From Impact to Engagement

Description

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How and when should researchers communicate their research to audiences outside academia? If researchers cannot demonstrate that communities beyond academia benefit from their work, should they still be given access to public funding?

 

 

 

With the major public funding bodies and government ministers proposing that research which has a demonstrable ‘social’ or ‘economic’ impact should receive priority for funding under the new Research Excellence Framework, these questions have sparked huge debates.

 

 

 

This workshop will give postdoctoral researchers and other colleagues a chance to discuss these questions, gain an international perspective on how research impact is measured and hear the experiences of colleagues engaged in outreach work. A practical session in the afternoon will provide a practical introduction on how to find new audiences for your research by using the media and planning outreach activities.

 

 

 

Confirmed morning session speakers include:

 

 

 

Dr Alaistair Hunter, President of the University and College Union will speak about the UCU ‘Stand up for research’ campaign defending ‘curiosity-driven’ research.

 

 

 

Dr Graeme Rosenberg, Senior Higher Education Policy Adviser at the Higher Education Funding Council for England will give HEFCE's perspective on measuring research impact.

 

 

 

Dr Steven Wooding, RAND Europe, co-author of 'Capturing Research Impacts: a review of international practice'. This report was recently commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England to assist in developing policies for the Research Excellence Framework (REF). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Napoleon Katsos, Research Centre for English and Applied Linguistics will speak about his experiences in organising innovative outreach activities for different audiences in Cambridge.

 

 

 

For the afternoon session:

 

 

 

Nicola Buckley, Manager of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas, and Tom Kirk, Cambridge University's Communications Officer for Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities will lead a specially-designed session in the afternoon introducing the prinicples of outreach and media handling for postdoctoral researchers.

 

 

 

Programme and Registration

 

 

 

The programme is available here. The morning sessions are open to all, but postdoctoral researchers will be given priority for places on the afternoon sessions.  If booking a place on the afternoon session, please note that the morning MUST also be attended. Please contact Dr Anne Alexander to register your attendance, stipulating your status.