Preparing a 'Pathways to Impact'
Impact is the demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to society and the economy. Impact [encompasses] all the extremely diverse ways in which research-related knowledge and skills benefit individuals, organisations and nations by:
- enhancing quality of life, health and creative output
- increasing the effectiveness of public services and policy, and
- fostering global economic performance, and specifically the economic competitiveness of the UK
Research Councils UK
Since April 2009, UK Research Councils requirements have included the development of an impact plan in support of research grant applications. This impact plan should demonstrate that in planning the research project, consideration has been given to the potential benefits to the wider economy.
Pathways to Impact should identify the potential economic and societal benefits that you anticipate may arise as a result of the research project, and they should also outline how you expect this will be achieved. Pathways to Impact are not expected to predict impact, they are simply a method by which applicants can explore the possible outcomes of a research project and identify routes to achieving this thereby ensuring that each project reaches its maximum potential.
The primary criteria for funding continues to be excellent research, however, the Pathway to Impact provides a further criteria on which research grant applications are considered. So where two grant applications are of an equally high quality the Pathways to Impact could make a difference in determining which one is funded.
Preparing a 'Pathways to Impact'
Pathways to Impact are project specific and should be tailored to each individual research proposal. The level of detail should be appropriate to the project and will not be the same for all proposals.
In some situations it may be that there are no beneficiaries outside of academia, in which case the applicant should state this, explaining their reasoning. However, it is expected that in most cases research projects will have some benefit beyond academia.
Impact Summary: applicants should explore the following two questions:
- Who might benefit from their research?
- How might they benefit?
Pathways to Impact: applicants should explore the following question: What will be done to ensure that potential beneficiaries have the opportunity to benefit?. Potential academic impact should be explored in the Academic Beneficiaries section of the application form.
Comprehensive guidelines about completing the Pathways to Impact are available on the Je-S website.
R&IS are able to provide support and advice on the completion of Pathways to Impact and you should contact Sarah Geere in the first instance.
Hints and Tips
The following guidance has been collated in light of feedback from individual Research Councils:
- Avoid the use of standard phrases (boiler plate text).
- Plans can be up to two pages but do not need to be this long. Do not write more than is necessary to get the point across.
- It is possible to ask for resources to support the impact plan, this should be done wherever appropriate.
- Try to think as broadly as possible about the potential beneficiaries. They should not be academic beneficiaries and the impact does not need to be imminent. It is valid to refer to impacts that will happen in the future.
- Be specific, it is not enough to refer to publishing in the usual journals. Journals should be named and wherever possible they should be outside of the academic discipline, for example including a reference to publishing in a trade journal would be more appropriate than publishing in the academic equivalent.
- Wherever possible collaborators should be involved in the planning stage, where appropriate users should be involved in the development of the impact plan to ensure that the potential of the research is maximised.
- Avoid cutting and pasting the Impact Summary into the Impact Plan, the summary should be an abstract of the full Impact Plan.
- Think about how you might achieve impact though people, for example, if a research grant application includes a scholarship, how might this individual then go on to have an impact.
- Be clear about what you plan to do and specific about timescales for achieving this. You can always revise your plans as go along but it is important that your impact plan is well-thought through and achievable.
- Whilst public outreach is a popular dissemination channel, it is important to identify ways in which this can be a two-way engagement process.