Presentation about how to achieve research impact by Professor Paul van Gardingen, Strategic Advisor on Impact to the ESRC-DFID Joint Research Scheme on International Development, Director Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation Programme and UNESCO Chair in International Development at The University of Edinburgh. Given as part of ACES/CSID workshop on "Achieving Research Impact" at the University of Aberdeen in January 2011

1. The Pathway to Impact Professor Paul van Gardingen - Strategic Advisor on Impact to the ESRC-DFID Joint Research Scheme on International Development - Director Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation Programme - UNESCO Chair in International DevelopmentThe University of Edinburgh

2. Telling the story Raw data and primary analysis rarely delivers impact.

3. Research Excellence

4. Our Starting Point Research Excellence

5. Excellent Research

6. Building impact involves a journey…

11. The Pathway(s) to Impact Research projects need to deliver:Research Excellenceand a credible pathway toDevelopment Impact

12. 4 W’s Who How What When

13. Who? Who is (or will be) asking for your research? Understand demand. Who are your trying to influence? Who will use your research? Think about non-academic beneficiaries. Who will you need to work with to build non-academic impact? Knowledge brokers Change enablers Champions for change

14. How? How will people benefit from using your research? How will you know that your research has helped to support change? e.g. reducing poverty?

15. What? What do you need to do to support your intended beneficiaries? What might change as a result of your research? what does “success” look like. What should your “impact” process and products look like?

16. When? When are the best times to engage with beneficiaries, champions for change and change enablers? When (realistically) do you expect to see change? Impact sometimes requires the right opportunities: right person (people), in the right place and the right time.

17. Sometimes, just try again!

18. The Pathway(s) to Impact There may be more than one pathway to impact

19. Impact is all about changing lives

20. Capacity Building

21. What is Impact? A REF view… Several examples of ‘pathways’ from research to impact are provided in a separate document. These illustrate different points along the pathways that would be considered ‘impacts’ as opposed to ‘inputs’. (For example, providing advice to a policy committee is considered an ‘input’. A change to government policy, influenced by that advice, is considered an ‘interim impact’.)

22. What is impact? Impact happens when people’s lives are changed. Policy has impact when it is implemented and enforced Funders may hold views on impact that differ in subtle ways from what REF currently asks for. How do we value and describe impact outside the UK? RCUK impact documentation currently emphasises impact on the UK and especially the UK economy.

23. Oops! What about unwanted impact? The climate change research community has generated excellent researchers, but much of the policy and business community don’t want to know or act. What about completely unexpected and unplanned impact? Be prepared to adapt and take the opportunities when they occur.

24. How can we help you? ESRC-DFID and ESPA are developing a common Impact Framework to help researchers: Understand non-academic impact (Conceptualise) Build impact (Getting research into use)Reaching large numbers of people to make aSignificant difference in their lives) Communicating impact (Telling the story) http://www.espa.ac.uk

25. A Pathway to Impact Designing research for impact. Start with the right question! What are the evidence challenges? Involve beneficiaries and research users in the design phase. Implementing research for impact Involve a wide range of stakeholders. Capacity building. Communication Monitoring and evaluation