RAND Europe Research Briefs

2023

• What night-time lighting tells us about Tibet's prisons and detention centres

  This study aims to shed light on the prisons and detention centres in Tibet, using the innovative method of night-time lighting data.

• Understanding and supporting the financial stability of UK military families: Summary of findings and recommendations for policy and practice

  This research brief summarises the findings and recommendations for policy and practice from a study looking at the prevalence and drivers of financial (in)stability among military families in the United Kingdom.

2022

• A long road to just transitions: Limited green job opportunities for disadvantaged groups

  RAND Europe, with support from JPMorgan Chase, explored the current situation of green opportunities for disadvantaged groups, in particular for people with low qualifications, in 10 European Regions.

• Dental program accreditation: Exploring mechanisms of impact

  The Australian Dental Council's approach to dental program accreditation uses directive, anticipatory, strategic, stakeholder, and relational impact mechanisms to influence education providers and ensure graduates are sufficiently competent.

• Exploring the opportunities and challenges of research engagement with China

  A study exploring the opportunities and challenges of UK academics' research engagement with China

• Assessing the potential impact of developments in genetic testing on the British insurance industry

  Predictive genetic testing provides individuals with information about their future risk of developing health conditions. Determining whether a genetic test could affect the insurance industry is complex and needs to be evaluated on a per-test basis.

• Talking business: How increasing languages education in the UK could benefit the economy

  Findings show that investing in languages education in UK secondary schools will return more than the investment cost. The benefit-to-cost ratio is about 2:1, meaning that every £1 spent on extra language provision could return £2 for the economy.

• UK Strategy for the High North: Navigating a changing environment out to 2050

  This report offers a perspective on how the UK could maximise its influence in the High North through enhanced cooperation across government and within multilateral fora in order to tackle environmental and geopolitical changes in the region.

2021

• Greater adoption of telemedicine could offer economic and social benefits for Canada

  This brief summarises the potential impact of increased, long-term telemedicine use in Canada. It was found that teleconsultations could boost the economy in terms of cost savings from fewer missed appointments and visits to emergency departments, and a reduction in travel times for patients.

• Achieving Global Mobility: Future Force Design 2040

  This research brief highlights the likely changes that will arise in global mobility requirements for UK Armed Forces between now and 2040. It also outlines a range of options to deliver global mobility in dynamic threat and policy environments.

• Findings from the national evaluation of Liaison and Diversion services in England

  An outcome evaluation of the National Model for Liaison and Diversion scheme in England, which identifies and supports people in the criminal justice system with health issues and vulnerabilities, using a novel, large-scale linked data set.

• Discrete choice experiments: A unique approach to understanding teacher retention in England

  RAND Europe was commissioned by the UK Office of Manpower Economics (OME) to measure the impact of pay, rewards and other working conditions on the retention of teachers, using a quantitative survey containing two discrete choice experiments.

2020

• The economic benefits of equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines

  Researchers used a global macroeconomic model to examine the economic effects of vaccine nationalism. This brief highlights the cost to 30 high-income countries if low and middle-income countries miss out on initial access to COVID-19 vaccines.

• How could technological developments influence the future of cybercrime?

  How could technological developments influence the future of cybercrime? RAND Europe investigated this policy question and identified possible approaches to prevent future technologies from being exploited for criminal purposes.

• The global economic cost of COVID-19 vaccine nationalism

  This brief summarises the global economic implications of COVID-19 vaccine nationalism and the associated inequitable access to vaccines across countries.

• Moving improvement forward in UK health and care: An evaluation of the Q Initiative 2016–2020

  An embedded evaluation of the Health Foundation's Q Initiative was conducted by RAND Europe from 2016 to 2020. The findings of the evaluation demonstrate how Q has impacted its members and national healthcare improvement work.

• Understanding skills gaps in the European defence sector

  This study developed an overview of the existing and future defence-skills landscape in the EU, identifying and analysing the skills gaps and assessing the causes of these gaps.

• How can policy and practice support an innovating healthcare system?

  In light of the challenges facing the NHS, RAND Europe and the University of Manchester were asked to conduct a study on the potential of innovation to help deliver an efficient and effective healthcare service.

2019

• Options for funding the NHS and social care in the UK: How the UK general public would prefer extra funds to be raised

  What is the publicly preferred way to raise additional funds needed to meet growing demand for health and social care. Options are taxation, insurance, or user charges. We analyse the preferences of the UK general public using a choice experiment.

• Oversight of emerging science and technology: Lessons from history to guide future developments

  To help inform decisions about emerging science and technology oversight in the future, RAND Europe studied ten examples of oversight spanning different countries, time periods, and science and technology areas, and identified eight key lessons.

• Understanding Researcher Mobility

  This research brief sets out the results from a 2017 survey of researchers in the UK and a review of the literature around patterns, drivers and barriers, and benefits and consequences of international mobility for researchers.

2018

• China Belt and Road Initiative: How revival of the silk road could impact world trade

  By using both qualitative and quantitative analysis, this study found improving transportation multimodal connectivity has a positive impact on multilateral trade across countries and regions along China Belt and Road Initiative.

• How resilience affects the transition experiences of UK Service leavers

  RAND Europe was commissioned by the Forces in Mind Trust to conduct a study on the role of resilience in shaping the transition experiences of UK Service leavers. The study also identified relevant insights from other sectors through analysis of the experiences of civilian comparator groups undergoing transition, including bereaved individuals, former prisoners and foster care leavers.