Impact and Knowledge Transfer Officer Psychology Department RESEARCH IMPACT Kim Davies Impact and Knowledge Transfer Officer Psychology Department

RESEARCH IMPACT What is impact? Why is impact important? Impact and public engagement Planning for impact

What is Impact? Research has impact if it has “… an effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia” (REF 2014)

Why is Impact Important? For the University REF ££ Raising University’s profile For You Raising your professional profile Future funding Career progression Connection with the outside world

Impact vs Public Engagement Public engagement is one (very important) step along the impact “pathway” Need to show change or benefit resulting from engagement What does successful public engagement look like? - knowledge exchange, rather than transfer - research is physically accessible - research is understandable

When should I start thinking about Impact? PLAN for impact - right from the start - throughout the lifespan of your research Serendipitous impact

Planning Impact Your research Who might benefit from your research? Possible impact activities Capturing evidence of impact

Think about your research Planning Impact Think about your research How is it unique? Why is it important? What difference could it make? - change/inform policy - improve services/inform guidelines - raise public’s awareness/improve knowledge/understanding - change behaviour/attitudes/perceptions - economic benefits (e.g. reduce healthcare costs, make companies more profitable)

Who might benefit from your research? Planning Impact Who might benefit from your research? Partners/Collaborators e.g. charities (engage with patient groups, provide them with services, information etc.) Influencers/Decision-Makers e.g. civil servants, advisors, other academics Direct Beneficiaries e.g. public, patient/clinical groups, service providers

Planning Impact Impact activities Involve stakeholders! - throughout the research process Types of activities: - open access publishing of research (BIROn) - workshops/roundtable discussions/targeted events - research summaries/reports/leaflets - oral/written evidence for Government reports, Select Committees etc. - secondments - social media (websites, Twitter, Facebook, Newsletters, blogs, video podcasts, webinars)

http://www.altmetric.com/bookmarklet

Topsy.com Includes influencers

(4) Capture evidence of your impact Planning Impact (4) Capture evidence of your impact Types of evidence: - testimonials - public debate in the media, including social media - questionnaires/feedback demonstrating change in attitudes/opinion/behaviour following your research - Parliamentary debate informed by your research - citations e.g. policy documents, select committee reports - any changes to practice, curriculum, training materials etc. Keep documentary evidence of any impact your research has, preferably in electronic/hard copy form (reports, newspaper weblinks, screenshots, quotes, testimonials, Tweets etc.)

Conclusions/Final Thoughts Importance of impact Put yourself and your research out there Make the most of the support around you - stakeholders - colleagues - public engagement officer - external relations/communications - impact officer