Your favourite impact resources: ARMA Research Impact SIG drop-in by Joel Baker

Curiosity Carnival - Little Book of Evaluation

jshaw1016 — 2024-08-27 16:09:54 UTC

I like that it has examples that work well for specific kinds of public-facing activity, with information on how to do it and how it was used in the context. This makes them more tangible, usable, practical examples

Toolkit

2024-08-28 07:41:49 UTC

At Salford we have created a 'Getting started with impact' toolkit, which explains why we are asking our research community to engage in the context of our own institution. It takes the reader step by step through the process with links to templates along the way and lots of signposting to other (external) resources.

2024-08-28 07:42:35 UTC

A mixture - no need to reinvent the wheel! However, it can be helpful to 'tailor' existing materials for your own institution.

Theory of change

2024-08-28 07:45:03 UTC

There is a lot of talk about 'theory of change' in relation to impact but we find that talking about theories can actually put off our academics and they need something more tangible to work with. We use logic models to try to take them through the thought process.

Bartlett manual of impact

2024-08-28 07:53:38 UTC

I haven't used this extensively yet but it is helpful to get a sense of impact with stakeholders

Book - Creating meaningful impact

2024-08-28 07:57:00 UTC

This seems like a good resource to explain what impact is and how to do it

CAPE

2024-08-28 08:00:26 UTC

This website has a lot of resources on impact and policy engagement

2024-09-02 10:12:05 UTC

All of their resources are simple and clear. Just getting people to use them is hard!

Developing Monitoring and Evaluation Frameworks

verity1buckley — 2024-09-02 13:31:33 UTC

An oldie but a goodie! A classic evaluation handbook.

NCCPE has some excellent resources on partnership working including this one

2024-09-03 13:50:50 UTC

The Centre for Cultural Value

2024-09-03 13:52:52 UTC

Their evaluation principles are really robust and they have so many resources besides, including some great ones on creative evaluation techniques!

This is also a good resource on equitable relations in impact

2024-09-03 13:55:37 UTC

REF 2021: Annex A: Examples of impact and indicators

2024-09-03 14:57:33 UTC

Many of our academics find this to be a valuable resource, both with planning for impact, identifying the types of impact they could achieve, and the types of evidence they could collect

2024-09-03 15:01:55 UTC

We have a blended approach of both external resources and our own. Sometimes, there are resources that need to be either condensed or 'translated' into bitesize guidance to suit our academics. We also turn some text-heavy resources into visual representations, which some staff find helpful

2024-09-03 15:03:54 UTC

We've created a 'step by step guide on our intranet, which includes links to key external resources. We also use this to promote the support and training we provide

KCL: What I wish I'd known...

2024-09-03 15:08:26 UTC

I'm not sure if it's accessible outside of KCL, but they created a great infographic, What I Wish I'd Known: which had advice and tips for new impact officers. I think they shared it or it was in a presentation at an ARMA event.

2024-09-03 15:10:57 UTC

All our resources are on the intranet

Evidence (testimonials)

2024-09-03 15:18:06 UTC

I've not come across anything (yet!) that provides concise, and practical advice and examples to support academics to collect testimonials, such as the type of questions. to ask. We get asked this a lot, so have created our own resources.

In response to the comment above

joelbaker2 — 2024-09-03 16:58:12 UTC

Planning & capturing impact from creative practice research/activities/outputs (in arts & humanities disciplines)

kblackadder1 — 2024-09-04 11:34:27 UTC

Matter of Focus

2024-09-04 11:37:21 UTC

Sarah Morton offers training in knowledge mobilisation and makes a lot of information available for free on her website.

Impact Chain Model

2024-09-04 11:38:07 UTC

sfhowson — 2024-09-04 11:38:37 UTC

Resources on the intersection between Impact and Trusted Research.

2024-09-04 11:40:04 UTC

While the direct basic science research may not fall under the auspices of Trusted Research, what is done with the knowledge findings once it goes beyond academia, there is less control of what happens. Occasionally the contracts of that transfer aren't sufficient to control for the institutional risks should things go 'pear shaped'

sfhowson — 2024-09-04 11:40:58 UTC

This might be useful for KE and various types of KE

UPEN

sle28_1 — 2024-09-04 11:45:38 UTC

I find the UPEN network and resources very useful for the nuances of engaging with policy audiences

2024-09-04 11:46:38 UTC

I read this book 10 years ago (was recommended by one of our REF advisors) and I found it ENORMOUSLY helpful in forming a general attitude to how to measure and evaluate impact. I'm paraphrasing wildly from my distant memory, but essentially it is looking at evaluation as a way of 'reducing uncertainty' rather than producing an absolute answer.

NCACE for engaging with the cultural sector (v helpful in arts & humanities)

kblackadder1 — 2024-09-04 11:50:37 UTC

There's so much more on this site than I've had time to read, but there's a substantial focus on case studies of knowledge exchange projects, which I thought could be very useful in helping academics (esp in A&H) see what KE activity & subsequent impact could 'look like'

Research Impact Summit 2024

2024-09-04 11:51:52 UTC

Tooklits

sfhowson — 2024-09-04 11:52:06 UTC

At Sheffield we creted a whole site on impact with the following:

Five top tips for creating impact
University impact toolkits includes evidencing impact and types of impacts
Routes to impact
External impact toolkits
Impct in eductaion
Impct and REF

We also have an impact intern programme and we have a website for our students on finding impact evidence which is growing all the time.

It's all in the staff pages so I can't share it here unfortunately - sorry!

At The Conversation Exchange this year there was a really good presentation by Plymouth Marine Laboratory on creating a culture of impact. It's the 5th presentation with a video of the full presentation and a link to the slides

2024-09-04 11:58:46 UTC

What case study repositories have you found?

2024-09-04 12:19:29 UTC

Here's the obvious one as a starter :)

What REF-specific analyses have you found useful?

2024-09-04 12:25:55 UTC

2024-09-04 12:29:54 UTC

joelbaker2 — 2024-09-05 09:31:15 UTC

Shared by Elaine Hunter, University of the West of Scotland. A handy resources for working with academic colleagues to think through how they might evidence impacts claimed, and what impacts the evidence they have gathered substantiates.