Impact Acceleration Account

Research and impact activities across the Arts and Humanities at the University of Liverpool embrace a range of cross-cutting interdisciplinary themes, on which we collaborate with local, national and international stakeholders and organisations. This work has a transformative influence in the social, political and cultural life of our immediate city region, the UK, and internationally. Our research addresses many of the grand challenges facing societies today and provides the context in which policy and technological innovations can advance.

Our IAA proposal includes selected examples from our existing AHRC funding portfolio associated with a series of cross-cutting themes where we have particular traction, which present opportunities for enhancement and which link to a number of AHRC thematic priorities: Heritage; Slavery and Unfree Labour; Transforming Conflict; and Health and Environmental Humanities.

We aim to deploy IAA funding to provide flexible and responsive support for the development and further embedding of impact culture and the generation of Knowledge Exchange (KE) and impact emerging from our research. We seek to build on our existing strengths in key interdisciplinary thematic priorities, and to enhance the structures which allow us to respond with agility to critically important agendas and develop opportunities for co-production of impact with partner organisations.

A particular priority is to embed equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in our practices and processes around KE and impact, to recognise the breadth of stakeholders with whom we engage and to co-develop research that surfaces and addresses difficult histories and legacies. We also embrace opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration through engagements with other Research Council IAAs. We will work with other IAAs via a dedicated harmonised UoL IAA manager in order to align resources and benefit from economies of scale in supporting and delivering on our ambitions.

Our proposed IAA activities will include support for secondments and residencies with creative and cultural industries and cultural partners, (including incoming visiting residencies), pump priming awards and the provision of training and career development opportunities for developing impact and knowledge exchange activities. The IAA will be coordinated through the University of Liverpool AHRC IAA Management Group which will meet quarterly and which will report to the University's new Knowledge Exchange Steering Group.