A quick guide to impact beyond academiaWhat is impact?

Research can have impact within academia (involving advances in understanding, methods, theory and application) and outside academia. Here we focus on non-academic impact.

In simple terms, impact is the influence of your work outside academia - all the ways in which your findings are changing the world!

The 2014 Research Excellence Framework defined impact as “An effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia”. It said that “impact includes, but is not limited to, an effect on, change or benefit to:● the activity, attitude, awareness, behaviour, capacity, opportunity,

performance, policy, practice, process or understanding● of an audience, beneficiary, community, constituency, organisation or

individuals● in any geographic location whether locally, regionally, nationally or

internationally.”

UK Research Councils call non-academic impacts Economic and societal impacts defined as “the demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to society and the economy. Economic and societal impacts embrace all the extremely diverse ways in which research-related knowledge and skills benefit individuals, organisations and nations by:● fostering global economic performance, and the economic competitiveness

of the UK,● increasing the effectiveness of public services and policy,● enhancing quality of life, health and creative output.”

The graphic above is by Research Councils UK summarising the ways in which research can influence the world outside academia. The specifics of impact vary significantly depending on the research questions, the subject and nature of the project.

In the 2014 REF impact case studies were measured on both reach (how widely felt is the impact within its potential beneficiary communities) and significance (how transformative is the impact). Some research could have wide reach but limited significance, and vice versa.

Helpful questions

When thinking about impact in relation to a piece of research four key questions apply: ● Who are the beneficiaries? (People, organisations, whole sectors, policy

makers, etc. - these can be broad and diverse, and are very subject- and topic-dependent).

● What are the benefits? How is the research helping them?● How can these benefits be maximised?● How can these benefits be evidenced?

These should be considered before the project starts as you can then put in place excellent strategies and processes for achieving impact and collecting

evidence throughout the project. If the research is grant-funded you will have likely been asked about impact in the grant application.

Impact vs public engagement

It is important to distinguish between impact (i.e. change occurring as a result of the research influence) and the means used to achieve impact (i.e. activities through which influence is achieved, sometimes called “pathways to impact”). An example of this is public engagement: media appearances, blogging or conference talks which are often a great for achieving impact but do not constitute impact per se. To demonstrate that these activities have been impactful we need to show that change or benefit had occurred, e.g. policy changes (or widespread questioning of existing policies), increased awareness, changes in business practices, etc.

Maximising and evidencing impact

Impact-related activities are likely to be subject- and project-specific because there are so many different ways in which research can be influential. Ongoing, established relationships with potential research users and beneficiaries help maximise impact through informing research projects and helping engage the right communities (users, policy makers, journalists, etc.) with the research process and with its findings.

Most research funders and the REF process require evidence of research impact. This again is likely to be very project-specific and could range from in-depth research to evaluate impact to quotes from beneficiaries to excerpts from policy documents that cite the research.

Funding councils have helpful guidance on impact and public engagement, e.g.:

http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/engagement/http://www.esrc.ac.uk/research/impact-toolkit/https://www.epsrc.ac.uk/research/ourportfolio/themes/healthcaretechnologies/strategy/toolkit/http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/impact/http://www.stfc.ac.uk/public-engagement/

Support on impact at Royal Holloway

Each department has a Director of Impact who can provide guidance and support to colleagues.

The College also has a Vice Principal for Impact, Professor Helen Nicholson, as well as two Impact Managers in Research and Enterprise who support the

development of impact across the College. Kristina Glushkova focuses on impact in Government, Social and Corporate sectors and Olivia Swift on Creative, Cultural and Heritage sectors.

The Impact Managers will also help develop further guidance and support colleagues in relation to impact activities, working with Directors of Impact and Associate Deans for Research in the coming months.

Further reading

● Pathways to Impact overview by Research Councils UK

● REF 2014 main assessment criteria explain what impact is and how it’s measured, while REF 2014 panel assessment criteria elaborate on subject-specific definitions. Please note that guidance on REF2020/21 has not yet been published so the detail of requirements may change but we expect impact to continue playing a strong role.

● REF results spreadsheet - useful context allowing to look up impact results by Unit of Assessment (subject area) and institution. The results show the percentage of case studies by their star rating (the higher the share of 4* case studies, the better) so you can see which institutions did well in your subject.

● REF impact case studies - a searchable database by institution and unit of assessment.