UKRI AHRC Impact Acceleration Account
Lead Research Organisation:
University of the West of England
Department Name: Research Business and Innovation
Abstract
UWE Bristol has a well-established community of over 100 Arts and Humanities (A&H) scholars, built from competitive investment over the last decade, who have embedded excellent, high-impact research in their practice and are actively engaged in collaborative research with external partners.
With our Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) funding from the AHRC, we want to build capacity for impact and KE across UWE, ensuring that A&H led research collaborations feed into the wider UWE impact pipeline. We also want to increase the ease of movement and exchange of expertise between the University and its network of partners. Our IAA programme will enable us to consolidate and develop our research impact and KE strengths.
Aims and objectives
The aim of this IAA is to enhance and increase the impact of our excellent A&H research base by dedicating funds specifically to its realisation alongside our strong A&H-led KE, community engagement and impact methodologies.
To deliver on this aim, our IAA objectives are to:
a. Fund a wider range of A&H-led impact projects, including A&H-led interdisciplinary and international projects, and draw together best practice from across UWE to develop a shared 'what works' approach.
b. Ensure that collecting impact evidence becomes standard procedure for collaborative engagement in ways that are mutually beneficial.
c. Publish an externally facing toolkit and evidence base for any group looking to maximise impacts from local A&H-led research.
d. Make a major contribution to the KE and Impact fields, evidencing approaches needed to support A&H-led research collaborations through the impact pipeline and maximise their impacts.
e. Ensure that a plurality of approaches, voices and backgrounds are reflected in those we fund, those with whom we broker collaborations and the end-users we consult.
Programme of Activities
Through the IAA work, toolkit and supporting evidence we want to show that with the right ecosystem of impact activities, A&H led research can produce meaningful, measurable transformations across economic, social, knowledge and cultural sectors. Our programme of activities will support this as follows:
a. Impact Funding Programme
The core activity for this IAA programme will be to deliver an impact programme through quality-led impact funding via open internal competitions:
Rapid Response Impact Fund - Maximum £5,000. This fund, with a light-touch application process, will be open to all A&H researchers across the University.
Impact and Value Realisation Fund - Maximum £10,000. This fund will be open to A&H researchers across the University. It will provide resource for progressing research outputs towards the next stage in the impact pipeline.
International Impact Fund. This fund will support projects with international impact potential. The delivery of international-level impacts from an A&H led research base is a strategic priority for UWE and the UK.
b. Capability and Culture Programme
To maximise engagement with and effectiveness of our Impact Funds, we will build capability and culture through the following activities:
Researcher Skills Development - Design and deliver a workshop programme for UWE A&H researchers to upskill on KE, Impact, partnership building, co-design, and deriving value from research and commercialisation.
Mentorship Network - Establish a network of mentors who have shown excellent impact from an A&H base, to support researchers in embedding impact in research.
Test Novel Approaches and Value Realisation - Impact Pathway projects to test novel approaches to value realisation. This testing will include working with Professional Services and the Faculty of Business and Law to test new contracting approaches, partnership agreement formats and IP approaches with live A&H led impact projects.
Best Practice Toolkit - Share current best practice from across UWE and publish a toolkit which will be designed to have international reach.
With our Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) funding from the AHRC, we want to build capacity for impact and KE across UWE, ensuring that A&H led research collaborations feed into the wider UWE impact pipeline. We also want to increase the ease of movement and exchange of expertise between the University and its network of partners. Our IAA programme will enable us to consolidate and develop our research impact and KE strengths.
Aims and objectives
The aim of this IAA is to enhance and increase the impact of our excellent A&H research base by dedicating funds specifically to its realisation alongside our strong A&H-led KE, community engagement and impact methodologies.
To deliver on this aim, our IAA objectives are to:
a. Fund a wider range of A&H-led impact projects, including A&H-led interdisciplinary and international projects, and draw together best practice from across UWE to develop a shared 'what works' approach.
b. Ensure that collecting impact evidence becomes standard procedure for collaborative engagement in ways that are mutually beneficial.
c. Publish an externally facing toolkit and evidence base for any group looking to maximise impacts from local A&H-led research.
d. Make a major contribution to the KE and Impact fields, evidencing approaches needed to support A&H-led research collaborations through the impact pipeline and maximise their impacts.
e. Ensure that a plurality of approaches, voices and backgrounds are reflected in those we fund, those with whom we broker collaborations and the end-users we consult.
Programme of Activities
Through the IAA work, toolkit and supporting evidence we want to show that with the right ecosystem of impact activities, A&H led research can produce meaningful, measurable transformations across economic, social, knowledge and cultural sectors. Our programme of activities will support this as follows:
a. Impact Funding Programme
The core activity for this IAA programme will be to deliver an impact programme through quality-led impact funding via open internal competitions:
Rapid Response Impact Fund - Maximum £5,000. This fund, with a light-touch application process, will be open to all A&H researchers across the University.
Impact and Value Realisation Fund - Maximum £10,000. This fund will be open to A&H researchers across the University. It will provide resource for progressing research outputs towards the next stage in the impact pipeline.
International Impact Fund. This fund will support projects with international impact potential. The delivery of international-level impacts from an A&H led research base is a strategic priority for UWE and the UK.
b. Capability and Culture Programme
To maximise engagement with and effectiveness of our Impact Funds, we will build capability and culture through the following activities:
Researcher Skills Development - Design and deliver a workshop programme for UWE A&H researchers to upskill on KE, Impact, partnership building, co-design, and deriving value from research and commercialisation.
Mentorship Network - Establish a network of mentors who have shown excellent impact from an A&H base, to support researchers in embedding impact in research.
Test Novel Approaches and Value Realisation - Impact Pathway projects to test novel approaches to value realisation. This testing will include working with Professional Services and the Faculty of Business and Law to test new contracting approaches, partnership agreement formats and IP approaches with live A&H led impact projects.
Best Practice Toolkit - Share current best practice from across UWE and publish a toolkit which will be designed to have international reach.
People |
ORCID iD |
| James Lee (Principal Investigator) |