Delivering research with real world impact
On Friday 7 November we were delighted to host an informative and thought-provoking event which looked at knowledge exchange and impact in research from the unique perspective of the Cambridge Colleges. We were delighted to welcome researchers from across 18 of the Colleges, as well as knowledge mobilisers who are supporting this work across the Cambridge research eco-system.
Please find below a summary of the event with links to further support and resources. If you have any questions about this work or would like to get involved in future activities in this area please contact Agnes Hoctor, Knowledge Exchange Co-ordinator.
Advancing research impact for College-based academics
Alison Rose, Principal of Newnham College opened the meeting, welcoming everyone into College. She spoke about the importance of academic research to our wider society and how the Cambridge Colleges are well placed to collaborate and share useful information to advance the reach and support the careers of their researchers.
First panel: Impact at Cambridge and the College research environment
The first panel, chaired by Dr Alexis Willett, Impact Director and Fellow at Hughes Hall, focused on what knowledge exchange and impact means in academic research and highlighted some of the pathways to engagement in this work.
Prof Helen Bao, Professor of Urban Economics and Public Policy at the Department of Land Economy and Fellow of Newnham College, gave an update on the Research Excellence Framework (REF) panel system. She has been appointed as a Member of the REF Sub-panel on Architecture, Built Environment and Planning. Helen mentioned that though the panel system is at an early stage, she has already been impressed with the breadth of its scope, collaborative approach and the wide range of institutions that are involved in its work. She looks forward to seeing how the panel can support and capture impact in this field, from the big steps forward to the quiet improvements to policies and procedures.
Helen joined Newnham in 2009 and her work has always been very interdisciplinary. In College there are many opportunities to exchange ideas and information with colleagues in different academic fields, at High Table, Pudding Seminars and at the Senior Members’ Research Forum. There are also practical supports for research, such as the funding for Junior Research Fellowships. College is a place where early career researchers can have the time, space and support to focus on their work, with an eye to societal impact, it is the unique advantage of the Cambridge College, which fosters “curiosity, collaboration and community”.
Dr Ben Earley, Senior Impact Coordinator for Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (supported from the floor by Dr Lucy Sheerman, Arts and Humanities Impact Facilitator) at the University of Cambridge, Research Strategy Office, spoke about building impact into research, why to do this, a look forward to the next REF and where to find support for impact work at Cambridge. Ben said he was delighted to be talking to a College-based audience and was interested to hear what the priorities are and any questions or particular issues that are affecting College-based researchers. As well as his role at the Research Strategy Office, Ben is a By-Fellow at Hughes Hall and really appreciates the role that Colleges play in sharing information and supporting research.
Details of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2029 are still being developed, but it is likely that many of the definitions will be the same as at the last REF. Impact in REF terms, is something that has to be measurable (see the slide below). Though this is a process that can be formally described and represented, in real terms the path to impact is often messy, takes many years and will include a mixture of structured as well as more spontaneous or unplanned, activities. The REF is extremely important to the University’s funding, with 20 to 25% of the budget coming from quality-related research (QR) funding. Different funders also have different criteria for impact, please ask his team if you want information on a particular fund.
Impact is also important for career progression, showing an understanding of research culture, EDI and equitable partnerships. The nature of university research will change over the next decade or so and it seems likely that impact will only grow in importance. It is also of great importance to the public, Ben cited the Bronze Age Farm project which incorporated the involvement of local communities in academic work that had a real impact on the public.
The REF is divided into 34 units of assessment, and the Faculties and Departments largely map onto these through their subject areas. Outputs such as journal articles and books will be captured by the Faculties and inputted into their REF submissions. In terms of impact case studies for “research independent” individuals, researchers can talk directly to the Research Strategy Office to discuss this at an early stage. These individuals tend to be people such as the JRFs, researchers based in the health service and museum staff.
Dr Claudia Antolini, Public Engagement Manager at the University of Cambridge spoke about her team’s work which aims to support researchers in communicating with people outside the walls of the university, engaging relevant groups to enrich and improve academic research. These interactions and listening activities should deliver mutual benefit. She is often asked when to engage, and the answer is that this can occur at any stage of the research. The Public Engagement team runs drop-in sessions and has training and grants to support researchers to develop their work in this area, they also run the Cambridge Festival, which is another opportunity to plan activities to reach the public.
Dominic Chivers, Associate Commercialisation Manager at Cambridge Enterprise, spoke about the more commercial aspects of knowledge exchange. Cambridge Enterprise supports the translation of academic research into global economic and societal impact. The organisation is owned by the University and any profits made are reinvested back in. Their work covers four main strands: supporting consultancy, licensing and development, research tools and ventures.
Consultancy is a common interaction between researchers and outside bodies and Cambridge Enterprise can help broker these relationships so that the researcher is paid a fair price for their time. Researchers may develop educational tools, booklets and other materials that may be developed into items used by a variety of organisations. Cambridge Enterprise supports the development of spin outs and intellectual property, a recent case study is the example of Trismik, Prof Nigel Collier’s LLM Evaluation Suite. IE Cambridge are also an important organisation in this ecosystem. There are also various entrepreneurship labs across the city.
Dr Alexis Willett, Impact Director and Fellow at Hughes Hall then spoke about impact in the Colleges and how this is working at Hughes Hall. Hughes Hall has a huge focus on impact, her role works across the College and The Bridge (made up of five centres and two programmes) across education, law, policy-making as well as with Fellows and students. Hughes Hall have some non-academic Fellows who bring different aspects of life into the College. Alexis recently conducted a survey of the Fellows’ impact to map their global impact across themes of policy, capacity building and innovation. Impact HQ brings all this together, including signposting, impact clinics, masterclasses and showcasing research stories. There is also lots going on across the Cambridge Colleges across themes such as upskilling and connecting, research and translation, thought leadership and convening.
Second panel: Impactful College-based research, chaired by Prof Emma Mawdsley
The second panel, chaired by Prof Emma Mawdsley, Head of the Department of Geography and Fellow of Newnham College, focused on examples of very powerful and impactful academic work initiated from here at Cambridge. Emma began by noting that researchers are generally very motivated and interested in engaging with groups that are relevant to their work and are driven by the desire that their research will be used to benefit society. The REF puts a more formal framework onto impact, this process is important for the reasons outlined in the earlier session and must be engaged with. However she stressed that certainly at the Department of Geography the authentic value of research is their key driver in pursuing and demonstrating impact.
Prof Celia Donert, Professor of Contemporary European History and Fellow of Wolfson College, presented a case study about her work on the History and Legacies of the Romani Holocaust and the key knowledge exchange and public engagement activities she took part in. Celia is a historian of contemporary Europe and this work involved archival research based on Romani life in Czechoslovakia under Communism. Her book, The Rights of the Roma was published in 2017 and her work in this area has focused on shedding light on the Romani Holocaust. Following her PhD, Celia was based at the University of Liverpool in 2012, which held a very rich collections of paper in its archive. Celia organised workshops for people of Romani origin to access and discuss the materials alongside various museum and international groups.
At the Council of Europe’s 2016 event in Bucharest, Celia was involved in the European Roma and Travellers’ Forum conference on the Forgotten Holocaust (held at the Romanian Parliament, April 2016). This event contributed to ERTF guidelines on teaching the Romani Holocaust. She also founded an AHRC research network which oversaw four conferences to further understanding of this history. This work lead to the publication of an academic volume, The Legacies of the Romani Genocide in Europe since 1945 (Routledge, 2021). All events included public engagement aspects, such as witness seminars and the involvement of campaign groups. This also led to an AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award with Wiener Holocaust Library, with many outputs and a very organic process of impact. Celia recorded a BBC World Service documentary in 2024, which provided a useful outlet to present the history of this era. The Czech government went on to officially recognised the site of the genocide and there is now an official memorial site.
Dr Jellie Molino, Post-Doctoral Research Associate and Research By-Fellow at Hughes Hall presented her work in the field of Law for Climate Action. Jellie’s background is in the legal profession, having worked as a lawyer for many years before entering academia. With a focus on environmental issues, Jellie cites the UN sustainable development goals as a key place to start when looking at impact. Her early career included work around improving biodiversity in the Verde Island in the Philippines, through looking at procurement practices and policies. This project has developed significantly over the years and the island is now well known for ethical tourism and biodiversity.
Jellie worked for some time in anti-corruption and then environmental law, on a pro-bono basis tackling issues such as mining and environmental protections. She worked in the US on contract law before entering academia. She was drawn to Hughes Hall by its keen focus on impact, in particular in the fields of law and climate justice. She is also a member of the early career researchers AHSS Assembly. Her career has had impact in a number of ways so far, including being cited by the World Bank, reforms of the Green Climate Fund, a chapter in the Routledge Handbook of Climate Law and Governance and her capacity building work. Her key messages on impact are to plan strategically and with an eye to the long-term (you may well have left the project by the time the impact occurs), build your networks, use diverse channels to disseminate your work and be patient and persistent.
Conclusions
The overall feeling from the event was that there are many good reasons to take part in knowledge exchange. If we focus on the authentic reasons that motivate academics to conduct research in the first place, then we can build and develop more organic approaches to engagement and real world benefit.
It is also important to look for different formats to share your research such as policy briefs and opinion articles, but also talking on podcasts, networking and saying yes to new and different opportunities. In Colleges there are the opportunities to talk with academics from many different fields, and these conversations can lead to new perspectives and paths.
We hope this event will lead on to further conversations, connections and activities in this field.
Cover image, pictured: Alexis Willett, Alison Rose, Agnes Hoctor and Helen Bao.