Over the last couple of months, we’ve been looking at the impact that is developing across the university as part of the REF audit. While each author will have received individual feedback and be considering development in different areas, we identified some common patterns around the development and support needed. We’ve worked through the feedback and our database of impact resources to pull together a checklist of the key advice and guidance for ICS authors. Some of the key points are below, but make sure to check out the checklist for more information and useful resources.

Even if you’re not working on a REF ICS, this checklist could be a useful tool for reflecting on your impact work in a recent project, or planning it into your next one.

Understanding impact: Make sure that you have a clear understanding of what research impact is, and how this is distinct from research activities, dissemination, engagement, or academic esteem. A REF case study must demonstrate and evidence achieved social impact, outside of academia, and explain its reach and significance. 

Underpinning research: Impact Case Studies must be underpinned by research; that is, “a process of investigation leading to new insights, effectively shared”.

This research must have been undertaken by staff working at the University of Portsmouth at the time that the research was carried out. The research has to have taken place within 20 years prior to the REF submission date.  It can be anything from traditional published outputs to non-textual formats, as long as it meets the above definition of research. 

Single or multiple projects can be reported that can be concurrent with demonstrable impact. 

Identifying beneficiaries and developing impact: Identify and prioritise your research stakeholders, beneficiaries and secondary beneficiaries at the earliest stage possible to shape your work in ways most likely to achieve benefits for these groups. Re-evaluate these groups throughout your project to develop and document scales of change. 

Evaluating change and collecting evidence: For REF, reported impact must be backed up by corroborating evidence. Baseline measures and longer-term evaluation is key to demonstrating the scale of change that has occurred. You should plan for evaluation and evidence gathering in order to alleviate potential difficulties of identifying and measuring impacts retrospectively. 

It is important to consider confidentiality and GDPR when gathering evidence, and make sure to obtain consent when required. 

Writing about impact: The reported impact is the most important element of a REF Impact Case Study, and this is the section on which the case study is assessed. It is important to understand what REF assessors are looking for and how impact is graded. 

An iterative approach to writing the narrative can help to identify gaps in the narrative and evidence. 

Make sure to be explicit about the beneficial changes seen, and attribute the impact to the underpinning research

Staff can find the full checklist with resources here. This is an internal document, so make sure you are logged in using your Portsmouth staff email account. 

Remember that your UoA Coordinators and Faculty Impact Leads are available for local impact advice and guidance. You can also check our full Impact and Knowledge Exchange Resource Database for more guidance.