Webinar slides by Prof Mark Reed. View the video at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvr-7zuEcX-8dEsIZsFoMyg. View the full guide at: https://www.fasttrackimpact.com/post/how-to-integrate-impact-into-a-ukri-case-for-support.

1. INTEGRATING IMPACT INTO YOUR
UKRI CASE FOR SUPPORT

2. Introduce yourself via chat:
Name and expertise or discipline
For example:
Hi everyone, I’m Mark Reed from Newcastle University
OR
Mark Reed – I do research on environmental governance at Newcastle
University
While people arrive…
Comment
in chat

3. Raise a foot to the camera, look at what
everyone else is wearing and write in chat:
Digital icebreaker
Who would you like
to swap shoes,
socks or slippers
with?
Describe the footwear you
noticed, rather than the
person’s name
Comment
in chat

4. Links to:
 E-handout pack
 PDF of book
 Example proposals
(download and scan
during session)
 Note: this session is
being recorded
Question:Downloads

5. 1. Thinking tools
2. Break out groups to
discuss proposals
3. How to integrate
impact into a case
for support
4. Proposal writing
tools
Question:Plan

6. 5 WAYS
to Fast Track your
Research Impact
Thinkingt
ools

7. Question:What is impact?
benefit

8. Question:What is impact?
Who benefits?

9. The good that
researchers do
in the worldReed (The Research Impact Handbook)
“Demonstrable benefits to individuals, groups,
organisations and society (including human and non-
human entities in the present and future) that are
causally linked (necessarily or sufficiently) to
research.”
Reed et al. (under review) Research Policy
Question:What is impact?

10. The good that
researchers do
in the world
Question:Types of policy impact
Which one of the
following is not a type
of impact, based on
this definition:
• Economic
• Environmental
• Social
• Technological
• Health/wellbeing
• Cultural
Vote
now

11. The good that
researchers do
in the world
Question:What is impact?
What interim/initial
impacts might you
see on the
pathway to
impact?
For example:
• Increased
awareness or
understanding of
an issue…
Comment
in chat

12. Capacity building
Understanding and awareness
Attitudinal
Other forms of decision-making and behaviour change impacts
Policy
Health and wellbeing Economic
Cultural
Other social
Environmental

15. The heart of the impact agenda in…
1 metaphor
1 word

17. Empathy

18. Integrating
impact
into your Case for Support

19. Read and discuss
Research Councils no longer require Pathways to
Impact plan or Impact Summary from March 2020
“Impact is now a core consideration throughout the grant
application process. To reflect this culture change we must
examine how we operate and decide what steps we can take
as a funder to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of
the processes we use. UK Research and Innovation has
therefore decided to remove the requirement for applicants
to submit a Pathways to Impact plan for its schemes.”
UKRI statement, 27/01/2020
What happened to impact?

20. Read and discuss
 Ensure you focus on the specific impacts sought
in the call
 Adapt the length and focus of your text on impact
to the call specification
 Devote more words/detail to impact if the call
scope/criteria feature impact strongly than in calls
with limited or no focus on impact
 For example…
Guidance in calls

21. Read and discuss
 Impact is not in the assessment criteria for the
NERC’s Pushing the Frontiers call and this is the
only mention:
Impact-lite call

22. Read and discuss
 GCRF: “Applicants
must clearly
articulate their
impact plans,
demonstrating how
they meet ODA
requirements
throughout their
‘Case for Support’
submission.”
Impact-heavy calls
 The majority of UKRI’s COVID-19 application form
focuses on impact:

23. Read and discuss
 Assessment criteria for a recent
MRC/AHRC/ESRC call have a strong focus on
mental health and engagement (rather than
impact)
Different impact foci

24. Read and discuss
 AHRC “Scoping Future Arts & Humanities Led
Research” call includes a focus on international
and policy impacts in its scope:
Different impact foci

25. Read and discuss
 Quick overview
 Discuss example proposals in break-out rooms
 Key ingredients to integrate
 Different ways of integrating
So how do you do it?

26. Read and discuss
 What is the challenge
or opportunity in the
world?
 Who would benefit
beyond the academy
and what would be
the significance and
reach?
Problem
statement and/or
beneficiaries
 What is the research
challenge or
opportunity?
 What is original and
significant for
researchers in my
discipline and beyond?
Impact
goals
Research
questions
and goals
Pathways
Methods
Impacts
Research
outputs
Work plan
Goals Activities
Outputs and
impacts

27. Who has a stake in my research?
1. Move to your break-out
room
2. Individually scan/read the
two bids
3. Join the discussion when
you are ready
What do you like about how the
different bids integrate impact?
Different approaches to integration

28. Who has a stake in my research?
Which integration approach did
you like better?
1. ESRC Centre
2. GCRF Forest Network
Vote
now
Different approaches to integration

29. Who has a stake in my research?
What good practice features did
you find in both bids?
What would you avoid or do
better?
Comment
in chat
Different approaches to integration

30. Read and discuss
1. Integrate research and impact problem statements
and/or beneficiaries in the introduction to your case
for support (with a summary of this to introduce your
objectives and summary sections in Je-S)
2. Integrate research and impact goals into your
objectives section
Key ingredients
3. Integrate pathways that lead
to the delivery/monitoring of
impacts into your work plan,
alongside research methods
that lead to research outputs

31. Read and discuss
1. Save yourself a page for impact in your Case for
Support by cross-referencing to the Objectives and
Academic Beneficiaries sections in Je-S
Integration approaches
2. Use tables, headings and
formatting to show how
research and impact goals
deliver tangible research
outputs and impacts
3. Use diagrams and structural
devices to show connections
between research and
impact

32. Read and discussResearch and
impact problem
statement
and/or
academic and
non-academic
beneficiaries
Research
and impact
goals
Research
methods
and impact
pathways
Research
outputs and
measurable
impacts
Summary

33. 5 WAYS
to Fast Track your
Research Impact
Proposal
writing tools

34. Who has a stake in my research?
1. Who might benefit from the
impacts in the call? Reach
out to key groups early
2. What are their interests and
needs? Co-produce
additional impact goals
3. How will you enable each
identified group to benefit
from each impact goal? Link
activities to impact goals
and beneficiaries
Tools

35. See my blog for advance stakeholder analysis methods:
https://www.fasttrackimpact.com/blog
Who has a stake in my research?Stakeholder analysis

36. Who has a stake in my research?
1. Who is interested (or not)?
2. Who has influence (to facilitate or block
impact)?
3. Who is impacted (positively or negatively)?
Why?
Stakeholder analysis: 3i’s

38. See a worked example on my vlog: https://www.fasttrackimpact.com/vlog
Who has a stake in my research?Impact planning

41. New resources in your inbox
www.fasttrackimpact.com/contact

42. Read and discussMore online courses
www.fasttrackimpact.com/training-courses

43. Read and discussFree follow-up training
www.fasttrackimpact.com/for-researchers

44. www.fasttrackimpact.com
@fasttrackimpact