Developing research impact across UWE Bristol

For the past decade research impact has become an important component of academic life, thanks to changes in the external environment.

Demonstrating the potential impact often forms part of grant applications, while impact case studies are a significant part of a university’s Research Excellence Framework (REF) submission. Aside from the external drivers, the process of developing impact and seeing your research make a difference to society can be extremely rewarding.

The RBI Impact Team is concerned with improving the wider societal impact of UWE’s research. Our team aims to embed a culture of impact across the whole University.

We can help you:

• Articulate the change you want your research to create
• Identify the pathways and partners to realise that change
• Understand how to measure and evidence your impact success

How the Impact Team can support you in developing your research impact (other than a REF Impact Case Study!)

Embedding impact in your research

• Offering one to one meetings (online or in person) to discuss your work and how best it can lead to ‘real world’ impact.
• Identifying potential stakeholders and discussing potential beneficiaries and, where needed, draw on existing UWE networks to make those connections.
• Discussing your impact end goals and how to go about achieving them.
• Completing an impact planning tool/logic model/theory of change to support project planning to deliver impact end goals.
• Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI ‘narrative CV’): With a growing requirement for academics to have impactful research (the R4RI’s Module 4 asks researchers to describe ‘contributions to wider societal benefit’) we can work alongside the RKE bid developers to help craft the impact narrative in your R4RI.

Expanding reach and significance of your research

• Working with RBI’s IP and Commercialisation team to scope for ways your research could be commercialised (including a not for profit business model).
• Working with other RBI colleagues, Marketing and other professional services to highlight and promote impact (potentially extending its reach).

Policy engagement

• Understanding the UK political landscape and using this expertise to see whether your research could have policy impact.
• Providing support if you’re submitting written evidence to a Parliamentary Select Committee: we can help shape, review and edit your evidence.
• If you’re invited to give oral evidence, we can help you prepare in the form of a mock evidence panel.
• To support preparation of briefing papers.
• Advising on other ways to engage with parliament.
• If you are interested in receiving notifications for policy engagement opportunities, please get in touch: ben2.mitchell@uwe.ac.uk  

Identifying, gathering and curating evidence of impact

• Liaising with your stakeholders to secure evidence of impact e.g. via a testimonial/letter of support.
• Other evidence gathering for REF purposes.
• Using the Impact Module on Worktribe to upload evidence.

Signposting funding opportunities

• Identifying funding opportunities for research impact activities and engagement and advising on bid development.

Skills development workshops

• We offer in person and online impact workshops.
• We can also develop bespoke workshops around impact for delivery at: College/School/Centre or Group level or aimed at different career stages.
• Go to your My Learning page on the intranet and view the courses listed under Researcher Skills to see which courses we run. They include:
  • Planning for Impact
  • Focus on Policy Engagement

• We also run ARC Discover: a rolling programme of online workshops for SHAPE (Social sciences, Humanities and Arts for People and the Economy) researchers seeking to create legacy and impact from their research. Participants get to explore the different opportunities for impact and discover the potential audiences for their research.
• More info and booking – https://arcaccelerator.io/arc-discover/

Securing and delivering financial support for impact development: UWE’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Impact Acceleration Account (IAA)

• UWE Bristol was successful in receiving funds from the AHRC to support knowledge exchange and impact emerging from arts and humanities-based research and/or interdisciplinary research with an arts and humanities component. As part of this we have funding calls open, with a rolling deadline to support impact activities until December 2024. The scheme also offers a number of training and development opportunities.

For more information please see the AHRC IAA Impact Acceleration Account Intranet page.

RBI’s Impact Team compromises of:

Useful links:

Funding opportunities for impact and public engagement grants (correct as of August 2023):

Fast Track Impact – a useful guide to all things impact

EPSRC guide to impact

ESRC’s impact toolkit

An excellent LSE guide to knowledge-exchange, public engagement and impact.

Engaging with Parliament – how researchers can engage with policymakers.

Giving evidence in Parliament: a how to guide for academics (LSE blog)

The work and impact of POST (pdf) (In depth guide from a lead researcher at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, POST)

Inclusion – https://www.watershed.co.uk/studio/process/inclusion-framework-change

Co-Design – https://www.beyondstickynotes.com/what-is-codesign

National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement has a lot of resources – https://www.publicengagement.ac.uk/do-engagement

For an even more extensive list of useful links, please see the downloadable PDF below: