1. J D Hill Head of Research, The British Museum jhill@britishmuseum.org
What is Impact?
J D Hill
Head of Research, The British Museum
Research Impact Workshop IHR
Who I am,
Head of Research
IROs CDP
REF panel member
Involved in discussions about Impact
Also a Curator
Make Exhibitions
Media Strategy
Make TV and Radio programmes
Caveats – REF, not break confidentially nor give unfair advantage, not how to get a 4*

2. What is impact and where impacts happen?
Is dissemination impact?
How to tell strong stories about impact?

3. Impact is when research does something for someone else
Helps someone else achieve what they want/need to do
Answers someone else’s research question
Solves someone else’s problem
Changes someone else’s understandings or perceptions
Makes someone else money
Enables someone else to meet their targets or goals
Preserves something important for someone else
Improves someone else’s education achievements
Makes someone else spend their time and money in ways they might otherwise not have done
WHAT IS IMPACT – REF Definition
Research from the University does something for someone else outside of the University
Changes someone else’s understandings or perceptions
What difference did the research make that would not have happened without the research?   
From This
It is not the researcher, or the research that matters, but the impacts
University Research often may not directly lead to the impacts – unless designed from the start to lead to the impacts – It requires TRANSLATION.
A body of research from one or more researcher can led to the impacts
The researcher does not need to be present to achieve this (and might hinder).

4. Where is the focus of the claimed impacts?
Is the Museum or Historic Property not the visitor?
Is the Publisher as much as the reader?
TV Production Company and the TV Channel rather than the viewer?
Is it the School as well as the the Pupil?
Museum or Historic Property not the visitor
Why did they want to make an exhibition or redisplay,
Why need the Research?
what were their measures of success (was it successful?),
did it lead to expected visitor numbers, attract new or different audiences,
lead to ticket sales or shop purchases,
lead on to other things that only happened because of this?
Is the Publisher as much as the reader
Why did they publish,
Did it sell and make a profit,
Did it open up new markers,
lead to more commissions in a particular genre,
did it save them from bankruptcy?
TV Production Company and the Channel rather than the viewer?
Commissioning Channel –
Why did they commission,
how was it successful in their terms (viewer figures, competition with other channels, advertising revenue, BBC Charter goals),
was it a new area for programming and did it lead to more programming
Production Company –
Why commission this?
Why did they need the Research?
Did it make them money, Could they sell it to other stations,
did it lead to more programmes in that area, how was it successful in their terms?
Is it the School as well as the Pupil? –
why did the school need this to happen,
did it lead to greater engagement, less suspensions, increased GCSE grades, more pupils entering higher education, making it easier to teach a topic or subject
Was it sustainable and long lasting

5. Is Dissemination Impact?
A pathway to impact – what makes the claimed impacts happen
A effect of the claimed impact

6. Making a case for impact
Telling a convincing story the uses a range of appropriate evidence in appropriate ways to show the impacts claimed
Be clear what the impact(s) claimed are – keep them specific and not too many
Use appropriate evidence in appropriate way (including numerical data)
Concentrate on the impact not the pathway
Ask and involve those who benefited from the research (Do they recognize what is claimed? How do they evidence the benefits for them?)
Don’t say ‘had an impact on…..’ be specific
Showing Impact
Case Study – What case studies were for (even if now become a measuring tool)
Writing a good story, that makes a convincing case
Be clear what impacts are being claimed – and they are right ones on the right people/organisations
Use the best evidence and the types of evidence/argument a particular sector would use.
Numbers – bias against in REF industry (book sales don’t show if read them, visitor numbers don’t show what visitors took away from the visit).
What is the impact being claimed
Hard to show impact in terms of change in behaviours, understanding, attitudes
But numbers do count – Organisations/Govt use numbers – even if seen as proxies
 Reflect real Economic Decisions and Chooses (choice to spend money or time or both)
But always use numbers in appropriate contexts – is it a lot or shows a change?
Recognise that impacts need the right teams of people involved – can lone researchers do it all
 Ask partners – Many of us have justified what we do all the time
Ask partners – do they recognise the impacts being claimed –
How do they evidence the impacts?

7. A History of the Word in 100 Objects
Western Australia Museum 2016