Websites
Most of the websites below we have already included on our training module pages, however we have listed a few more general websites, that link to organisations who may also post and share information on research impact.
Don't forget to check the professional networks page, as it's another avenue for you to keep up-to-date on impact related news and resources.
Websites with lots of free resources and guidance
Beyond Results is the 'home' of CRIs' efforts to better plan, monitor, and evaluate the impact from research.
Our training uses their tools and resources as the basis for building our shared capability. Make this website your first stop on your journey to learn more.
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We have also frequently linked to the Better Evaluation website, one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date places to find anything on just about anything evaluation (including impact).
You can find information on specific methods and approaches, or just 'follow the rainbow' and use this as a guide to think about how to plan and then demonstrate the impact or your research.
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The What Works website has been designed with a similar mission in mind to Beyond Results and Better Evaluation, but with the New Zealand not-for-profit sector in mind.
Not-for-profits and research organisations like CRIs have a lot in common, particularly having limited resources available to undertake monitoring and evaluation. This website is worth a look, as the approaches and guidance they include is very cognisant of this.
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The University of Western Australia has developed a Research Impact Toolkit to support their researchers.
Their toolkit is structured around similar steps to our training modules, and they have a range of tools, resources, and guidance. Not all the content is accessible (some is behind a firewall) and some of the content is directed at their staff rather than a wider audience. It is still worthwhile reading to see the similarities in how research organisations are thinking about research impact. |
University College Dublin has also developed a Research Impact Toolkit
Theirs is structured a little more simply, and includes some different tools, including an 'impact planning canvas' - a modification of a business model canvas. Like the UWA toolkit, not all aspects will be completely fit for our New Zealand and CRI context (they are guided heavily by the UK's Research Excellence Framework), but both give a great introduction to how to plan and then demonstrate research impact. |
We link to the EvaluATE evaluation resource hub on some of the training module pages, as it provides a range of tools and resources that relate to planning for and demonstrating impact. While the context is slightly different (education programmes in the US), the core principles remain the same, and so you can still use the tools and guidance materials for our CRI context.
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The Australian Institute of Family Studies website is not focused on research impact, but because the steps in the process remain broadly similar, this is yet another great place to look around.
This planning and evaluation guide is broken up into clear sections, and has lots of helpful videos. We've linked to this on the Planning for Impact training module page, but it is useful and applicable to all steps. |
Research Impact Canada is a network of universities across Canada committed to maximising the impact of academic research. They share though pieces via blogs, and provide a range of free resources on knowledge mobilisation. One focus, which is different to many others, is building organisational as well as individual capability - which is why we particularly like their mahi!
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Commercial organisations who share research impact resources
Fast Track Impact is the website of Mark Reed, who wrote the Research Impact Handbook. We've linked to this handbook inmodules, and the website also has lots of free resources and guides. Check it out!
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-Vertigo Ventures is UK-based, and has developed a number of proprietary Impact Tracking and training products and services. They have some great free resources on their website.
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The Research Impact Academy is an Australian-based training and consulting firm, founded by Tamika Heiden. They host an annual Research Impact Summit which is a great free event that our iPEN members try to attend.
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Government guidance on research impact
The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) defines the key expectations on research impact in New Zealand, detailed in The Impact of Research Position Paper (2019).
The advice within the position paper is not as detailed as that provided by some other governments (see links below) but is not inconsistent with others. This means guidance from other jurisdictions can still be useful in our New Zealand context. For more details on impact within our context, check out the Making Sense of Impact page. |
The Australian Research Council has developed a fairly comprehensive Research Impact Principles and Framework.
This includes useful operational principles, as well as guidance on definitions and expectations around developing impact pathways and impact measurement. The ARC has initiated a process similar to the REF (see below) called the Engagement and Impact Assessment. It's useful to be aware of this, as this shapes some of the guidance they provide - meaning not all of it is relevant to us. |
The UK has developed the Research Excellence Framework, as a mechanism to independently assess the quality of research being conducted by higher education institutions.
The assessment process revolves around the submission of 'impact case studies' following a set of specific guidelines. It has been run twice, once in 2014, and again in 2021 (against a slightly revised assessment framework). The REF is useful in getting ideas of how you might go about evidencing impact, however it focuses on reporting impact, rather than the planning and implementation (process) aspects. We recommend using other websites as your resources when thinking about how to plan and track your impact. Note the REF reporting framework has been developed for a particular audience for accountability purposes, so the case study approach and format used will not necessarily be the right approach to communicating your impact to others. |