B1 - Creating real impact: developing competencies for impact literacy

Workshop overview: 

With impact an increasingly fundamental part of the academic process, there is an urgent need to ensure the research community has the necessary knowledge, confidence and capabilities to connect research to ‘the real world’ and it is important that researcher developers, supervisors and others are able support researchers in this vital area. 

The focus of this workshop will be to introduce participants to ‘impact literacy’ (Bayley and Phipps, 2017), and better understand the how, what and who of impact practice. Through examples and discussion, participants will learn how to generate and evidence impact of their work. We will explore various dimensions of impact beyond academia in society, economy and environment, consider how research impact is typically recognised, and reflect on how impact is achieved in different disciplines. We will also explore how researcher developers can contribute to the development of ‘impact literacy’ for researchers.

Participants will be provided with an impact literacy workbook to start their thinking about impact in their own roles, which can be completed back in their institutions. 

Workshop topics covered: 

The workshop will:

• Reflect on how impact literacy can enable researcher developers more effectively communicate their impact
• Consider how we currently train and develop researchers for impact literate
• Explore how researcher developers can help researchers to frame the problem and identify how their work contributes to change (impact)
• Relate competencies for impact literacy to the Vitae Researcher Development Framework

Schedule for the session:

Following a short introduction to impact literacy, to experience the development impact literacy in practice, in small groups attendees will think of a researcher development project they want to plan and will be guided through the first stages which focus on specific elements of the workbook which include: Framing the problem and the contribution of their work, and considering What are the impacts?, What skills do you need?

Themes covered: 

• Innovations in doctoral training programmes; new modes of delivery; delivering at scale, doctoral training centres/ partnerships, Innovative Training Networks (ITNs) and other cohort-based models
• Research staff and supply of talent; strategies and practice, developing a pipeline of research talent through strategies to attract and retain researchers
• Employability of researchers; enabling career transitions, championing the breadth of researcher careers and encouraging intersectoral mobility

Workshop outcomes: 

By the end of the workshop, participants will be:

• improve their impact literacy
• consider how to strengthen impact in their own work
• identify skills and training needs to better connect their work to practice
• understand the competency researchers need to deliver impact
• be invited to join a Vitae working group on impact literacy.

Format: 

Presentation, small group activities