1. Research, Impact, Value & LIS - #lisrival - Edinburgh - 11th July 2019
Practitioner research: value, impact, and priorities
Professor Hazel Hall
Edinburgh Napier University
RIVAL Network Event 1 – July 11th 2019 – Edinburgh
Ambitions for the RIVAL network
Contributions from roundtable discussions at #lisrival event 1

2. Research, Impact, Value & LIS - #lisrival - Edinburgh - 11th July 2019
Note on the contents of these slides
The content of these slides derives from 45 minute delegate discussions
at the tables at RIVAL Event 1 which was then typed up in the afternoon
break by Hazel Hall. The questions under discussion were:
• What would delegates hope/expect to be the impact and value of
participation in the entire RIVAL programme?
• What kind of things can we do to meet these expectations?
• What could we do for Event 4?

3. Research, Impact, Value & LIS - #lisrival - Edinburgh - 11th July 2019
What would delegates hope/expect to be the impact
and value of participation in the entire RIVAL
programme?
 Better use of LIS research in LIS: research informing practice,
practice informing research
 Better links between academic LIS departments (Glasgow, Napier,
RGU & Strathclyde) and the development of common language
between academic and practitioners for discussing research
 A new way of generating ideas for research
 A new way of identifying needs for research, e.g. AI and digital
spaces – perhaps establishing a priority list

4. Research, Impact, Value & LIS - #lisrival - Edinburgh - 11th July 2019
What would delegates hope/expect to be the impact
and value of participation in the entire RIVAL
programme?
 Better appreciation of skills of those who work in libraries across
Scotland
 Cross-sectoral collaboration, with participation from good spread of
participants (e.g. by role, geography)
 More research encouraged
 Better research skills within the community – through research
methods training?

5. Research, Impact, Value & LIS - #lisrival - Edinburgh - 11th July 2019
What would delegates hope/expect to be the impact
and value of participation in the entire RIVAL
programme?
 Production of tangible outcomes, e.g. strategy documents,
guidelines, a RIVAL/Scottish ‘declaration’ – practitioners and
organisations would sign up to this
 Action taken for accessing funding for joint research projects
between network members
 A means to showcase LIS research and show where it exists, e.g.
research summaries including Masters work
 Addition of value to the ‘day job’

6. Research, Impact, Value & LIS - #lisrival - Edinburgh - 11th July 2019
What kind of things can we do to meet these
expectations?
 Build on encouraging people to get to know one another better,
e.g. support contact between members between events, e.g. set
up JISCMail list
 Publicise the possibility of participation in the network more widely,
e.g. APLS
 More unstructured elements in the the programme, e.g.
unconference, 20x20
 Variety in the programme
 Be agile in development of the programme

7. Research, Impact, Value & LIS - #lisrival - Edinburgh - 11th July 2019
What are the barriers to achieving our goals?
 Understanding restrictions of different sectors: HE, FE, public
sectors, special libraries…
 Understanding the position/fit of RIVAL ambition with Single
Outcome Agreements
 Determining the ambition of the network – is RIVAL just for the
network participants or for the broader community?
 Muddying the water – too many strategies/initiatives?

8. Research, Impact, Value & LIS - #lisrival - Edinburgh - 11th July 2019
What could we do for Event 4?
 Take RIVAL concept on tour
 Take library achievements on tour
 Celebrate success
 Assess the impact of this project
 Invite expert speakers
 Ensure that the work is taken beyond the official lifespan of the
network