Jenny Kitzinger Cardiff University

Creating impact from research

Case study: “Improving decision-making about treatment for people in vegetative and minimally conscious states”

For: Arts Humanities and Social Sciences College Impact meeting

2015

Structure of talk• Do we care? Why have impact?

• A case study of some high impact humanities / social science research

• How impact can be achieved through: (a) strong foundations (b) building collaborations and networks(c) diverse outputs and engagement

• How to document Impact

• Conclusion and reflection

Background – the particular case

• See - youtube summary of nature of this project’s impact and the collaborations:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFH2Tj5ekoM

… and now for some general principles

Core impact activities

1. Laying strong foundations

2. Building collaborations and partnerships

3. Creating diverse outputs and engagement (diverse audiences, diverse formats/outlets)

1. Laying strong foundations Classic academic approaches (literature review and scoping conversation)

+Grassroots research (in-depth research on what was going on ‘on the ground’)

+Stakeholders meeting (briefing paper followed by seminar, over 2 days)

‘bottom up’ & ‘top down’‘Inside out’ & ‘outside in’

2. Building collaborations

Collaborations across:• Universities (lead co-researcher Prof Celia

Kitzinger, University of York)• Disciplines (e.g. History, Philosophy, Health

Sciences, Biosciences, Law etc) • Sectors (e.g. health care professionals)• And alongside ‘service users’ (families)

Follow what ever issue you are studying across sitesExample of sectors implicated

– e.g. by ‘patient’s trajectory’ through health service

AmbulanceA&E

Intensive care

Neuro-surgery Rehabilitation Care

homes

Courts

3. Creating diverse outputs• Publications (some REF returnable, but also blogs, or

editorials in professional journal) (Open access)

Diverse outputs: cultural

• Networking through dialogue (tweet conversations

• Building a website for the research centre: www.cdoc.ac.uk

• Media (e.g. work with journalists)

• Artists (e.g. shadow puppet theatre)

• Festivals (e.g. the ‘Before I Die’ with support from University Engagement team)

• A postcard exhibition (messages from interviewees) taken round conferences

Diverse outputs: policy• Other research involvement + seminar series

• Serving on working parties

• Evidence to House of Lords/parliament

• On-line resources : www.healthtalk.org.uk – ‘coma’

Different outlets, formats and…different Audiences

Policy makers

Practitioners

Families

Publics

Documenting Impact

If a tree falls…and no one documents it, does it have ‘impact’?

9527300034.jpg

No – not according to REF

Documenting impact

• On-line monitoring of resource use = good metrics data

• Keeping records of queries and comments that come in from resource users

• Launch evaluation

• ‘Before’ and ‘after’ assessment at training sessions using the resource = measures change

• Development of training materials from the resource increases/expands impact

Conclusion Do you need an impact plan? … start early, integrate impact, identify networks. Care about outcomes, document them. Recognise who else (or nobody else) is going to do it.

Balancing costs and benefits of impact work: • Costs:

- can take you away from ‘pure theory’ (but see ‘benefits’) - time demands - other priorities slip with need to be reactive to policy timetable- can put you in the firing line.

• Benefits: - can be more theoretically challenging/interesting;- impact work informs (rather than simply results from) your research - can make a difference.

*** Thank you ***Jenny Kitzinger

Kitzingerj@cardiff.ac.uk