Impact case study database

Furneaux’s research informed curatorial practice, shaped permanent displays and supported objects’ acquisition and restoration at two national museums, and the creation of educational programmes. This has redefined the perception of soldiering and masculinity among museum practitioners and curators, the public, veterans and school children.

4.1 Shaping curatorial practice: National Army Museum

Following publication of her 2016 monograph [3.1], in 2017 Furneaux served as an advisor for the National Army Museum (NAM) on its permanent new ‘Soldier’ gallery which – drawing on Furneaux’s work – emphasises the previously neglected physical and emotional experience of soldiering [5.1], as well as underpinning the museum’s gender and sexuality public programming [5.1]. NAM Lead Curator Chris Cooper confirmed that Furneaux’s research “impacted heavily on thematic gallery planning and display choices as we sought to relate the everyday lives and experiences of soldiers and to reveal them as ordinary human beings like you and me – the core message of the Soldier gallery” [5.1].

Her work enabled reinterpretation of artefacts, which “highlight[ed] creativity in war…as well as bringing new and important perspectives on Victorian military masculinity to the fore in gallery displays” [5.1]. For example, Furneaux’s research demonstrating the long historical tradition of ornate, soldier-produced games resulted in NAM’s accession of a backgammon board made from the lid of an explosives crate by soldiers serving in Afghanistan into its permanent collection. Cooper stated : “Our collaboration enabled the reinterpretation and reassessment of the object to the point where its newly ascribed significance enabled it to be accessioned” [5.1].

NAM reopened in 2017 following £23.7 million re-development, with 230,000 visitors in that year. The ‘Soldier’ gallery, the first of five that visitors enter, is central to NAM’s reconceptualisation and revitalised visitor experience. 93% of those who visited the Soldier gallery in 2017 would recommend it to others [5.2]. Its reorganisation was described by The Daily Telegraph as “a thought-provoking triumph” [5.2] and the permanent galleries were shortlisted for the Museums and Heritage award, judged by a panel of leading heritage professionals.

4.2 Shaping curatorial practice: Museum of Military Medicine

Since 2017, Furneaux’s research shaped the strategy for the relocation and redesign of Museum of Military Medicine (MMM) through her roles as strategic advisor and story committee member. Jason Semmens, Director of MMM, confirmed that “Furneaux's critical approach to the ways in which rehabilitation, and the wider ethical framework in which military medicine must be understood” formed part of the Museum’s successful application for £2 million of Libor Grant funding and that “her work is helping the Museum to achieve its ambition of going beyond a regimental history of the medical corps to offer a more holistic and critical investigation of the relationship between war, medicine, and its civilian impact” [5.3].

Furneaux’s research **[**for the 2018 Compton Verney exhibition, 3.2] uncovered unexplored parts of MMM’s collection, including the largest single archive of First World War nurses’ autograph books and a rare surviving Occupational Therapy Bear (1918) produced during toymaking workshops in a Scottish hospital for limbless soldiers. Previously undisplayed, the bear was fully restored for the exhibition, has since featured in MMM’s special WW1 exhibit, and will be on permanent display when the museum moves to its proposed new site as part of a section on rehabilitative arts and crafts [5.3]. Semmens confirmed that the “respective provenances and stories associated with” the other objects Furneaux researched for the exhibition “are now more fully appreciated” [5.3]. The bear was the most discussed object in exhibition feedback, provoking emotional engagement with the experience of the injured maker [5.4].

4.3 Changing perceptions and practice: Created in Conflict Exhibition

Furneaux conceptualised and co-curated Compton Verney’s (CV) major spring 2018 exhibition (17 March – 10 June 2018). Amy Orrock, CV’s Curator, stated: “Furneaux’s work on military masculinities and soldiers’ feelings – emotional and tactile – was the catalyst for our exhibition, and revealing this little-known aspect of military life to a wider public is what underpins the show.” Orrock further noted that Furneaux’s research “has shaped the way that soldiering and war are curated and understood”, and underpinned the exhibition from the selection of objects to the key themes and overarching narrative [5.5].

Lasting benefits to the gallery include the development of new relationships with major national collections including the National Army Museum (NAM) and Imperial War Museum (IWM), which loaned objects informed by Furneaux’s research. It led the CV Education Team to deliver its first externally-partnered Arts Award, and increased the gallery’s public profile: “The originality of the exhibition’s concept has attracted a high level of national media interest and this has helped to establish Compton Verney’s reputation as an Art Gallery characterized by its thought-provoking, original and academically rigorous displays” [5.5].

The exhibition attracted over 10,000 visitors and generated widespread media coverage (267 national and regional press responses, including ITV’s News at Ten) [5.6a]. Broadcaster Martha Kearney described the exhibition on BBC Radio 4’s World at One as highlighting the “ extraordinary contrast between what people think of military life…and some of the gentler crafts which soldiers have been involved in” over the centuries [5.6b]. She interviewed D-Day veteran Ron Trenchard, who spoke of how the exhibition challenged gendered preconceptions about needlework that he and his soldier father made [5.6b].

Media responses emphasised that “the exhibition is a challenge to redefine the viewer’s expectations – of what art can be, but also of who the soldier is” [ Art Quarterly, 5.6a]. Another review highlighted that “as works of art, the pieces on display are often beautiful in their own right; but the stories they hold and the intimate insight they give into the lives and experiences of individual soldiers mean that their impact is doubly powerful…delicate objects encourage the viewer to challenge the traditional notion of military masculinity” [ Museums Association, 5.6a].

Visitors responded to the unexpected facets of soldiers’ creative lives, noting their new awareness of the creativity of soldiers [5.4]. ‘Share your Soldier Art’, a supplementary online gallery, crowd-sourced works from civilian and military visitors and museum staff, each reflecting on how the exhibition had illuminated their personal collections [5.7].

4.4 Increasing soldiers’ and veterans’ validation and cultural participation

The exhibition was central to CV’s aims to foster closer engagement with the local military community, and the gallery’s commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant [5.5]. Soldiers and veterans were closely consulted in the exhibition development; there was an opening forces private view and a forces family day (c.80 people). Involvement in developing the exhibition provided new creative opportunities for military personnel, featuring work produced by contemporary soldiers and veterans in each of the three galleries. The exhibition and Furneaux’s accompanying book [3.2] explained the significance of each piece and brought public recognition to work mainly produced for private purposes.

Planning work with a focus group of eight military personnel (including army photographers and veterans who had participated in physical and psychological rehabilitation) informed the final selection of objects and the wording of accompanying texts. The exhibition recognised neglected facets of soldiers’ creative and emotional experience, and provided a framework in which they and their families could discuss the significance of the objects. Exit interview responses included: “It made me think about the creative side of the things we do…Making a board game or designing a display (such as painting penguin rocks in the Falklands) is done to improve our conditions and keep us busy. I had never thought of it as art before this exhibition” [5.8a].

Exhibition artist and ex-soldier Sapper Williams created a blast wall piece during operations. He commented: “It wasn’t really until [the exhibition]…that I realised it evolved into more than just filling a few spare days…it was a way for me to disconnect from the pressures of the operational environment. It helped my mind to unwind and enjoy the process while lifting me out of the harshness of my surroundings” [5.8b]. Williams spoke at three events at CV about how his involvement had extended his sense of identity from soldier to artist and about the exhibition’s role in his “transition from military to civilian life as a veteran. The experience has been a great way of bringing my career to a close, reflecting on it and realising that the general public appreciate the work I put in during my time. It has also been useful for me to engage with non-military personnel in a professional capacity” [5.8b].

Visitors commended the attention to the therapeutic benefits of making art and to the questions raised about treatment of returning soldiers. A soldier who served in Northern Ireland stated: “I never experienced art while I served, but now, as I struggle with PTSD, I use embroidery and quilting to try and manage my anxiety and fear. I very much appreciated the exhibition” [5.4].

Furneaux was subsequently invited to convene an event with 60 war artists and veterans at National Museum Wales in partnership with veterans’ charity Re-Live. The event considered creative therapies and how objects can be used to tell different war stories. Karin Diamond, Re-Live Director, states that “these amazing opportunities to share Arts in Health practice have influenced the charity’s therapeutic processes, showing the value of incorporating a historical dimension that further validates veteran” creative practice [5.9]. Re-Live are continuing to work with Furneaux “to develop and model new research led creative methods in contemporary veterans’ well-being” [5.9].

4.5 Generating new educational models

Furneaux co-developed education programmes alongside the exhibition which resulted in original creative responses to pieces from the CV exhibition. These include ‘Pieced’ (with Hampshire Music Service), in which 20 Year 9 students worked with Furneaux and a professional composer to write and perform musical works, and ‘Conflict Reimagined’, a choreography and dance response by Stratford Upon Avon College [5.10a]. One sixth-form dancer reflected, “‘Created in conflict’ has helped us as a group to make history a part of the art of dance…looking into all the stories behind the artwork themselves it made my performance more emotional” [5.10a].

Furneaux also co-designed and delivered a six-session primary school syllabus for the RAF’s flagship STEM programme, introducing a new arts dimension and a more interdisciplinary approach. Chris Mossman, RAF officer and STEM ambassador, confirmed that “the Created in Conflict exhibition was the catalyst for our entire STEM portfolio” [5.10b]. This included the 2019 pilot ‘Toymaker’s Workshop’ (accredited by the Arts Council and STEM). It was inspired by the pieces from the exhibition: the rehabilitation teddy and a John Hodgson Lobley painting of wounded soldiers in a military hospital participating in a toymaking session as occupational therapy. The unique combination of STEM, Arts, and History “allowed them [students] to fully participate and create a unique toy” [5.10b]. Thirty-one Year 5 students at Kineton Primary School received an Arts Award exhibiting the toys they produced at CV, and Mossman was shortlisted for an RAF Centenary Trophy for Inspiration 2019 [5.10b]. Students reflected on how the programme gave them new insights to the complex emotional experiences of soldiers in rehabilitation workshops; they might “get frustrated” and “find it hard to be away from family”, needing to ”gather the strength to do it and actually make it work”; “Thinking about their [facially injured] condition...they might think their family doesn’t love them anymore.” [5.10c].

The Toymaker’s Workshop led to RAF Kineton base developing a STEM Zone, which Mossman states “add[ed] another bow to our community engagement”, as the STEM team can now host their own engagement events on site [5.10b]. The Workshop is now offered to other schools in the STEM Zone through the online resource pack [5.10b], and in 2019 RAF Kineton conducted 124 STEM events, “which equates to 40% of Army STEM and 25% RAF STEM nationwide” [5.10b]. Mossman notes “without the Created in Conflict exhibition, we would not have had a STEAM [STEM plus Arts] programme at DM Kineton…The Toymakers workshop has been a highlight in my career as STEM Ambassador so far” [5.10b].

Furneaux’s research on military masculinity challenged preconceptions about war and soldiers by showcasing the importance of creativity and domesticity in theatres of war. Through her advisory and curatorial work for museums and galleries, she “[ opened] this complex topic up to a broader audience by adopting an appealing and manageable format for those new to the subject” [5.5]. This led to significant impact on how the National Army Museum and the Museum of Military Medicine curate and present the emotional experience of soldiering, underpinned a major art gallery exhibition at CV, and generated new artistic and educational responses for soldiers and veterans, and primary school children through RAF.

Literature Wales’s (LW) mission is to increase the accessibility and impact of imaginative writing; provide early-career writers with opportunities to hone and diversify their skills; and strengthen the range, reach and reputation of Welsh writers and writing. Cardiff research on Roald Dahl [3.1] was used to shape the delivery model and activities of LW, leading to engagement with more diverse audiences and marginalised groups. Walford Davies’s expertise on Roald Dahl – in particular, his identification of the author’s Wales-based inclusive social vision – shaped and continues to shape the priorities and decisions of LW, informed by his period as Chair between 2012 and 2018. Cardiff research influenced LW in three key phases:

• Changing the ethos and strategic approach of LW (2013–2016);

• Implementing the new strategy during the Roald Dahl centenary (2016);

• Embedding the strategic changes in LW’s business as usual (2016 onwards).

4.1 Changing the delivery model at Literature Wales

The research findings relating to Welsh identity and themes of inclusivity in Roald Dahl: Wales of the Unexpected [3.1] were central to a change in LW’s delivery model. Lleucu Siencyn, LW’s CEO, confirmed that prior to 2013, the organisation had not proactively or purposefully engaged with disenfranchised and marginalised groups. Activities were “ crafted for a largely privileged market” and “ the location and cost of these activities were beyond the means of many individuals and communities in Wales” [5.1].

Elinor Robinson, former Deputy CEO of LW, stated that the Cardiff research “ set out to ‘devolve’ Roald Dahl in various Welsh contexts, break down barriers between the work for children and the writing for adults, and reveal how Dahl’s imagination was formed by Welsh communities, places and class experiences. This prompted a change in our ethos increasingly towards artist- and participant-led activity, with a bottom-up rather than a top-down approach to planning, development and delivery” [5.1].

The way Cardiff research shaped LW’s activities can be seen in the company’s 2013–16 Business Plan [5.2]. The new, more inclusive outreach model drew on the research themes outlined above to include the following [5.1, 5.2]:

• a 'devolved’ Dahl, formed by specific communities, places and class experiences:

• taking literature to new audiences in unexpected locations;

• seeking new partners to enhance LW’s reach and diversify its audience;

• placing literature at the heart of the wellbeing, literacy, employment and skills agendas through work with partners in non-arts sectors;

• breaking down barriers between writing for children and for adults:

• encouraging children and young people to raise their voices and tell their stories, using the new Young People’s Laureate and Bardd Plant Cymru (Wales’s Children’s Poet). LW’s CEO notes that “at the time, very little academic research on children’s literature was published in Wales; Damian’s book demonstrated how many forms of writing could be deemed ‘literature’; this directly informed LW’s programming in this area” [5.1].

Describing this move to more inclusive activities as “ a once-in-a-generation, radical repositioning”, LW’s Deputy CEO stated that it “ was crucial in bringing LW into the 21^st-century public arts-funding climate . . . Without it, LW would almost certainly have found its role and function increasingly difficult to justify” [5.1].

The new model allowed the organisation to increase the cultural participation of “ some of the most vulnerable people and communities in Wales, including young carers, prisoners and LGBTQ+ individuals living in rural locations, knowing that they would benefit most from the many personal, socio-economic and cultural outcomes literary participation can engender (e.g. increased employability, resilience to mental illness and empathetic ability)” [5.1].

4.2 Implementing the delivery model through the 2016 Roald Dahl Centenary in Wales

LW identified the 2016 Roald Dahl centenary as a unique opportunity to test the viability of their new activities and approach. The organisation (with the Wales Millennium Centre and the Roald Dahl Estate) used the key themes identified by the Cardiff research [3.1] in the bid to secure £100,000 of Welsh Government Major Events Funding to coordinate a year-long outreach programme – Invent Your Event. The programme, which ran January–December 2016 as part of the ‘Roald Dahl 100’ activities, aimed to engage the whole of Wales in reading and multi-genre creative writing activity. It also provided funding for which communities and organisations could bid to create their own events [5.3].

The research findings on Dahl’s Welsh identity were central to securing Welsh Government support for Invent Your Event. LW had previously encountered opinions of Dahl among decision makers as “ not really Welsh” [5.1]. LW’s CEO confirmed, however, that Cardiff’s analysis of “ the ways in which [Dahl’s] work for children and adults is informed in unmistakable ways by Welsh places, people and experiences strengthened LW’s lobbying” [5.1]. The importance of Cardiff’s research insights into the seminal place of Wales in Dahl’s imagination was clear when the Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills publicly announced the intention to “ bring Dahl back to Wales”.

This phrase, which was part of Walford-Davies’s initial proposal for his collection, and which figures prominently in the final introduction [3.1], was repeated by LW throughout negotiations with Welsh Government and underpinned the planning of the year-long programme of celebrations [5.3, 5.1]. LW’s shift to a more participatory, facilitatory and devolved approach was also trialled through the event. Branwen Llewellyn, LW’s Communications Manager, stated: “ The ethos, breadth and reach of Invent your Event were directly influenced by Damian’s research, which revealed how Dahl had been formed by Welsh communities, cultures and places and which returned Dahl ‘home’ to Wales” [5.1].

Invent Your Event engaged with more than 43,000 people through 183 individual events, workshops and projects run across Wales by community groups with support from LW [5.4]. For example:

• Daubscribblish Doodlesagas: These workshops with prisoners in Parc Prison, Bridgend won an Arts & Business Award in 2017 for engaging prisoners and their families in performance, creative writing and visual arts. Participants noted the benefits for their children, and their enjoyment of the event. [5.4, p.4 ];

• Clowns and Twits: Enabled young adults with learning disabilities in Monmouthshire to bring Dahl’s work to life through physical movement and the art of clowning [5.4, p.14 ];

• Majoricalistic Mischief March: Families in ‘Communities First’ areas (some of the most deprived areas of Wales) worked with poet Sophie McKeand and artist Rhi Moxon to explore their surroundings using Dahl’s imagination as inspiration [5.4, p.13 ].

Feedback from children, young people and adults showed that taking part in the events led to “ improvements in confidence, communication, group activity, literacy, creativity and problem solving” [5.4, p.16 ]. For example: “ The writing took me out of myself and helped me write my thoughts” (participant supported by mental health practitioner); and “ Really enjoyed the experience, [which] gave my son an opportunity to see things that he normally wouldn’t see. It has been fantastic” (Cardiff City Community Foundation Dads & Lads project) [5.4, p.18 ].

LW’s broader, more diverse engagement model meant that more than ten times as many people took part in Dahl centenary events compared with events run by the organisation for the Dylan Thomas centenary in 2014. LW’s CEO stated that “ The Dahl 100 celebrations were important for LW as they allowed us to put into practice, on a large scale, the new, inclusive mission and vision that Damian’s research had helped to form. Our programme of activity during the celebrations enabled us to connect with a far larger and broader demographic in new ways that gave the participants themselves creative agency” [5.1].

4.3 Embedding the delivery model in Literature Wales’s current and future strategy

The model and activities put into practice during the Dahl centenary have been embedded in LW’s subsequent 2016–19 and 2019–23 strategies. Inclusivity has been further enhanced by supporting groups and communities to develop local literature programmes and events, thereby leaving knowledge and skills as a practical legacy alongside a creative one [5.5]. One new example is the Literature & Wellbeing Funding Scheme, which funds writers to devise and deliver literary activity in their communities. In 2017/18, the project supported nine writers in English and Welsh to run 48 creative sessions with LGBTQ+ groups, prisoners, homeless people, people in a palliative care unit and older people aged 60+ based in seven communities across Wales. Participants produced spoken word videos, pamphlets, showcase performances and individual creative pieces [5.1].

The success of the Dahl centenary proved that LW’s new delivery model generated substantive outcomes for participants and supported the organisation’s new way of thinking. Walford Davies stepped down as Chair in 2018, but the organisation continues to build on the key themes revealed by Cardiff researchers. LW’s Communications Manager states that “ LW confidently embedded a more inclusive approach and an ongoing commitment to providing creative writing and reading experiences for children and young people from Wales – as now outlined in our Strategic Plan, 2019–23” [5.1].

LW’s remit now includes a focus on “ inspiring some of our most marginalised individuals and communities through active participation in literature”, including individuals on low incomes, people with disabilities or long-term illness, and BAME participants [5.6]. A further focus directly traceable to the Cardiff research is on the quality and reach of children’s literature in both English and Welsh. Examples of new activities include:

• a new Children’s Literature Category for LW’s flagship Wales Book of the Year Award in 2020, and LW’s commitment to improving the quality and sales of literature for children – particularly in Welsh – through partnership with the Welsh Books Council, S4C (the national Welsh-language channel) and the Welsh Joint Education Committee;

• a ‘Writers on Tour’ scheme to enable more targeted interaction between children/young people and established writers;

• the introduction of a Children’s Laureate Wales position.

The former Deputy CEO of LW stated: “ Such initiatives respond directly to the enhanced status of children’s writing claimed by Damian in his research . . . they demonstrate our commitment to delivering tangible wellbeing outcomes for people who have not previously accessed literary experience. They therefore enable us quantitatively and qualitatively to justify continued taxpayer support. This is important for the people of Wales and our new audiences because it releases and accelerates the power of literature to improve lives” [5.1].

Wray’s approach to explaining the broader effects of dementia on communication has generated new ideas that are positively supporting families, carers and healthcare professionals worldwide, both directly and via various training programmes. She was recognised for this work as one of three researchers shortlisted for Emerald Publishing’s International Real Impact Awards 2019, Mobilising Research into Action category [5.1a].

4.1 Generation of new materials to increase understanding

| Wray received ESRC Impact Acceleration funding (£9,000) to create two animated films based on her research [5.2a, b]. She researched and created a third film [5.2b] as part of a Norwegian Research Council project with the University of Oslo [G3.1]. Wray’s scripts, drawing on her research findings and input from stakeholders, present usable messages for carers about the nature of communication in the dementia context, to support carers in improving their practices. Animated by David Hallangen, the films are voiced by Sir Tony Robinson: - Understanding the challenges of dementia communication (2017, 16 mins) explains the causes of communication problems [5.2a, 3.1, 3.5]. | | | --- | --- | || *Screenshot from Understanding the Challenges of Dementia Communication [5.1a], showing that carers can empower PwDs through better communication* |

• Dementia: The ‘communication disease’ (2018, 18 mins) offers practical ideas for improving communication [5.2b, 3.1, 3.5].

• Dementia communication across language boundaries: Developing language awareness (2020, 31 mins) explores the challenges for carers who do not have the same first language as the PwD and offers ideas for improving effective communication [3.4]. There is a version in Norwegian, with the content adapted for the Norwegian context (see [5.2c] below).

Endorsed by the Alzheimer’s Society in their Research Newsletter to 4,000 members [5.1b], the films had been viewed 11,206 [5.2a] and 6,832 [5.2b] times at 31/12/20. Feedback attests to their value in increasing understanding about dementia communication. For example: “a very accessible and powerful learning aid” **[**Head of Memory Care, Sunrise Senior Living, UK, 5.3]; “I appreciate the way your videos address the clinical realities of the disease…but in a way that is person-centred and focused on coping” **[**geriatric psychologist, USA, 5.4]. A Community Advisor for Alzheimer’s New Zealand Northland stated: “Alison’s two animations have been key to further my understanding of communicating with someone with dementia. They both provide practical useful strategies that carers can use in daily life” [5.5].

4.2 Improving practice and communication in dementia care

The films have been incorporated into training courses for family and professional carers, as well as for healthcare and allied professionals, in the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand, with several organisations using them for both purposes.

a. Family and professional carers

Dementia carer training providers that have incorporated the animated films into their resources include: UK: Six Degrees’ EmPoWereD Conversations (now part of AgeUK); Dementia Carers Count; Bluebird Care; Alzheimer’s Society Central Lancashire; USA: VA Puget Sound Healthcare Washington State; Australia: Wesley Mission Queensland; New Zealand: Alzheimer’s NZ Northland; Dementia Care NZ. For example:

• a geriatrician in Seattle highlighted how the videos “showed [family carers] how to break things down and what communication elements to prioritize” [5.4];

• the Education Coordinator of Dementia Care NZ said “I think that the work you are doing is some of the most important I have encountered”, and noted that he is using all three animations in the Best Friends training for professional carers [5.6];

• the Community Advisor for Alzheimer’s NZ Northland described how one of the animations [5.2A] “ provides practical steps of looking for the reason behind what [PwDs] are saying…this is invaluable to helping carers understand the ‘why’ behind those behaviours that challenge us. Which then helps carers to start to change their communication style” [5.5]. She further stated that after viewing and discussing the animations “ I have seen some carers subsequently change their style of communication for the better, resulting in less stress, more love, and a better quality of life for both the carer and the person with dementia. For example, one carer said that after changing her communication style, for the first time in a very long time, her husband said to her ‘I love you’” [5.5].

As part of Wray’s work with Wesley Mission Queensland (WMQ), an Australian residential care provider for >3,500 PwDs, she designed and presented 11 hours of tailored training workshops (2016-2018) for 12 senior HQ staff, 30 care managers and workplace coaches, 35 professional carers and 20 family members and PwDs. The organisation’s Workplace Diversity Project Manager stated: “your training sessions for our staff were very helpful to them... You explained new ideas in a way they could understand and relate to their practices” [5.7]. Wray participated in one WMQ training session developing the English language skills of 14 refugees aspiring to work in dementia care, who “got a great deal from your visit” [5.7]. This session helped to inspire the third animated film [5.2c] and a publication on multilingual dementia care [3.4]. The organisation continues to use the films in both carer and family training sessions, and in 2017 worked with Wray to develop further resources and toolkits for staff, families and volunteers on “the right way to communicate with persons living with dementia” [5.7].

b. Other healthcare and allied professionals

In addition to her work in Australia, Wray has worked directly with a range of healthcare and allied professionals in the UK to deepen their understanding of communicating with clients who have dementia. For example, she has twice presented her research at national staff training events (June 2016, November 2017, c.100 staff at each) for the UK residential care home chain Sunrise/Gracewell (47 homes, c.5,000 residents).

In a feedback survey of attendees at the event in 2017, 97% of respondents found Wray’s research valuable [5.3], and attendees said they would adapt their behaviour to change their language and be vigilant for possible breakdowns in communication, including: “implementing phrases to let the client/family know that you understand”, “answering the unasked questions”, and “being aware of concerns that the family/client have but don’t say” [5.3], all of which reflect the content of Wray’s research. A senior director for UK Sunrise/Gracewell wrote that as a result of the training: “the team were thinking about how they can adjust/flex the content and style of communication with families who may be, and often are, struggling with those suffering from memory loss” [5.3].

On three occasions (2016-18), Wray presented her research as part of St Padarn’s Institute’s ‘Communicating in Healthcare’ sessions for trainee multi-faith hospital chaplains from across the UK (c.50 participants). She was also the guest trainer of speech and language therapists at a meeting of the South West and Wales Dementia Clinical Excellence Network (March 2019) (c.25 participants). When asked what they would change as a result of attending this meeting, therapists noted they would “think about what the person is actually trying to communicate”; “consider the importance of context in all types of assessment for people with dementia”; “review Alison Wray’s work and include it in my family education” [5.8].

4.3 Six Degrees Social Enterprise training materials

Six Degrees is a UK Social Enterprise company that created EmPoWereD Conversations (EC), a communication-focussed workshop series for family and professional carers. From 2014, Six Degrees used Wray’s research and animations for EC workshop content, and in 2019 the workshops were shortlisted for Best Training Initiative in the UK’s Dementia Care Awards. In 2019-20, with support from ESRC IAA funding (£15,000), Wray collaborated with the EC team to develop two additional workshop sessions for EC (expanding the course from four to six sessions), drawing directly on ideas in Wray’s book [3.4]. EC reaches a client base across northern England, Wales and Scotland, with the first international course (Australia) commissioned in 2019 [5.9].

The Managing Director of Six Degrees commented: “Alison's communicative impact model offers a clear frame of reference that can help family carers to think about the communicative challenges of dementia… This understanding helps carers to review their reactions to communicative challenges” [5.9]. He also noted that the animated films contributed to “significant improvements on *measures of carer stress and the relational quality with the person who has dementia” [5.9]**. He reported one carer’s account of how the EC training caused him to change his approach to communicating with his wife, who has dementia: “as a result of the course he tried to change tack, by giving her an invitation to talk about her feelings…The couple felt calmer, emotionally close and supported by each other” [5.9]. Feedback from the extended workshop provision in 2019-20 shows how the behaviour of attendees changed: “I spend a lot more time with my mum perhaps just sitting quietly and stroking her back or something like that”; “I try to break things down, it’s not good giving him three bits of information because only the first bit registered”; “more sensitivity has come in, because now we understand how she feels. Rather than just our frustration, it’s also hers” [5.10] .

Every year, there are nearly 10 million new cases of dementia across the world. With the total number of people with dementia projected to treble over the next 30 years, supporting patients, carers and families through the associated communication challenges is crucial. Wray’s research sheds light on what happens at the interface of communication and social interaction in the dementia context. By translating her findings into practical resources and training, she has improved the practice of key stakeholder groups navigating these challenges - including PwDs, healthcare professionals, families, charities, and care homes in the UK, the USA, Australia, and New Zealand - and ultimately improved their ability to communicate with PwDs.

Cardiff research informed Welsh Government policies on language learning, language transmission among families and communities, and Welsh language technologies, as well as the work of NGOs implementing these policies. The Corpws Cenedlaethol Cymraeg Cyfoes (CorCenCC) provided new technological infrastructure for delivering aspects of Welsh Government policy on technology and language support. A user-driven resource, it meets the needs of a wide range of stakeholders from individual learners to broadcasters and publishers.

4.1 Improved opportunities for learning Welsh as an adult

The project report, co-authored by Wray and other Cardiff colleagues [3.1], was cited in the Welsh for Adults Review group’s report Raising Our Sights: Review of Welsh for Adults in July 2013 (just prior to the REF 2021 impact period). Welsh Government responded that it was “ important that the curriculum is revised in light of the findings” [5.1, p.6 ], and in 2016 the National Centre for Learning Welsh was established to implement the recommendations [5.2, 5.3]. This Centre is responsible for all aspects of the Learn Welsh sector, from curriculum and course development to resources for tutors, research, marketing and e-learning [5.3]. It coordinates Welsh language learning for 13,260 learners across Wales (2018-19), via 11 course providers. Director Helen Prosser noted that “ the National Centre has implemented many of the research recommendations in the Cardiff University report” [5.3]. Providing specific examples, Prosser confirmed that the National Centre has :

• implemented a new Welsh for Adults curriculum on a national basis with three regional varieties which “ has resulted in many benefits for students”. She also noted it “ led to better tutor training…aligned to the national course” [5.3].

• enhanced teaching materials to ensure that “vocabulary has been given a higher priority in the new courses”, with new colour coded vocabulary materials [5.3].

• revised training for tutors and developed new guidelines for tutors creating coursebooks. Prosser stated that “ prior to the Centre, there was one two-year course for training tutors. In response to the research recommendations, the Centre has now created a short course called Starting Teaching” [5.3]. Accredited by the Welsh Joint Education Committee, the course has doubled the numbers of tutors being trained and ensured there is an increased number of newly qualified teachers available.

• initiated more flexible learning opportunities, including informal learning and intensive courses. Prosser notes that, as recommended by the research, national events to support informal learning are now organised by the Centre [5.3].

Prosser summarised that “ these changes have produced (and continue to produce) benefits for students and tutors of the Welsh for Adults programme” [5.3].

4.2 Improved opportunities for language use in families and local communities

Cardiff research influenced Welsh Government funding for community language organisations and initiated a new 2020 policy on transmission in families:

a. Enhanced operation of community-based language planning agencies

In March 2014, the research on the Mentrau Iaith [3.2] was discussed in the Senedd with the then First Minister noting: “ We agree with the review’s conclusions, and we are eager to proceed with implementing the majority of the recommendations” [5.4a]. Richard Thurston, Welsh Government’s Deputy Chief Social Research Officer, confirmed recommendations from [3.2] “provided the basis for a more strategic approach to the planning of initiatives to facilitate language use at community level” [5.5]. For example:

• In 2014 the Welsh Government announced additional funding amounting to £750,000 over two years for the Mentrau Iaith [5.4b]. Since 2015 each Menter Iaith has received ≥£60,000 to employ at least two members of staff and increase capacity for new activities, totalling over £7 million funding in the REF period. The funding cycle for the Mentrau Iaith was increased to 3 years from 2016, with a requirement for organisations to include a plan for effective community partnership working, e.g. with Communities First, local authorities, and other third sector organisations [5.4b].

• Welsh Government added intensive training to effect behavioural change [3.2] as a core part of Mentrau Iaith Cymru’s role in coordinating the organisations across Wales [5.4b].

b. Welsh Government policy on Welsh language transmission in families

Based on his research into Welsh language transmission in families [3.3], Evas was seconded to Welsh Government in 2017 to lead on implementing the transmission policy plan. Thurston confirmed that Evas’ study was used “to inform the Welsh Government’s draft national policy on Welsh language transmission and use in families” [5.5]. The policy [5.6] (part of Cymraeg 2050), went to consultation in early 2020. Delayed due to Covid-19 [5.5], it will be published in 2021. It cites Cardiff research [3.4] as the underpinning source and reflects the research in:

• noting how “the transmission of Welsh isn’t a decision, but an unconscious behaviour” [5.6, p.19 ];

• acknowledging the importance of family structures and linguistic practices in increasing transmission and therefore the numbers of Welsh speakers [5.6, p.8 ];

• committing to reviewing Welsh Government’s existing work on language transmission to “make sure that it’s based on evidence from behavioural science” [5.6, p.25 ].

The policy recognises these principles as the basis for “tools, methods and resources to encourage more people to pass Welsh on to their children as a matter of choice” [5.6, p.6 ]. Following the findings of the Cardiff research [3.3, 3.4], it outlines long-term behavioural change techniques to improve Welsh language transmission in families, including a language use pledge programme and developing an online presence to support parents’ confidence in speaking Welsh with their children [5.6, pp. 23-24 ].

4.3 Improved infrastructure to support Welsh language use

Cardiff research also influenced Welsh Government policy on Welsh language technology. In 2017, Evas was appointed to the Welsh Government’s Welsh Technology Board [5.7, p.30 ] to advise on technological and digital issues in relation to Welsh. Richard Thurston confirmed that Evas’ contributions – in particular, “[raising] the importance of reducing the friction that makes it more difficult for Welsh speakers to access services in their language” – “transferred directly” to the Board’s ‘Welsh Language Technology Action Plan’ (2018) [5.5]. For example:

• Work Package 7 of the Action Plan focusses on Welsh interfaces for technology users in education settings [5.7, p13 ]. Echoing Evas’ research [3.6], it outlines steps so that “students, pupils and staff can use a Welsh language UI and facilities to help create Welsh content automatically and in a friction-free manner” [5.7, p.11 ].

• Work Package 4 outlines steps “ to create a friction-free Welsh language choice architecture” **[**proposed in 3.6], referring to the ease and feasibility with which users can opt to use interfaces and technologies through Welsh [5.7, p.11 ].

• The Action Plan notes the need for “ up-to-date linguistic infrastructure to enable us to realise the vision of Cymraeg 2050” [5.7, p.24 ], e.g. dictionaries, terminological resources and a corpus.

The Action Plan is already being enacted. For example, Thurston noted that Work Package 7 was implemented from November 2020, “ with the default interface language for Microsoft Office 365 changed from English to Welsh” for learners in Welsh-medium schools [5.5].

A further significant advancement of the Cardiff research and its impact was the release of the CorCenCC corpus [3.7] in November 2020. Following the project’s British Council-funded public launch in February 2017, Knight’s interview on Radio Wales was a springboard for attracting the public as crowd-sourced data-collectors and analysers (integral to the project design). This and similar engagement events have reached policy makers, educators, publishers and the media, and brought many thousands to the website (167,149 hits by 31/12/20) [5.8]. Welsh Government funding (£219,964) was awarded to develop open-source spin-off tools that bridge the corpus to learning and technological applications and thus improve machine learning and translation, and the use of Welsh in Artificial Intelligence. These include:

• Welsh language WordNet: a database of relationships between words and synonyms

• Stemmer: a program that identifies and removes word affixes to reveal the root

• Word and term embeddings: probabilistic information to improve the accuracy of how Welsh is interpreted by machines, for use in translation and speech-to-text technology.

CorCenCC and this satellite work fulfil two policy objectives of the Welsh Government: “to capture Welsh as it is being written and spoken today” and “to release, under open licence, more Welsh language technology tools and resources” [5.9, p.3 ]. The 2019 curriculum for Welsh for Adults stated that “publication of this corpus is certain to have a heavy influence on future curriculum content” [5.10, p.36 ].

In summary, Cardiff University research in applied linguists made major contributions to Welsh language learning and use in Wales, through interdisciplinary collaborations that: established the current state of language learning and use practices; fed into policy; and developed new tools for learning and studying Welsh.

This study demonstrates the continuing impact of the Database of Mid-Victorian Illustration (DMVI) during this REF period, as well as the impact of the new Illustration Archive (IA) since its launch in 2015, and how their usage has created cultural, social, and digital benefits.

4.1 Generating new opportunities for creative re-use of illustrations

“The printed pages of the 19^th century are full of remarkable images, if we can find them. The Illustration Archive puts a million of them within reach. Amazing” - Illustrator Quentin Blake [5.1].

In the physical world, access to libraries and special collections is limited, illustrations cannot easily be seen side by side, and finding multiple illustrations in terms of subject matter and picture content is exceptionally difficult. The digital infrastructure of Cardiff’s archives has enabled searchable, user-friendly access to illustrations from anywhere in the world.

The archives make available over a million illustrations previously inaccessible to the public and have a wide reach both in terms of global accessibility and range of user groups. They attract a monthly average of 3.5K visits from over 20 countries including Australia, India and the USA [5.2]. An optional pop-up online user survey with 107 responses (June 2018 - July 2020) provided insight into the diverse backgrounds of users, including creative practitioners, librarians, museum curators, members of the public, teachers, publishers, advertisers, filmmakers and television producers [5.3].

Thomas’ accessible and searchable design has enabled the archives to be widely used both commercially and culturally. Since 2013, the archives have received requests to download and reproduce illustrations, which have since been used on book covers, and in a documentary, a graphic design project, exhibitions, heritage leaflets and greeting cards [5.4]. Respondents to the user survey also reported using the images in multiple, enriching ways, including for their personal research (for example into artwork or local history), to make videos and webpages, and for pleasure and recreation [5.3].

The accessibility and use of these illustrations have resulted in changes in awareness and knowledge of the images. Targeted workshops introducing community groups to the IA (Glasgow and Cardiff, 2018; 20 participants per workshop) focused on new strategies for the use and exploration of these illustrations. Participants noted that the IA “open[s] up a whole new way of thinking about and accessing these things” [5.5]; “ it allowed me to discover a Glasgow that I don’t know” [5.3]. Similar benefits have also been registered by visitors to the site. In the online user survey, 97% responded that the IA had deepened their understanding of illustrations [5.3], for example:

• it “has made me appreciate my culture more” (user from Italy);

• “I now have a much deeper understanding of how important these lost illustrations are for the history and memory of places”;

• “They have taught me so much about history and life”;

• “I use this site to see pictures of places I am visiting as I travel a lot with my job. It has thoroughly enriched, and sometimes challenged, my idea of these places and how I actually view them when I am there”;

• “I have spent endless hours tagging images on this site during lockdown. I also found a lot of pictures of the part of Australia where I live. It's been enlightening seeing these. I have shown them to my friends” [5.3].

4.2 Influencing user behaviour and perception through crowdsourced tagging

By enabling the public to tag images for themselves, the IA has influenced user behaviour and supported a deeper and more engaged viewing of illustrations. Research has pointed to the fact that today’s readers tend to ‘skim read’, especially in a digital environment, where images are quickly glanced over (see, for example, Nicholas Carr, The Shallows, 2010; Maryanne Wolf, Reader, Come Home, 2018). The crowdsourced tagging structure in the IA instead invites users to pause and look closely at the image in order to determine how it can be classified, to describe what it contains, to transcribe its caption and add any additional information. The feature is very popular on the site; 89% of respondents to the user survey stated they had used the tagging function, from sectors as diverse as libraries, creative and commercial industries, education, research and those using the site for recreational purposes [5.3]. Users have tagged 86,000 images with 186,000 tags (‘Tagging Stats’ online, **[5.2]**).

By encouraging a more focused viewing of the illustrations, the crowdsourcing structure means users see things in far more detail than they would otherwise, recognise the significance of background details, and learn new things about the images and what they signify [5.3]. These new ways of looking can have a profound impact on perception in other areas, too: “I have learnt so much about the pictures while I have been tagging, especially about the way that women are depicted. It has made me view the magazine and newspaper illustrations that we have today in an entirely new way. I don't accept them at face value any more”; “Fake news seems to start with the fakeness of the image. I wouldn't really have learned this if I hadn't been tagging the images in this archive” [5.3].

The tagging infrastructure makes users active agents in the creation of the site and the curatorship of heritage in a way previously reserved for experts. The benefit of this has been noted by users: “[tagging] has given me a sense of ownership over the material I am looking at. I become a curator every time I visit the Illustration Archive”; “Tagging the illustrations has had a big personal impact on me. I feel like my input is really valuable because I am making these rare images searchable for other people” [5.3].

4.3 Effecting changes in international teaching practice and educational understanding

The archives are used by teachers in the UK, Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, India and USA. 57% of online user survey respondents had accessed the ‘In the Classroom’ material, developed in workshop consultations with teachers, which suggest multiple applications of the IA across age ranges and curricula [5.3]. The scale and diversity of the illustrations means that they are used across a range of subject areas (English, History, Geography, Art, Science etc.). For example, a teacher from the UK noted: “I am a teacher in lockdown and am using it for my online classes. There are so many activities for the children to do with the pictures” [5.3]. The educational benefits of the archives were promoted through a global creative competition on the site (Re-Imagine, 2015), in which entrants imaginatively re-created an illustration from the IA in any media. The competition attracted over 200 entrants and 3,500 visits to the YouTube video, with awareness boosted by workshops in schools and libraries (c.250 schoolchildren aged 4-11).

Feedback from teachers indicates changes in teaching practice and pupils’ greater awareness of illustration as a result of using the archive: “I have used the illustrations to develop new teaching materials. The archive images were not accessible before so I never thought to use illustrations in my classes…This has given me a new confidence to use illustrations in my lesson plans … and increased the students' engagement substantially” (teacher from India) [5.3]. In higher education, the archives are used globally and across disciplines. For example, a teacher from Georgia Institute of Technology, USA, describes how students study the IA’s crowdsourced metadata feature: “I have benefited tremendously from The Illustration Archive…My students…benefited from seeing the vast corpus of illustrations archived” [5.6].

4.4 Influencing digital infrastructure methods

The tools, methods and structures developed in DMVI and the IA have become a model for the infrastructure of digital illustration resources around the world. A range of online archives have benefitted from the enhanced functionality of the mark-up systems underpinning DMVI. By using DMVI’s bespoke keywording system for describing the content of images, other archival collections have made their images searchable in terms of their iconographic content and subject matter [5.7]. Resources that have benefitted directly from applying Thomas’ methodologies include:

• Yellow Nineties Online (illustrated editions of aesthetic periodicals; based in Ryerson University, Canada), which states on its site that “In order to return visual texts along with verbal texts in all searches, we have adapted the iconographic proforma developed by Dr. Julia Thomas at the Database of Mid-Victorian Victorian Illustration (DMVI) to markup periodical images” [5.7];

• Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (over 5,000 images from periodicals and newspapers; based in Birkbeck, University of London/King’s College London), which credits Thomas’ research and describes the site’s adaption of DMVI’s iconographic schema [5.7];

• Illustrating Scott (over 1,500 illustrations from Walter Scott’s fiction; based in University of Edinburgh), which was modelled on the DMVI interface and used its iconographic schema [5.7];

• The features and tools of the IA are also currently being used by the Plantin Moretus Museum in their digitisation of the Officina Plantiniana’s collection of 14,000 woodblocks (UNESCO World Heritage collection) [5.8].

The methodologies and principles of DMVI and IA have fed directly into the creation of other image archives from Cardiff University, each with their own impact trajectories and global reach: ‘Women in Trousers’ (dir. Becky Munford) and the ‘Victorian Illustrated Shakespeare Archive’ (VISA; dir. Michael Goodman). ‘Women in Trousers’ uses the IA as a model and includes a crowdsourced image gallery developed in consultation with Thomas where users around the world have submitted images. VISA uses the bespoke keyword systems developed in DMVI and IA to make over 3,000 tagged illustrations from major Victorian editions more searchable for users. The site was the focus of a short film created by BBC Arts Online (68K views to date) [5.7].

DMVI’s infrastructure has also enabled its images and metadata to be made cross-searchable on other sites and platforms: Connected Histories (UK) and Arkyves (Netherlands). DMVI’s images have enriched these sites by expanding their content, reach, and accessibility. The Director of Arkyves (an online collection of historical pictures and texts from museums, libraries and research institutes) writes, “The DMVI has been a very welcome addition to the corpus of images and texts indexed by our Arkyves database … the use of international standards and open data standards and software meant we could tightly integrate the projects with minimal administrative overhead. The DMVI content enriches our database with more modern content” [5.9].

During this REF period, Thomas’ major online archives have put a million previously lost and forgotten illustrations within reach of anyone with an internet connection. Artists, librarians, curators, community groups, educators, publishers, members of the public, and image archive developers around the world have all benefited from the new opportunities offered through the resources, which have influenced user perceptions and behaviour, effected change in teaching practice and understanding, and influenced other digital infrastructures.