Impact

Owned by Laura Smith
Last updated: 07 Aug, 2023
2 min read

One of the key objectives in our Departmental Research Strategy is to 'widen our research influence and impact', with an increased focus on challenge-orientated research. Impact is inherent in the research that our Department does, but there is still space for fundamental research which is not expected to generate impact.

Definition

Research impact has many definitions, but is essentially an effect or change outside of academia as a result of research. This change can take many forms - environmental, economic, policy, societal etc. - such as a landscape being managed differently, a business becoming more efficient, a change in government policy, or changing the public's perceptions about an issue.

University definition of impact

'Pathways to impact' or 'routes to impact' are the methods or activities used to generate impact, such as contributing to a policy discussion, working with a business to improve their ways of working, or running a workshop to find solutions. We can't guarantee that these activities will lead to impact.

Impact in Research Funding

Emphasis on impact in research funding depends on the objectives of the funder. Reading the call guidance and the funder's objectives will help you understand what they are expecting.

Funders like the Leverhulme Trust are more focused on scientific research than impact - impact is welcome but not a driving factor in their decision making. Other funders expect impact to be designed into research projects.

UKRI advise that up to 10% of a project budget could be assigned to impact-related activities, and project reporting includes sections on activities and outcomes. This is because - as a funder distributing UK taxpayers money - UKRI need to demonstrate the return on their investment. However, the extent of activities needs to be appropriate to the project.

It's important to collect evidence of impact from research projects, so that you can use it in project reports to the funder and for potential Research Excellence Framework (REF) impact case studies. Consider including costs for evidencing impact into your project budget.

Resources for Impact