Jennifer Chubb, Research and Innovation Officer, The University of York, UK

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Research with Impact in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Aims of today

• Define impact in the context of what it means to funders, stakeholders and researchers

• Explore who the beneficiaries of research might be, how they might benefit and strategies for ensuring they benefit

• Develop a deeper understanding of how researchers have made an impact with their research

• Help you unpack some of the issues to consider in relation to measuring and predicting potential research impact

Outline of the day

• The impact agenda – UK policy• Academic case study• Review and critique live UK and ARC grants• Lunch• Academic case study• Pathway to impact planning and presentations• Lots of opportunity for questions and

discussion!

Thanks to our speakers and organisers• Krystyna Haq – Graduate Education Officer,

Graduate Research and Education Team, UWA• UWA’s Institute of Advanced Studies• Winthrop Professor Alan Dench, Dean of the

Graduate School, UWA• Winthrop Professor Susan Broomhall, History

and ARC Centre for Excellence in the History of Emotions

The University of York

About usIn less than 50 years, York has become one of the top ten universities in the UK for teaching and research – and is ranked in the top 100 universities in the world.

There are now over 30 academic departments and research centres and the student body has expanded to 13,000.

Research at York

• Virtually all our research is "internationally recognised" and over 50% is "world-leading" or "internationally excellent" (RAE 2008)

• York is consistently a top 10 UK research university and attracted over £200 million of funding last year

• The University works with public, private and third sector organisations across its research activities

• Our research income exceeds our teaching income

Researcher Development in the UK

Framework of the knowledge, behaviour and attributes of successful researchers

Enables self-assessment of strengths and areas for further development

Common framework across institutions in the UK

Universal language for communicating researcher capabilities

Why are you doing your research?What motivates you?

Does impact matter?

Research with Impact

The UK impact agenda

• The impact agenda has ignited much debate in the academic community in the UK and elsewhere due to the required inclusion of a ‘pathways to impact’ statement in research council grant funding applications

• Return on public investment

The impact agenda: assessment

• In addition to this, HEFCE have introduced a 20% weighting on impact in the Research Excellence Framework exercise calling for evidence that the research that has been funded has made an impact

Future and potential impacts

AHRC and ESRC ask for explicit answers to:

– Who will benefit from this research?– How will they benefit from this research?– What will be done to ensure that they have the

opportunity to benefit from this research

Australian Research Council and NHMRC

The ARC asks applicants to outline the potential innovative economic, environmental, social and/ or cultural benefit of proposed research and whether there are adequate strategies to encourage dissemination, commercialisation, if appropriate; and promotion of research outcomes.

NHMRC requires information about applicants’ involvement in community engagement activities and the translation of research into policy and practice.

• Focus on national research priorities• Outcomes, innovation and impact ( subtle differences)

The aspiration

“Our most direct and urgent message must be to the [researchers] themselves: learn to communicate with the public, be willing to do so and consider it your duty to do so”

Royal Society Statement The Public Understanding of Science (or Bodmer Report)1985

“The duty of intellectuals in society is to make a difference”

Sir Thomas More...(Shortly before his execution in 1535)

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The reality

Who is interested in research?

Mapping engagement

Policy community

Public sector

Community and 3rd sector

International community

Business community

RESEARCH

The public

Community organisations and societies

Voluntary organisations and charities

Non Governmental Organisations

Social enterprises

Cultural and leisure

services

Local / regional /

national govt

Schools, colleges and

lifelong learning

Quangos and govt agencies

Local authorities /

strategic bodies

Health and well being agencies

Businesses and industry

The media

Communities of place

Communities of interest

Knowledge exchange

“The UK Research Councils seek to accelerate the two-way flow of people and ideas between the research environment and wider economy, and thereby contribute to national prosperity, the quality of life of UK citizens, and cultural enrichment of our society. Knowledge Transfer encompasses the systems and processes by which knowledge, expertise and skilled people transfer between the research environment (universities, centres and institutes) and its user communities in industry, commerce, public and service sectors.” Research Councils UK

What’s the process?

E

• Enterprise• You do novel research, you have an idea about ways in

which the research could be useful to the outside world

KT

• Knowledge transfer/ exchange• That idea is translated to beneficiaries through a range of

activities with external collaborators

I

• Impact• There is an influence or effect on society/ economy enabled

through effective knowledge exchange

But what constitutes impact?

Economic, societal and cultural impact

“The research councils define impact as the demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to society and the economy”

• Impact is increasingly being defined as the influence or effect of research outside the university on the economy, society, and culture

• Taking research to non-academic users

Broadly defined for a reason?

Impact embraces all the extremely diverse ways in which research-related knowledge and skills benefit individuals, organisations and nations by:– fostering global economic performance, and

specifically the economic competitiveness of the United Kingdom

– increasing the effectiveness of public services and policy, and

– enhancing quality of life, health and creative output

Impact of social science research can be further categorised as:

• Instrumental – influencing the development of policy, practice or service provision, shaping legislation, altering behaviour

• Conceptual – contributing to the understanding of policy issues, reframing debates

• Capacity building – through technical and personal skill development

How might benefits be translated to end users?

Commercialisation

In the UK, researchers are encouraged to think about the commercial potential of their work through activities such as:

• CPD activities• Business creation (spin out/ license)• Knowledge transfer partnerships/ collaboration

with industry• Consultancy

Research into policy and practice

Politicians want research to back up their ideas

Academics want politicians to consider

their research

Public engagement

“ Our most direct and urgent message must be to the [researchers] themselves: learn to communicate with the public, be willing to do so and consider it your duty to do so”

Royal Society Statement

How does this affect grant writing?

1. Academic beneficiaries

2. Impact summary (4000 characters)

3. Pathway to impact (up to two sides of A4)

What is the difference between the summaries and the pathway to impact?

The summaries may well appear in the public domain (e.g. grants on the web)– non-technical language– focus on beneficiaries and how they will be impacted

The pathway expands on the information in the summaries– what you are actually going to do– networking events, workshops, publications, public

engagement, training…

Write an Impact Summary

• Summarise your research for a lay audience in no more than half a page ( we will use these later)

Tips: • Lose the jargon• Sell the benefits of your research not the features• Think about your audience, how can you make

your research accessible?

Impact is also understood in the UK in different contexts

1. Maximising impact of current research

2. Reporting on impact of previous research

3. Academic impact

1. Maximising current research

• Dissemination – Publications (open access), conferences, media,

web, public engagement• Widening collaborations

– Knowledge transfer/exchange (inc funded)– Partnering across disciplines/non-academic

organisations• Tracking of impacts

– START recording!

2. Past impacts: external assessment

Research Excellence Framework (REF)– 20% assessment = ‘Impact’– Structured narrative (case studies), backed by

indicators– Examples must be underpinned by excellent

research undertaken at submitting institution– Assessed at level of Unit of Assessment– Pilot was carried out in 2008

This is different to academic impact!

“The demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to academic advances, across and within disciplines, including significant advances in understanding, methods, theory and application”

Research Councils UK

IMPACT: AIMS

• NOT to change the type of research• To encourage you to think about the possible

impact of your research at the time of planning it

• `Impact` does not equal `applied`• `Impact` does not equal `industry`

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council UK

Impact can happen at different times...

0 – 5 Years 5 - 10 Years 10 - 20 Years 20- 50 Years

What is a pathway to impact?What will be done to ensure that they benefit from this research?

• Detail how the proposed research project will be managed to engage users and beneficiaries and increase the likelihood of impacts:

• Communication and engagement plans• Collaboration arrangements• Plans for exploitation, where appropriate• Relevant experience and track record

What resources might you request tocarry out your impact plan/activities?

• Extra time allocated to impact activities• Training (e.g. public engagement or

communications)• Workshops, seminars, networking events• Communicating to the public• Publication costs• Employment of consultants etc

Measuring public engagement

Evaluating impact

• Determining the impact of research is not straightforward

• This is particularly the case in social science where policy and service development is not a linear process, and decisions are rarely taken on the basis of research evidence alone

Challenges of measurement

• It can be difficult to pin down the role that an individual piece of research has played

• The timing of evaluation also presents challenges. Too soon after the research ends may mean that any impact has yet to fully develop, too late and the impact may no longer be traceable as people involved have moved on

Advice from UK funding councils?

• If you build impact in from the start then evaluation will become more part and parcel of the process

• User involvement will feed in throughout the whole process

• Tracking and monitoring progress against targets will help keep track of evidence

• Research upon research? Work in progress

Reviewing impactEXCELLENCE • Novelty, relationship to the context, and timeliness

• Ambition, adventure, and transformative aspects• Appropriateness of the proposed methodology

IMPACT • Extent to which the proposal shows the potential impact• Relevance/appropriateness of any beneficiaries or collaborators• Appropriateness of dissemination and knowledge exchange routes and resources

ABILITY TO DELIVER • Appropriateness of the track record of the applicant(s)• Balance of skills of the project team, including academic collaborators

PLANNING AND RESOURCES

• Effectiveness of the proposed planning & management• Appropriateness of the requested resources – justified?

Discussion: review impact in grants

• Extent to which the proposal shows the potential impact

• Relevance/appropriateness of any beneficiaries or collaborators

• Appropriateness of dissemination and knowledge exchange routes and resources

Group work – draft a pathway

Discuss your summaries – work in groups and choose one research projectUsing the flip chart outline:

• the chosen lay summary of the project• non-academic beneficiaries/partners• how will they benefit• activities which will help to produce impact

( consider ways this might be evaluated?)

Tips for better impact

• Say what you are going to DO• Be clear and precise including names and details• Use and maximise existing links• Encourage ‘active participation with’ and ‘people

exchange’• Use new media routes to engage others• Be creative, enjoy it!• Use public engagement• Think ‘outside the box’• Remember impact is broader than commercial

exploitation

In summary• It is about maximising the impact of

activities

• It is about showing our value

• The activities funded are not changing

Further information

UKAll 7 UK Research Councils: www.rcuk.ac.ukRCUK Pathways to Impact: http://impacts.rcuk.ac.ukNational Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement:

www.nccpe.ac.uk

Australia Australian Research Council: http://www.arc.gov.au/Australian Academy of the Humanities:

http://www.humanities.org.au/About/OrganisationGovernance/Council.aspx

Jennifer.chubb@york.ac.ukUniversity of York