Preparing for impact in REF2029
Online course
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Course description
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This course will give you everything you need to generate significant and far-reaching impacts from your research and evidence these impacts convincingly. You will gain time-saving methods and tools that will help you plan for impact. You will also learn techniques for monitoring, evaluating and evidencing your impact. Finally, you will receive expert guidance on writing a 4* impact case study, with strategic insights through a practical example. You will have an opportunity to discuss your own case study plans and challenges with colleagues and get expert help from Prof Jensen. As part of the session, you can choose to receive your own hard copy of one of Prof Reed’s books, The Research Impact Handbook or Impact Culture.
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Key benefits:
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Think critically about impact in REF to avoid negative unintended consequences and missed opportunities, and build a healthy impact culture in your group.
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Learn how to avoid the number one predictor of low scores in REF impact case studies by distinguishing clearly between engagement and impact.
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Get the latest intelligence on requirements for impact case studies and engagement and impact statements in REF2029.
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Gain clarity on impact priorities and define your impacts in concrete, measurable terms.
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Develop a comprehensive evaluation plan tailored to your objectives.
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Understand the strengths and limitations of key evaluation methods for assessing policy impact.
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Effectively integrate EDIA-related metrics and technology into your evaluations.
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Discover easy and quick-to-use tools to fix problems with significance or reach in case studies.
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Capture compelling evidence to demonstrate impact for multiple purposes effectively.
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Learn how to construct a 4* impact case study, based on research into high versus low-scoring cases in REF2014 and a worked example showing the anatomy of a 4* claim from REF2021.
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Discuss your own impact plans and evidence challenges with colleagues and get advice from Prof Jensen to develop your own REF2029 case study.
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At the end of the workshop:
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Receive slides and links to free resources to help you embed impact in your research.
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​​You have the option to make a commitment to an action based on the course and receive a follow-up email from Prof Jensen to check in and help as necessary after a month.
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Prof Jensen and Prof Reed continue to answer all questions from participants via email after the course, guaranteeing a response to all questions within one week.
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What's covered?
View example agendas
Half-day (3-hour) session
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Full-day (6-hour) session
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Discuss your training needs with a Fast Track Impact expert.
What are people saying about this course?
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“This has been exceptionally useful - thank you!”
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“I loved the practical tips and tools, stimulating me to think about how impact can be achieved and evaluated, and what impact actually means.”
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“Incredibly useful and detailed.”
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“As an ECR researcher, I know I have to demonstrate impact to progress in my career. However, impact has always felt like something I 'should' be doing. This course reframed the concept and made it into something that I want to do; something that can be exciting and rewarding and meaningful. I was half expecting this session to be dry and boring, but it was quite the opposite! There was plenty of space for discussion and I came away feeling much more confident about the prospect of making an impact. The resources and ideas for how to track and manage impact were particularly helpful and made the concept less abstract.”
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“I liked the emphasis on persistence and the ways in which someone can chase up impact statements and persevere with the ongoing relationship; also, the distinction between engagement and impact. It was very well explained.”
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“Talking through actual examples was immensely useful.”
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“I will definitely take a more methodical approach to designing and developing impact. I will also start to better record evidence as I go along.”
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“I liked the pace of presenting and asking the audience to comment on questions in the chat, giving us some time to reflect. Great use of the online delivery method.”
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“There were a lot of personal-focused discussions, which were interesting”
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“As a practitioner first and foremost, impact has always been my driving force. The idea of systematically recording that impact is new to me and something I will now address.”