutionalising safe cleaning procedures in Tanzania in 2017 [ 5.6]. They are also implemented in Rwanda and Burundi [ 5.5]. They were used in another objective of the 5CP project to inform an amendment to the Tanzania Seed Act (2017) that regulates cassava seed health. It made, for the first time, lab testing for viruses and tissue culturing compulsory for developing pre-basic and basic cassava seed (seed prior commercialisation) [ 5.6] (see Table 15, Page 5 of the Amended Tanzania Seed Act). This was the first example where detailed guidelines for cassava seed certification were formally appended to legislation anywhere in east and southern Africa. Similar updates to seed acts are being implemented in Rwanda and Burundi, supported by the IITA. “The progress achieved with NRI in improving seed health has now been transferred to Burundi, Rwanda and Eastern DRC, and is being recommended now Africa-wide” [ 5.1, 5.5].

The exchange of cassava germplasm between the five affected countries via 5CP in 2014 was also the first of its kind, providing access to the best cassava varieties available in the region to both farmers and researchers, although the impact has been greatest in Tanzania due to additional funding from donors (e.g., BEST Cassava). The varieties Mkumba and Tz130 developed in Tanzania, for example, are now found to be resistant to both diseases in Uganda and Malawi and are released as new varieties in both countries in 2019. Similarly, the varieties Orera and Eyope developed in Mozambique were found suitable for growing in Tanzania and these are now released for farmer cultivation since 2017. In other projects e.g., LimitCBSD (2012-2015) funded by the African Union Commission and led by Gowda, these improved varieties have been crossed with farmer-preferred local varieties. This has led to the development of new cassava varieties with increased resistance to both diseases. “These virus-resistant cassava varieties directly impact in the lives of nearly 70 million farmers in East, Central and Southern Africa regions” [ 5.3]. The upscale of all these activities was seen in the general increase in cassava production and revival of cassava production and industries [ 5.1, 5.5].

Impact by NRI research is further recognised by additional funded projects that create wider and continuing impact in African countries. Gowda’s research has created further wider impact as the successes achieved so far have led to additional investment from donors [ 5.3-5.5, 5.7]. Our clean cassava varieties are being used in the following projects on different aspects of cassava research and development:

1. NextGen cassava project phase I and II (2014-2022), funded by the BMGF, led by the Cornell University is using some of the NRI cleaned 5CP cassava varieties in their breeding program for rapid integration of desirable agronomic traits. This project has created continent-wide impact as it operates in the western, eastern and southern Africa [ 5.3].

2. African cassava whitefly project (ACWP) phases I and II (2014-2022), also funded by the BMGF, led by NRI is using 5CP cassava in their pre-breeding program for developing cassava resistant to whiteflies, which spreads both CMD and CBSD.

3. Action control CBSD - The International Fund for Agricultural Development and the United States Agency for International Development each funded a replica of the 5CP project in Rwanda and Burundi, and DR Congo in 2018, respectively. Their aim is multiplying and distributing the best 15 cassava varieties to farmers. These efforts have been replicating the success experienced in Tanzania in 5CP in the three new countries [ 5.5].

4. LimitCBSD (2012-2016) and DualCassava (2018-2021), both led by Gowda and funded by the African Union Commission have used the 5CP varieties in advanced research on gene mining for virus resistance using next generation sequencing technologies.

An impact of all these efforts is an overall 25% increase in cassava production in the eastern African countries from 23,900,000 tonnes in 2010 at the peak of the epidemics to 30,100,000 tonnes in 2018 (FAOStat, 2019) [ 5.3, 5.4]. “The famers who have accessed the improved varieties have indeed gained increased productivity which has resulted in food security and better incomes from the surplus roots” [ 5.5].

Pine wood nematode (PWN) is the cause of a devastating disease of pine trees. It was introduced into Portugal in 1999 and subsequently spread throughout the country to 500,000 ha of forest. The disease is spread naturally by vector beetles of the Monochamus genus, and the only vector identified conclusively in Europe is M. galloprovincialis. In the absence of control measures, it was estimated that losses in Europe due to damage by the nematode would be of the order of EUR20,000,000,000 during the period 2008-2030 ( 5.1. p1).

Development of pheromone-baited traps for the vector M. galloprovincialis, resulting from this research by NRI and its partners, has changed policy and practice in the European Union (EU) to prevent spread of the disease and the subsequent economic losses, and also benefitted SME’s which have commercialised the patented trapping technology.

Impacts of the Research on Policy to Prevent the Spread of PWN in the EU

EU Regulations published in 2012 for dealing with new infestations of PWN required removal of susceptible trees within a radius of 500 m round infested trees and intensive manual surveys for PWN in susceptible trees in a buffer zone of 20 km beyond this. In the light of results of the REPHRAME research project ( 5.12. Testimonial 1) an EU Task Force reporting in 2016 ( 5.2) recommended the use of the pheromone baited traps to catch M. galloprovincialis beetles, followed by molecular analysis for presence of PWN ( 5.2. pp 9, 13, 25, 28, 31). Based on the availability and effectiveness of the pheromone traps and new, more accurate data on beetle flight derived from research made possible by these pheromone-baited traps, they proposed reducing the clear-cut zone to 100 m and the buffer zone to 6 km ( 5.2. p26). This greatly reduced the cost of the operation and loss of trees, and the trap network had the added benefit of reducing the populations of vector beetles, thereby reducing risks of spread ( 5.2. p31). In 2017, these recommendations were taken up by the EU via an EC Implementing Decision ( 5.3) . “ The semiochemical/trap system....is now used across Europe in line with EU policy and this ground-breaking research has made a major contribution to preventing the spread of PWN from Portugal into the rest of Europe” ( 5.12 Testimonial 1,2).

French policy on measures to prevent spread of PWN was summarised by ANSES -French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, (2015) ( 5.4). “ Trapping the insect vector for the purpose of early detection of the presence of the nematode remains an essential part of the control strategy.”( 5.4. p34) “ This method of trapping insect vectors….is possible because the baits designed to capture them are available and operational” ( 5.4. p35).

A 2016 policy document from the Euphresco network of 70 organisations in more than 50 countries worldwide coordinating national phytosanitary research ( 5.4) laid out the optimal strategy for trans-national monitoring programme of Monochamus using pheromone-baited traps based on research in five European countries ( 5.5. Exec Summary p4).

In 2018, the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO), an intergovernmental organization responsible for cooperation in plant health within the Euro-Mediterranean region with 52 members, revised their “Standard” for control and eradication of PWN ( 5.6). This revision “ takes into account the availability of an effective pheromone/kairomone attractant for trapping it”. “Early detection of new outbreaks is a very important factor in determining the likelihood of eradication” ( 5.6. p504). “ Sampling should include...the use of traps containing a mixed pheromone/kairomone attractant, followed by testing of any trapped Monochamus species for the presence of B. xylophilus ( 5.6. p505).”

In 2017, the UK Forestry Commission Contingency Plan for PWN ( 5.7) introduced use of pheromone-baited traps for monitoring introduction of Monochamus beetles and PWN into the UK with over 15,000 sq km of conifer forest. The trapping approach is particularly important as trees are likely to be asymptomatic in the UK and hence infection is difficult to detect ( 5.7. p 25).

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Plant Health Panel of Experts ( 5.8) advised “ the most efficient detection method is trapping” for detection of invasive species of Monochamus worldwide ( 5.8. p13).

Impacts of the Research on Practice to Prevent the Spread of PWN in the EU

An EU Report on the Situation in Spain (2016) ( 5.9) reported a network of pheromone-baited traps placed throughout the demarcated area was established for the surveys of trees by the Plant Protection Service Spain and Regional Authorities in controlling an outbreak area in As Neves, Galicia ( 5.9. p14; 5.12. Testimonial 2).

An EU Report on the situation in Portugal (2018) ( 5.10) detailed that since 2016, the survey of the vector had relied exclusively on multi-funnel traps baited with the specific pheromone, which are installed and managed by the Portuguese Institute of Nature and Forests Conservation (ICNF). Over 2,000 traps were installed in 2018 ( 5.10. p.13).

Economic Impacts of the Research

Impact on spread of disease. Use of pheromone traps to monitor and reduce dispersal of the vector and PWN is only part of an integrated programme that has prevented spread of the disease from Portugal throughout Europe. Thus, it is not possible to attribute savings in the forestry sector to this innovation alone. However, the importance of early detection meant that “ by the time pinewood nematode was detected in Portugal, over 500 000 ha were affected, and EUR38,000,000 was granted for an eradication campaign, which ultimately failed. In contrast, three isolated outbreaks of pinewood nematode in Spain were detected early and eradicated with expenditures of less than EUR5,000,000 ( 5.11. p10). Future impact can be expected wherever PWN is a threat, e.g. Australia ( 5.11).

Sale of lures and traps. Lures for Monochamus containing the pheromone identified by NRI are now sold by at least seven different companies, including one in the UK and two in Spain. SEDQ Spain stated that the development of Monochamus galloprovincialis dispensers with NRI and University of Valladolid has allowed them to expand their business portfolio in forestry with product sales at a European level worth EUR1,500,000 from 2013 to the present ( 5.12. Testimonials 3,4).

The first phase of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) funded Cassava Adding Value for Africa (CAVA) project formed the basis of a REF2014 case study. Smallholder inclusive value chains were established for High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) based on NRI’s strategic and adaptive research on cassava processing and market development. At the time of REF2014, the initiative had worked with an estimated 90,000 farmers mobilising 170,000 tonnes of cassava roots, with a gross value added to rural communities of USD33,000,000.

UoG research on value chain development significantly built on previous impact figures. In the second phase of CAVA **[** 5.11 ], from February 2014 to March 2019, the project team led by Professor Westby and Professor Adebayo from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Nigeria worked with partners in Nigeria (FUNAAB), Ghana (Food Research Institute), Uganda (African Innovations Institute), Tanzania (Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre) and Malawi (University of Malawi) to scale up and scale out value chain development initiated as described in the REF2014 impact case study with additional USD18,816,547 funding from BMGF. This scaling up and scaling out built on (a) new market/scaling assessments undertaken by NRI/partner teams, (b) lessons learned from the first phase of CAVA [3.5] and (c) NRI underpinning research [3.1, 3.7].

The amount of cassava roots mobilized and the gross income from its sale and processing was over tenfold more than in the last REF. In this period, CAVA focused on value chains for HQCF, chips, starch, ethanol, improved traditional products ( gari and fufu in Nigeria, agbelima in Ghana, makopa in Tanzania) and animal feed. This enabled a wider range of NRI research to be used (e.g. on traditional products [3.2, 3.3, 3.4]) and provided flexibility in implementation in complex environments [3.7]. In total, 2,371,865 tonnes of roots were purchased in the period April 2014 to March 2019 from farmers across all five countries (compared with 170,000 tonnes over a similar time period as for REF2014) of which more than 70% went to new value chains [5.1, 5.2]. Between April 2014 and March 2019, across all five countries, smallholder gross income from the sale of cassava roots was USD134,600,000 and processor gross income was USD234,500,000, giving a combined total of USD369,100,000, a tenfold increase (compared with USD33,000,000 in the REF2014 period) [5.1, 5.2].

Business models were tailored to the country, location and market context. Implementation plans were developed to enable both women and men to participate and benefit. For new value chains, 51% of roots were supplied by men and 49% by women, whereas in traditional value chains 61% were supplied by women and 39% by men [5.1]. For new value chains, the ratios of men and women supplying roots were similar irrespective of which product was processed. At project end, the number of direct beneficiaries across all five countries amounted to 153,738 (from project monitoring and evaluation records, [5.1, 5.2]. Allowing for an average family size of 5, it is estimated that 750,000 people would have benefitted from the project.

Farmers that adopted productivity enhancing technologies and supply management practices (lessons learned from CAVA Phase I [3.5]) saw an increase in income which enhanced their quality of life as well as their households. Adoption of productivity enhancing technologies (increasing yields) in response to value chain development was an important part of the project theory of change agreed with the BMGF [5.2]. Smallholder farmers adopted productivity-enhancing technologies that enabled them to increase their yields by 58-154% (dependent on country) in response to market demands [5.1, 5.2]. As a specific example, the Commissioner for Agriculture for Ogun State [5.3] provides a testimonial that indicates that root demand in his State has exceeded 270 tonnes/day and farmers have responded by increasing their yields by 60%. Based on project data on costs of production and yield, it was estimated a smallholder farmer in Ogun State would benefit from a 67% increase in gross income against someone using traditional practices [5.1].

There is evidence that beneficiaries engaged in the project increased their wealth, particularly women. For example, in Nigeria (Ajayi, 2019 [5.4]) the mean values of wealth assets (items like radio, fan, generator and sewing machine) showed a significant increase in the beneficiary group compared with the control group. There were also significant increases in some selected asset wealth of female headed household beneficiaries compared with non-beneficiaries in Nigeria. For example, possession of radio, television sets, fans and sewing machines has increased significantly more than those in the control group of female-headed households who did not participate in the project. Comparing women with men beneficiaries, women’s asset status improved more than men’s in some dimensions, contributing to narrowing the gender gap in some categories [5.1, Tables 4 and 5].

An independent study of >2,700 households by Boadu et al. (2020) [5.5] of CAVA’s work in Ghana, concluded that “ it raised participants’ annual income by an average of GHC981.71” (£124). “ This increase represents about 50.4% of the average annual income of non-CAVA respondents”. It was found that “ CAVA project participants were 23.1% more likely to have access to markets for their produce than were non-participants”. The study concluded that “ the CAVA project empowered women by increasing their level of income and participation in household decision-making regarding use of productive resources”.

UoG research contributed to reduced fuel usage and enhanced quality assurance. Innovations and processing technology improvements were important drivers in value chain development (building on research e.g. [3.2]), especially where they contributed to a reduction in the use of fuel and enhanced quality assurance; for example, current Nigerian drying technologies are significantly better than those at the start of CAVA (fuel usage reduced from 374 to 65 litres/ton of dried product; throughput increased from approximately 100kg/hour to around 330kg/hour of dried product and efficiency increased from 11% to 55%) (see [5.6]). An important feature of CAVA implementation was building the capacity of a local equipment manufacturer, making it possible to make these improvements in collaboration with him [5.6]. The manufacturer reports [5.6] that “ flash dryers based on this improved design have been exported to eight countries in Africa, with multiple sales in Nigeria including a contract of 40 units to the Nigerian Ministry of Agriculture through the Bank of Industry for use in SMEs.” Overall, 87 flash dryers were installed [5.1], with installations in Nigeria, Tanzania (e.g. Kapipa Millers Ltd, Tanzania producing 4 tonnes/day of flour [5.8]), Malawi, and Uganda (e.g Windwood Millers Ltd who process 10 tonnes/day of flour using roots from 1,000 farmers [5.9]). In Ghana, one locally-fabricated flash dryer and 21 bin dryers were installed [5.1].

UoG research (for example [3.1]) contributed to understanding the risks associated with poorly dried cassava and the importance of processing it safely, for example, to avoid mycotoxin contamination. Efficient sun-drying of smallholder farmer supplied roots was an important approach for producing high quality products for diverse markets. Sun-drying involves a lower capital equipment cost investment, allowing farmers themselves to engage in processing and so benefitting themselves from value addition. Sun-drying operations were used by 1,270 community processing groups in all five countries [5.1]. Many of the 569 small and medium scale enterprises who engaged in the project also used sun-drying because of the lower capital investment costs. Use of sun-drying accounted for 32.5% of the cassava roots mobilised by the CAVA Phase 2 project [5.1].

Supply of dried cassava chips or flour to the brewing industry in Uganda [5.7] was one example of how the use of sun-drying allowed resource poor farmers to benefit from access to new markets. In the 2014-2020 period, Uganda Breweries Ltd purchased 18,973 tonnes of cassava flour from 1,599 households for £5,571,098 [5.7]. One of the smallholder processors, Zaituna, is sure of the benefits [5.10], “ My livelihood has improved. I have enough skills and knowledge in managing cassava in many areas. I have managed to construct a better house, out of the sweat of CAVA. I get good money and I could buy animals. Through CAVA also, I managed to educate my boy up to university level.”

UoG’s work was recognised by a number of prestigious awards. For its contributions to the CAVA project, NRI was awarded the Times Higher Award for International Collaboration of the Year (2014), the Guardian University Award for Research Impact (2015) and the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education (2015-2016). The Queen’s Anniversary Prizes recognises outstanding work by UK colleges and universities that shows quality and innovation and delivers real benefit to the wider world and public through education and training. The Prizes are the highest national Honour awarded in UK further and higher education. Prizes are granted by The Queen every two years.