1

Embedding impact; effecting institutional change through the development and rollout of an

Impact Capture System Julie Bayley

Impact Officer

Senior Researcher in Health Psychology

Email: j.bayley@coventry.ac.uk Twitter @Julie_covuni

Julia Ryall Programmes Director

Post Award

Email: j.ryall@coventry.ac.uk

•To share Coventry’s experience of embedding impact Purpose

•To offer insight into developing strategies for your own institution Aim

•Research directors, managers and officers, funders, stakeholders Audience

•Brief, to support planning for your institution Exercises

Resources

•Blog - http://blogs.coventry.ac.uk/researchblog/category/impact/

•Session materials (slides, booklet)

•Link to paper and slides (“Strategies for the management and adoption of impact capture processes”) from EuroCRIS 2014

•Link to “How-to guide for developing an Impact Capture System”, LSE Impact of Social Sciences blog post

2

Overview

1. Background and HE context

2. Coventry approach (with ‘ERIC’)

3. Research support context

4. Next steps

5. Q&A

Section 1

Background and context

3

Research Impact

• Research Councils UK (RCUK) definition:

– 'the demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to society and the economy'.

• Broad types: – Academic

– Economic

– Societal

– Environmental

Impact Drivers

• REF 2014 – Impact added to assessment criteria (not in RAE 2008)

• Academic excellence 65%

• Impact 20%

– Retrospective tracking and capture

• Expected increased weighting for impact in REF 2020

• Increased funder requirements for impact (eg. Horizon 2020)

• ‘Return on Investment’

4

Related context

• Ongoing discussions on measurement, assessment and definitions e.g. – Acceptable metrics

– Appropriate metrics

– Altmetrics

– Proxy measures

• Related drives eg. Open Access, international strategy

• Increasing focus on how to embed change institutionally

• How do we develop a systematised approach?

Challenges • Experience of REF 2014

• Impact understanding / awareness

• Impact is not static or universally accepted

• Scepticism and suspicion

• Standardisation across disciplines

• Attribution and ownership

• Intangible impact

• Time lag / tracking

• Control of information

• Bridging academic / business divide

• Combining narrative with metrics

• Non-funded projects

5

Section 2

Coventry University Approach

EXERCISE 1

Booklet page 6-7

6

Impact is a good thing

Impact can be captured

by an academic self

service system

7

Impact capture and

assessment are separate

activities

Different impacts can

be ranked / weighted

8

Ranking / weighting impact

is motivating for

academics

Priority should be placed

on REF 2020 impact rather

than impact in broader

terms

9

Impact is a ‘virtuous activity’

Academics are suspicious

about Centrally led

initiatives

10

“Embedding Research Impact at Coventry” (ERIC)

• JISC funded project (2012) to develop a pilot impact capture system

• System to plan and capture impacts from project inception

• VC commission: redeveloped to cover whole university

• Development: – Development of impact markers

– Review of literature and guidance

– Academic and stakeholder consultation

*http://www.publicengagement.ac.uk/about/impact-analysis

Prototype development process

1. Impact needs analysis

Business and Community

Engagement

2. Create content

Research

3. Technical process review

/ system adaptation

Information Management

4. Pilot test system

Research

11

Full rollout Pilot

Purchase database Full launch

Consultation and engagement

across faculties

Modify/ extend database

Embedding

External literature / guidance

‘ERIC’ system

• Built within existing CU Research Information Management system (BIDS)

• Add details of (multiple) planned impacts, those which occur unexpectedly or remove those which do not transpire.

• 4 steps to add an impact…..

12

1. Plan impact

2. Plan evidence

13

3. Set email reminders

4. Add evidence / defer / update

14

Benefits of ERIC

• ‘Institutional memory’

• Flexible system supports impact planning from project inception

• Build and monitor ongoing impact portfolios

• Reduced reporting burden for REF 2020

• Support funding bids / reports to funders

• CU marketing, case studies and reputation building

Consultation feedback

Barriers Facilitators

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Time /workload

Systemfamiliarity

Impactawareness

Systemdifficulties

Attributionand tracking

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Training Raiseawareness

Systemedits

Link acrossuniversity

Utilise data Access Increaserelevance

15

Section 3

Research Support Context

Supporting the Impact Agenda

• Coventry’s Story: Past, Present, Future

• Changes in the Project Life Cycle

• Tensions, concerns, worries, solutions….

16

Coventry University Commitment

• Part of new “Excellence with Impact” strategic plan

• Impact Capture System (ERIC)

• Central Impact Officer (Academic)

• Faculty / research centre based impact personnel

• Broad and growing support structure for impact support

• Increasing reputation and presence across higher education

• Impact is valued

17

Impact across the project lifespan

Research

project £

Academic

output Citations Impact

From...Impact considered at the end of the project..

Academic

“project”

Academic

output Citations and metrics

Impact Other

dissemination

Impact monitoring / evidencing

Impact

planning

To…Impact built in from the start of a project…

CULTURAL and

SYSTEMS

integration

18

CULTURAL and

SYSTEMS

integrationAcademic’s

Impact

Funded

Projects

Non-

Funded

Events /

Conferences

To..

Articles Media

Presence

Esteem

Markers

BIDS EventsForce

Ethics

Moodle Repository M&C

??

Publicly Funded Projects

£

Articles

From…

Dissemination Conference

BIDS

Repository

Impact

Academics Heterogeneous

Research Support

Homogeneous

Strategic leads

Themes

Everything?

Cross Cutting

Subject Specific

Indexed / Meta Tags

Immediacy

Impact ‘Cogs’

More

FUNDING

Benchmarking

Ownership

Organisational

Reputation

Own Reputation

Longevity

RE-USE

Performance

Measure?

Ranking

Standardisation

Individuals

Key Challenges

Diverse

Context

We don’t know

what the

Strategic

Leaders will

require next

New different

drivers? When?

? What is the

information for

Impact ‘Cogs’

Ownership

Organisational

Reputation

Own Reputation

Longevity

Standardisation

Individuals

Key Challenges

Diverse Everything?

Cross Cutting

Subject Specific

Indexed

Immediacy RE-USE

Benchmarking

Performance

Measure?

Context

19

Academics

Research Support

Strategic leads

Exercise 2: Your cogs

Booklet page 13

Impact ‘Cogs’

Ownership

Organisational

Reputation

Own Reputation

Longevity

Standardisation

Individuals

Key Challenges

Diverse Everything?

Cross Cutting

Subject Specific

Indexed

Immediacy RE-USE

Benchmarking

Performance

Measure?

Context

Section 4

Next steps

20

.…as a Sector

• Build in impact from the start

• Translate “Impact”

• Engage Academics

– Behaviour change, embed, deal with suspicion…

• Engage Stakeholders

• Build networks (internal and external)

• Bridge academic / research support divide

….at Coventry

• Continue building and rolling out system

• Grow impact culture / infrastructure

• Embedding impact and behaviour change

• Training

• System changes

• Dissemination (papers, reports, blogs)

21

Exercise 3: .…at your Organisation

1.

2.

3.

Booklet page 15

Summary

• Top-down support for bottom-up development

• Consider what works in your context

• ‘Engage not enrage’ academics

• Across-university system interaction

• Continued dialogue and revision

• Centralised and committed approach, locally translated

• Partnership is key

22

Thank you

Questions?

Julie Bayley Email: j.bayley@coventry.ac.uk

Twitter @Julie_covuni

Julia Ryall Email: JRyall@cad.coventry.ac.uk