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Research Impact

Introduction

This page provides an overview of all the research impact development provision that is available at the University. If you are new to research impact then please take a look at our defintions page.

All of the university's provision is categorised under a simple 3Cs development framework, which are:

Curiosity

This is the starting point. You may be curious about research impact or different elements of it and want to explore what it is and whether it is something you would like to build into your research.

Creating

Provision at this stage helps you to build impact into your research and design a plan to achieve that impact.

Catalysing

Provision at this stage helps you to really build and expand your research impact. It can also help you develop into research impact leadership positions e.g Director of Impact / Impact Champion / etc.

OD&PL Provision

Research Impact: Creating Meaning and Value

This online resource has been written by a worldwide team of research impact experts. It sits at the curiosity end of our development framework. Open to all staff and students.

Building Impact Momentum

This cohort programme, for research and academic staff, includes 6 sessions (over 13 weeks). You'll work in small groups to develop your impact goals, a plan for achieving them and how you will evaluate them. It sits in the creating part of our development framework.

Impact Coaching

This is flexible and open-ended and is for individuals or groups (who are working on the same or similar research). It sits in the creating and catalysing areas of our development framework. Open to research staff and academic staff (as individuals) and postgraduate researchers (when part of a group).

Development opportunities from other providers:

Policy Leeds

LinkedIn Learning Policy Influencing Collection

Browse a range of resources in our LinkedIn Learning Policy Influencing collection to begin the process of understanding how to engage with policy. The collection sits at the curiosity stage of our development framework. If you haven't used LinkedIn Learning before, take a look at this LinkedIn Learning introduction.

Policy Engagement Kickstart

The Policy Engagement Kickstart programme is a four module course, with associated self-study, that will help you to build a policy engagement plan and theory of change. It sits at the curiosity and creating stages of our development framework. The programme was developed by the Institute for Government.

Understanding the Politics of Policymaking

This workshop is designed and delivered by the Institute for Government and is advertised to those who have completed the Policy Engagement Kickstart programme. If spaces are available they are advertised on the research email lists, the Policy Leeds X account, the Policy Leeds LinkedIn account and on appropriate MS Team channels (see Networks below). It sits at the creating stage of our development framework, as some prior understanding of the landscape of government is required.

Public Engagement Team

Engaged Research Exchange

This is a monthly series of sessions which aims to bring people together who all share an engaged/open research practice to learn from each other beyond method or discipline specific practice. It sits in the Curiosity area of our framework. All of the sessions are posted on the Engaged Research Exchange calendar in SharePoint.

Be Curious Associates

This is an annual programme that introduces staff to the different ways of delivering public engagement. It sits in the Curiosity area of our framework. For more information visit the Be Curious Associates and Fellows page on SharePoint.

Be Curious Fellows

This is a more intensive version of the Be Curious Associates programme, a £1,000 award is given to seven researchers as part of this programme. It sits in the Creating area of our framework. For more information visit the Be Curious Associates and Fellows page on SharePoint.

Research Innovation Services Provision

Translational Research 101 Webinars

The Translational Research 101 webinar series covers topics relevant to translational research with the aim of providing information to help researchers navigate the translational pathway. They are advertised on the research email lists and on appropriate MS Teams channels (see Networks section below). These workshops sit at the curiosity stage of our development framework.

Business Engagement and Enterprise

Entrepreneurial Researchers Community

The Entrepreneurial Researchers Community is a thriving community of entrepreneurially active researchers with the confidence and capability to actualise economic and/or societal impact through collaboration. Building on the successful introduction of the Michael Beverley Innovation Fellowship to deliver targeted entrepreneurial development opportunities for all PGRs and ECRs. This sits at the creating stage.

Library Provision

Research data management

Research data forms an important part of the scholarly record. Storing, organising and documenting your materials will help keep them safe, save you time in the long run and reduce the risk of data loss. The University – alongside many funders and journal publishers – requires that research data is shared wherever possible. Sharing data does not equate to "open" access to data in every case. Some data may be confidential, sensitive, or subject to a non-disclosure agreement.

Our courses on research data management include:

View and book onto a Research data management course

Research profile bootcamp

This is an opportunity for staff and PGRs to join colleagues from across the University and beyond to focus on practical ways to strengthen their online presence and raise the visibility of their research. There will be either online or hybrid sessions each day focusing on different areas and strategies from enhancing online profiles to producing podcasts and engaging with the media. The next boot camp will run between 10-14th March 2025. Registration links will be added once they are available. This sits at the creating stage of our framework.

Open lunch series

The Library Research Services Team also run a regular series of talks that brings internal and external open research experts to the Leeds community. Future events will be on the Open Research Leeds calendar and you can watch recordings from past events on the Library blog.

Open research courses

Open Research includes open access to a broad range of research outputs, from journal articles and their underlying data, to protocols, results (including negative results), software and tools. Open Research enables collaboration, improves transparency and reproducibility of research and underpins research integrity.

Courses on open research include:

  • How practicing Open Research can benefit you (1.5 hours). Suitable for postgraduate researchers and research staff. You can watch a recording of How Practising Open Research Can Benefit You on YouTube.
  • Publishing your PhD as a monograph (45 minutes). Suitable for postgraduate researchers and research staff.
  • Where to Publish (1.5 hours). Suitable for postgraduate researchers.
  • Where to Publish (Arts and Humanities, 1.5 hours). Suitable for postgraduate researchers and staff.
  • Using research output management systems to raise the visibility of your research – how, why and when? (1 hour). Suitable for postgraduate researchers and staff

View and book onto Open research and research visibility workshops

Research visibility courses

Courses on research visibility include:

View and book onto Open research and research visibility workshops

Bibliometrics courses

The field of bibliometrics analyses publications through statistical methods. It uses citation data to provide insight into the impact of research outputs.

  • Exploring author profiles in Scopus: understanding the impact of your publications (1 hour), which is suitable for postgraduate researchers and staff. You can watch a recording of a previous 'Exploring author profiles in Scopus' session on Youtube.
  • Analysing sources in Scopus and Web of Science: Using bibliometric indicators to decide where to publish (1 hour). Suitable for postgraduate researchers and staff

View and book onto Research metrics workshops

 

Self-guided resources and information

Impact in grant applications

Take a look at the resources on our Impact in Grant applications page to find out more.

Research Excellence Framework

Take a look at our Research Excellence Framework page to find out more.

LSE Impact Blog

The LSE Impact Blog is an amazingly rich resource that has was started back in 2000s. It has contributions from across the globe covering a huge range of impact related topics. The posts are often summaries of peer reviewed publications.

Fast Track Impact

Mark Reed, via his company Fast Track Impact, releases a huge range of free resources relating to all aspects of research impact. His Research Impact Handbook is also available in the University library.

Networks

Impact Network

The Impact Network is for all research professional staff (whether they are based in a School, Faculty or central service) who have an active role in enabling the University to deliver on the Impact pillar of its 2020-2030 strategy.

The join code for the Impact Network MS Team is e6mca3d

Engaged Research Team

The Engaged Research Team is for any researcher and any research professional at the University. There are over 1200 members. The topics discussed on the MS Team include:

  1. Climate and Sustainability
  2. Co-production
  3. Patient involvement
  4. Policy engagement
  5. Public engagement
  6. Third sector engagement

There are also channels for Training events and another to store Resources for all of the topics. The join code for the Engaged Research MS Team is fc84jre

Podcasts

Research Culture Uncovered Podcast: Research Impact Playlist

The Research Culture Uncovered Podcast covers a huge range of topics. It uses playlists to group its episodes into themes, one of which is research impact. It also has a research co-production playlist.

Business of Policymaking

Leeds University Business School has published a series of podcast episodes entitled The Business of Policymaking.

Fast Track Impact podcast

Mark Reed has been releasing podcast episodes based on his research impact research and practice since 2019.