Being able to provide evidence of impact is crucial, especially in relation to REF impact case studies, but also in reporting to funding bodies and external partners and when applying for internal and external impact prizes. Evidence can take many forms and will depend largely on the type of research and the type of impacts generated.
Further information on evidencing impact and examples of impact evidence can be found in the Research Impact Toolkit (Evidencing).
Testimonials can be an effective way to evidence the impact that your research has had on your stakeholders. Researchers should consider the need for informed consent before approaching providers for testimonials. The provider of the testimonial must understand how their personal data and the information within their testimonial will be used by the University and give consent for this. Please use the consent form when obtaining testimonials from external partners.
We understand that where the research is being conducted in a sensitive or confidential area some external partners may judge that formal consent procedures cannot be followed. Where this is the case we encourage you to get in touch with your Faculty Research Impact Officer to discuss alternative arrangements so that we can develop a bespoke approach to obtaining the appropriate consent.
Further guidance and an outline testimonial template can be found in the Research Impact Toolkit (Evidencing).
The Impact Module of the Research Information System (RIS-IM) is a repository for academic staff to document and track information about their research impact activities and resulting impact. The module provides an easy method for capturing impact activities, impact evidence and for writing a narrative that explains the relevance and context of these activities and evidence. Impact narratives can be built over time, rather than looking back and writing retrospectively. The system also enables records of impact to be linked to other users, publications, grants, projects and other impacts. By creating records of your activities and impact using the RIS-IM, the information is held in a safe, confidential and central repository and your Research Impact Officer will be able to access these records to track impact emerging from your research and offer further support. Contact your Research Impact Officer for support with using the RIS-IM.