REF2021 update 5 – What makes a good Impact Case?

19th June 2019

From: Professor Jodi Lindsay

Dear colleagues,

Did you know that in the last REF2014, SGUL was ranked 4th in the UK on Impact Cases? We submitted seven cases, and you can read them here - https://impact.ref.ac.uk/casestudies/Results.aspx?HEI=143

In REF2021, SGUL will submit 7 impact cases for UoA1 (Clinical Medicine) and 2 impact cases for UoA2 (Public Health, Health Services and Primary Care).

SGUL has a REF Impact Case sub-committee, chaired by Prof Juan-Carlos Kaski, which is currently shortlisting and developing our Impact Cases for REF2021. It is not too late to consider new Impact Cases, so if you think we might have missed yours, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Impact cases are often the result of long-term research projects, so even if you don’t have a case for REF2021, do think about how your work could contribute to a future Impact Case.

In the REF, impact is defined as an effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia. Note that it is ‘beyond academia’, so it doesn’t include advancement of academic knowledge, securing grant funding, or teaching.

Impact includes, but is not limited to, an effect on, change or benefit to:

• the activity, attitude, awareness, behaviour, capacity, opportunity, performance, policy, practice, process or understanding

• of an audience, beneficiary, community, constituency, organisation or individuals

• in any geographic location whether locally, regionally, nationally or internationally.

Impact includes the reduction or prevention of harm, risk, cost or other negative effects

To be eligible for REF2021, the research must have been conducted at SGUL between Jan 1 2000 and Dec 31 2020. The impact must have occurred between 1 Aug 2013 and July 31 2020.

Impact cases are assessed on Reach and Significance. Reach will be understood as the extent and/or diversity of the beneficiaries of the impact, as relevant to the nature of the impact. Reach will be assessed in terms of the extent to which the potential constituencies, number or groups of beneficiaries have been reached; it will not be assessed in purely geographic terms, nor in terms of absolute numbers of beneficiaries. The criteria will be applied wherever the impact occurred, regardless of geography or location, and whether in the UK or abroad. Significance will be understood as the degree to which the impact has enabled, enriched, influenced, informed or changed the performance, policies, practices, products, services, understanding, awareness or wellbeing of the beneficiaries.

An impact case study is a five-page document, describing the underpinning research, references to that research, details of the impact and sources to corroborate the impact.

More information is available here – https://www.ref.ac.uk/media/1092/ref-2019_01-guidance-on-submissions.pdf paragraphs 297 - 336, Appendix G and https://www.ref.ac.uk/media/1084/ref-2019_02-panel-criteria-and-working-methods.pdf paragraphs 283 - 324.

To those of you that are preparing an Impact Case for REF2021, many thanks for your contributions so far. There are workshops and additional support for developing your cases on the way!

Best wishes

Jodi

Academic Lead for REF2021