Overview: Impact Workshop 09-07-2014

The afternoon's workshop was led by Dr Charlotte Mathieson, with an introduction by Dr Eleonora Belfiore. This introduction, called 'Cultural Value to Cultural Values: Workshop Value for the Humanities', outlined the image problem and sense of crisis that has come to characterise discussions about humanities research in recent years. It also highlighted the linguistic shift in humanities discourse from funding/subsidy to investment in humanities research (i.e. the encroachment of market values). The issue of value and measuring value in this sphere is central, and the Impact Agenda (see http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/ke/impacts/) represents one approach to demonstrating the contribution that research makes to academic advances.

Ele framed her presentation around the question, 'does a reliance on impact solve the problem of value for the humanities?' - does it respond to charges of uselessness, and address the humanities' perceived confidence issue? The suggestion is that the emphasis on socio-economic impact is a legitimising strategy in documents such as the AHRC's 'Leading the World' (defensive instrumentalism) and that the language of economics is the only language that will secure funding (see Steven Smith). Ele concluded that impact is about big questions but asked, what comes after critique, suggesting that there might be strategies for making some form of impact (as a measure of value) workable. 

Charlotte then delivered the practice-based element of the workshop on 'Communicating your Research Outside Academia', opening with the questions:

* Who is the ‘public’ with which you’re engaging?
* Why would they want to listen to me?
* What is the format?

Through a combination of group activities and discussion, she proposed different methods for research-sharing, primarily through media channels (e.g. radio, blogging, broadcasting). Participants were given pointers about how to communicate succinctly and effectively to non-academic audiences.

For radio, these included: front-loading (i.e. getting to the point quickly), avoiding jargon, visualising/conceptualising, using an example and having an interesting and little-known research fact.

For online writing, the focus was on: style and tone; language; structure and length.

She also gave examples of types of impact, including: informing policy-making, providing evidence, resources for use in campaigns, challenging existing policy, new attitudes and beliefs, challenging conventional wisdom, teacher training, new teaching resources, changing practice, training, creation of databases, providing consultancy to improve efficiency.

For further resources see:

Arts Faculty Impact Webpage: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/rss/impact/

RCUK Web Page: http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/kei/Pages/home.aspx

REF 2014 Web Page: http://www.ref.ac.uk/

NCCPE: http://www.publicengagement.ac.uk/

Vitae: http://www.vitae.ac.uk/