[Re-sending in plain text, as the HTML version got mangled in the digest
email.]
Hello again one and all,
What a fine day it is to be unemployed. That is to say, I didn't get the
job. Nevertheless, your excellent advice kept me from flailing and
dribbling completely inadequately into my notes, and so they hopefully
won't feel too aggrieved covering my travel expenses.
Now, I promised a roundup of the aforementioned excellent advice, so
here goes, in no particular order, entirely anonymised, and mixed in
with my own reflections.
People do indeed feel pressure from funders to emphasise impact;
however, less so from individual referees, for whom it hasn't featured
as a crucial deciding element. This is a long-standing dilemma I
suppose: just whose muffins are we supposed to be buttering? Those of
our peers, or those of our funding overlords? Do those two kinds of
butter even mix? What about the relative size of the muffins? That would
make for some complicated grocery shopping -- and I'm lactose
intolerant, which would only make a bad situation worse.
Next, impact is an inherently nebulous and slippery subject (probably
made more slippery by all that butter). Funders seem a little naive in
their definition of it; and tying down your own role in it is not
straightforward; easy to over-state and understate. It's worth noting
that HEFCE are fine with guestimates of impact, including vague
gesticulations towards radio audience figures, Wikipedia page
edits/views, and numbers of Twitter followers. They may become more
discerning about this sort of thing in time though, as the e-generation
moves into positions of power...
Ways to improve impact include:
- inviting media, policy and practitioner types, as well as service
users if appropriate, on to the project steering group;
- making use of govt research offices/depts, e.g. Government Social
Research Service (UK), and Members Research Service (Wales), and telling
them about the project really early on;
- exploring different levels of user involvement, see
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/researchethics/5-2-outlook.html
Read Sandra Nutley on impact on public policy:
http://www.business-school.ed.ac.uk/about/people?a=15015&staff_id=475
Health and wellbeing is important for impact. See:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_113194
An interesting blog hosted at the LSE:
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/
A big research project down under about impact in research (with an
international focus):
http://www.issr.uq.edu.au/EBP-home
'Getting Social Science Research into the Evidence base in Government',
a very useful and concise document hosted by the ESRC:
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/_images/Getting%20social%20science%20research%20into%20the%20evidence%20base%20in%20government_tcm8-20047.pdf
This isn't strictly about impact but here's a very useful detail I found
about the reduced number of publications permissible for different
stages of 'early career researchers'. See para 72 of:
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/research/ref/pubs/2011/02_11/02_11add.pdf#page=4
...which clarifies page 19 of the original report:
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/research/ref/pubs/2011/02_11/02_11.pdf#page=20
Both of those are worth reading in their entirety, as they say lots of
useful stuff about impact. See also:
'Panel criteria and working methods'
(http://www.hefce.ac.uk/research/ref/pubs/2012/01_12/) paragraphs 72 -
104 of Part 2C. This provides specific guidance from Main Panel C on
impact and includes examples and evidence of impact.
And lastly, nobody seems to like Marmite -- so there are no inexplicable
weirdos on this email list then. Marvellous.
Happy impacting everyone.
Dave
--
Dr. Dave Sayers
Honorary Research Fellow
College of Arts & Humanities
and Language Research Centre
Swansea University
[log in to unmask]
http://swansea.academia.edu/DaveSayers
On 12/03/2012 14:39, Dave Sayers wrote:
> Hello Social Policyers,
>
> A few weeks ago I came scrounging for insights on how to deliver a
> forthcoming presentation to government types (as an academic type
> myself). Your answers went well beyond what I'd hoped for, and gave me a
> fantastic preparation for the task ahead. In fact your excellent counsel
> on that matter has earned you my repeat business!
>
> Today's question is about 'impact' -- the Marmite of the academic world,
> and a growing source of pleasure or disgust, depending on your tastes.
> Now, I'm in the early stages of co-editing a book about the interface
> between sociolinguistics and 'impact'
> (http://linguistlist.org/issues/23/23-1034.html). I'm also being
> interviewed for a job soon where research impact across the social
> sciences is a big factor. So, in asking this question there are mixed
> motives afoot. This could be seen as a pretty selfish request, but I've
> plucked up the nerve to ask all of you because I think the responses
> will be informative to everyone. As with my previous query about
> presenting to government, if you send your responses directly to me,
> then I'll collate everyone's advice and send it back to the list next
> week, duly anonymised. Your inboxes will all receive less of a battering
> that way.
>
> I'm aiming this mostly at academics in the social sciences (broadly
> defined), but by all means those working in other fields -- and outside
> academia too -- are very much welcome to contribute.
>
> I'll split this into a few different parts, to draw out some different
> aspects. Of course, please feel free to skip questions.
>
> 1. What pressures have you felt to emphasise impact in your research
> funding applications? Have you had applications turned down on the basis
> of impact? How do you feel you could have improved? Alternatively, has
> your exemplary attention to impact tipped the balance in favour of your
> proposal?
>
> 2. Do you feel antagonistic to the growing importance of impact? If so,
> then what might win you round to the idea? Or do you already feel
> enthusiastic about impact? If so, then what sorts of facilities and
> supports would enable you to pursue that agenda more easily in your
> research?
>
> 3. What successes have you had boosting the impactfulness (like my
> word?) of your research, for example bending the ears of government, or
> improving the lives or working practices of your research participants
> (and of wider interest groups)?
>
> 4. How do you personally understand the meaning of impact as it's
> bandied about in funding bodies, including the likes of HEFCE/HEFCW
> etc., ESRC, and others? Do you get the feeling there are (gasp!)
> unwritten rules behind it all?
>
> 5. Do you like Marmite?
>
> I thank you all sincerely in advance for your responses. As I mentioned,
> I will dutifully collate, summarise and anonymise all your advice, and
> distribute it to the list next week.
>
> Impactfully yours,
> Dave
>
> --
> Dr. Dave Sayers
> Honorary Research Fellow
> College of Arts & Humanities
> and Language Research Centre
> Swansea University
> [log in to unmask]
> http://swansea.academia.edu/DaveSayers
>
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