Meet the Impact team, Dee Summers (left) and Hannah Coombs (right)
For each edition of Research Connect, we shine a spotlight on a team or member of the Department of Research and Innovation. This month, we’re featuring the Impact team. Read on to learn who they are and how they can support you.
Can you tell us a little about your role, and what it involves?
Dee Summers: As the University’s Impact Manager, I have been working to support impact across all five faculties since joining the University in 2015. A core focus of my role is the University’s impact submission to the Research Excellence framework (REF): I chair the cross-faculty Impact Working Group, lead the preparation of our impact submission, inform strategic decisions and provide specialist expertise throughout the impact process, both to researchers and to senior leaders. I work closely with faculty impact leads to identify local needs, deliver tailored impact workshops and regularly have individual meetings with researchers to discuss their work towards achieving impact. The central Impact Team is very small, just myself and the Senior Impact and Engagement Officer, Hannah Coombs. Embedding impact into the research lifecycle is an important part of our role. Alongside the REF work, we also provide advice and guidance to research colleagues looking to build pathways to impact into their research plans. We work together to keep up to date with changes in the sector and interpret these to inform internal activities and develop guidance for colleagues.
Hannah Coombs: I’m the Senior Impact and Engagement Officer in the Department of Research and Innovation. My role has two strands which are closely tied: the impact side involves helping researchers to carry out research in a way that maximises the likelihood of having a positive impact in society, and helping them to evaluate their work to see what has been achieved and what direction to take future work in. A lot of this work feeds into our REF submission, but impact is also an important part of a lot of funding bids and can be at the heart of a lot of research projects. The other side of my role is around public engagement as it relates to research. As part of this, I lead the public engagement network, and I also lead the public lecture series which aims to connect our research with local communities in a way which they can relate to their everyday lives. I also provide advice and run workshops around public engagement, for staff and through the Doctoral College.
What do you enjoy most about working in research and innovation and what challenges do you face?
Hannah: What I enjoy most is getting to speak to academics about the work that they are truly passionate about. No matter the subject, it’s amazing to hear how proud colleagues across the university are about their research, and giving them a platform to share this more broadly, as well as helping them to really make a difference, is my favourite thing about my job. We’re actually working on a small project at the moment to see what researchers get out of impact themselves – I’m hoping that they find it as rewarding as I do to hear about it!
Dee: Translating and tailoring generic sector impact guidance onto the broad range of research and subject areas across all faculties can be both enjoyable and a challenge. I am fascinated by the innovative research that is carried out across the University. Subject specific approaches, impact pathways and working methods vary immensely, and so the same sector expectations can apply in different ways for different groups. It can be quite a challenge to identify creative impact and communication routes, but it is really rewarding to see this working well and helping our research colleagues to navigate the impact agenda and increase the benefit to wider stakeholders and communities.
What are your priorities/hopes for research and innovation at the University in the coming year?
Dee: We’re quickly approaching the annual REF impact audit which is a huge feat – we review around 100 Impact Case Studies in the space of around a month, giving feedback and identifying their strengths and areas for development. This is an important exercise for the University; it is not only about our existing high-profile impact areas, but also about identifying emerging impacts that can be supported and developed into world-leading impacts for the future.
Hannah: The audit is also important for me, keeping our progress towards REF submission steady and making sure that we’re aware of the work going on and any areas that we might be able to support. For me, the public lecture series is also high on my list. It’s been a huge success this year, and I’m working on the next call for speakers now – I’m hoping that the interest keeps on building, and opening up our research to local communities is a big priority for me. This also feeds into impact, as it improves interactions with members of the public and can help to steer research towards applications that are relevant to local groups.