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The York Award: Researchers is a certificate of the University of York which recognises and rewards those PhD students who undertake an active programme of personal development over the course of their registration. It operates alongside degree programmes and aims to capture the impact of all aspects of university life in terms of the skills and experiences that they will find beneficial in their future life and work. The process of applying for the York Award: Researchers will allow postgraduate researchers to evaluate their unique set of skills and experiences, and ensure that they are able to communicate the value of their research degree and transferrable skills to an academic and a lay audience.

Building Impact into Social Science Research was funded by vitae innovate fund applied for and successfully awarded to Professor Richard Thorpe and Dr Paul Ellwood. The event was supported by the Staff and Departmental Development Unit at Leeds. Much of the following text formed part of a proposal to Vitae written by Paul Ellwood and Richard Thorpe, with summary and context written by Jenn Chubb at the University of York. This Vitae Innovate funded project enabled the development of a module to be integrated into postgraduate training programmes – it contained both concepts and practical tools aimed at helping students understand and connect with aspects related to the impact of social science research. The Innovate fund supported a two day Leeds University Business School course entitled Building Impact into Social Science Research followed by a two day Social Science- wide White Rose residential event at Bodington Hall with input from academics reporting on the impact of their research and interactive group work activities. Building Impact into Social Science Research aimed to provide an introduction to this increasingly important aspect of a researcher’s life. Through a mixture of presentations, specialist speakers and practical exercises, the workshop provided a grounding in the emerging UK policy environment, appropriate research design and practical engagement mechanisms with research stakeholders.