RAND Europe Spotlight: 2021-2022

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Cover of RAND Europe's 2021-2022 Annual Report, design by Jess Plumridge/RAND Corporation

Spotlight 2021-2022

The complexities of COVID-19 have increased the importance of evidence-based policymaking. From domestic policies related to child policy, mental health and criminal justice, to international challenges like climate change, illicit markets, counterterrorism and truth decay, our annual review highlights selected RAND Europe projects that address the important issues of our time.

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References for Spotlight 2021-2022

Action stations

Crisis response in a changing climate
Researchers identified climate change challenges likely to emerge and propose five concrete policy actions that the UK Ministry of Defence could take to mitigate the impact of climate change on crisis response situations.

Caring through COVID

European Platform for Investing in Children identifies 'practices that work' across member states
Reflecting the European Commission’s policy focus on children at risk, EPIC evaluates and disseminates practices that improve outcomes. RAND Europe's latest EPIC policy memo examines juggling work and childcare during the pandemic.

Exploring Truth Decay in Europe

Truth Decay in Europe
Using the framework of RAND's original Truth Decay study, which focused on the United States, researchers uncovered evidence for the trends, drivers and consequences of Truth Decay in Europe. As the phenomenon is less pervasive than in the US, however, they also suggest actions to slow its growth.

Defining terrorism is the first step to defeating it

Understanding how acts of violence are classified
How experts classify an act of violence is driven by knowledge of the perpetrator’s motivation, recognition of the ideology, and availability of information on mental health and social media use. Public perception, knowledge of available definitions and the classifier’s own background also influence classification.
Defining 'Terrorism' Is the First Step to Defeating It
Western policy- and decisionmakers continue to grapple with how to define acts of terrorism and when it is appropriate to bring terrorism charges. Establishing a consensus on the definition of terrorism and bringing to center stage the importance of adequately charging acts of terrorism could be more important than ever.

Dirty money

Assessing the economic value of illicit markets in the EU
The aggregate annual revenues of the nine main criminal markets in the EU ranged from €92 to €188 billion in 2019, according to research that examined the scale, actors, modus operandi and trends in these markets.

Survival kit

Assessing the challenges in UK defence equipment acquisition
Three broad drivers of common defence programme cost and schedule problems could be mitigated by establishing effective challenge processes, professionalising certain job functions, focusing on risk management and understanding, and embedding clear lessons-learned processes.

Money matters

Can workplace financial interventions support the mental health of young adults?
Participation in workplace financial wellbeing interventions is associated with better mental health, particularly amongst certain subgroups of workers, according to survey data from healthiest workplace competitions.

Crisis points

Evaluating offender liaison and diversion trial schemes
Researchers evaluated a new model of liaison and diversion (L&D) schemes, which aim to improve early identification of a range of health vulnerabilities among people passing through the UK youth or adult criminal justice system.

Transatlantic solidarity

European strategic autonomy in defence and implications for NATO, U.S., and EU relations
Researchers examined the meaning of European strategic autonomy in defence and its implications for the U.S., NATO and EU-U.S. relations using a scenario methodology and transatlantic expert consultation.
European Strategic Autonomy in Defence
What does European strategic autonomy in defence mean for the EU, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and EU-U.S. relations? In this Expert Insights podcast, researchers discuss the path towards greater EU defence integration and factors that affect how this autonomy develops going forward.

Lean on me

Case studies examine early childhood development interventions at scale
Researchers developed case studies on ‘what works’ in early childhood development at scale in the Netherlands, Israel, Peru, and Brazil. They ensured that efforts were systematically captured, assessed and available for other governments, practitioners and foundations to use.

Home comfort

Greater telemedicine adoption in Canada could offer economic and social benefits
Alongside the benefits from tools such as telemonitoring and digital health records, researchers found that widespread use of teleconsultations could lead to significant benefits for Canadian patients, the Canadian economy and wider Canadian society.

The future of the REF

Understanding researcher views on REF 2021
A real-time evaluation of the REF 2021 assessment process found that overall views on the REF are mixed. Many researchers perceive that the REF has a negative influence on UK researchers and the research community, but views on specific aspects and influences of the REF are more nuanced.
The Future of REF: Driving a Culture to Maximise High-Quality Research and Impact
RAND Europe studied the attitudes of the UK’s research community towards the Research Excellence Framework. Through surveys, interviews and focus groups, the study team was able to gain valuable insight into researcher views across disciplines, career stages and types of institutions.

Tackling society challenges in Norway

Tackling societal challenges and guiding the future of research and innovation in Norway
Researchers identified 20 priority missions and 10 structural measures that could help the Research Council of Norway to develop a strong and resilient research and innovation environment across a range of strategic areas.

Watch this space

Realising the ambitions of the UK’s Defence Space Strategy
Researchers examined the factors influencing the implementation of the Defence Space Strategy to 2030 as well as the unique attributes of the UK space enterprise—including its strengths and weaknesses. They include a decision support tool to help decision makers navigate capability management choices along the 'own-collaborate-access' framework articulated in the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy.

Closing the gap

Examining the digital skills gap
Researchers assessed the evidence associated with the digital skills gap. The study analysed the key trends driving the gap at a global level and articulated some practical steps to address this challenge and potentially ‘close’ the gap.

Bouncing back

How UK Defence could support societal resilience to crisis events
Researchers developed a conceptual framework that includes three phases of societal resilience: Prepare, Respond and Recover. The team identified a set of proposals to help UK Defence improve how it conceptualises and operationalises societal resilience.

On the horizon

Evaluating the progress and impacts of the COG-UK consortium
An evaluation of the COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) consortium finds that it has made a significant and valuable contribution to the UK's public health genomics landscape, but its legacy will depend on decision makers' abilities to maintain momentum, ensure adequate governance, and other factors.