Reflections on Academy of Social Science Impact Conference

In January 2016, Surinder Bangar and Daniel Froste attended the Academy of Social Sciences conference on the topicof “Impact and Implications: The Future of Research Excellence and the SocialSciences”. Daniel Froste is an MA student currently on placement in ScHARR, working with Bangar developing content for the impact toolkit.

The day began with Dame Janet Finch discussing “lessons from the 2014 REF” and argued, among other things, the importance of interdisciplinary research in social sciences for vibrant academic environments. This was followed by a breakout session where delegates discussed a variety of aspects of the REF and impact. This section was a good opportunity for academics and researchers from a variety of institutions to discuss their experiences of the REF and Bangar discussed ScHARR’s approach to impact in the REF.

After lunch, Jonathan Grant, Director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London discussed “The Impact of Impact”, which was particularly useful in the context of Bangar and Daniel’s impact toolkit work. He suggested how assessment of impact has led to a cultural change within higher education institutions, where academics are adopting a new focus on the potential impact of research. This was followed by Steven Hill, head of Research Policy at HEFCE who discussed “the future of the REF”. His talk implied great uncertainties about the future of the REF and while the future of impact appears integral to the REF, the means of assessment may change.

The final session involved a panel and discussion where four delegates discussed aspects of their work. This included Professor James Wilsdon, who has recently become Director of Policy, Impact and Engagement at the Faculty of Social Science at the University of Sheffield. Professor Wilsdon discussed, among other things, that the overburden of journal impact factors can have negative consequences. He also suggested that if the REF switched to a more metric orientated system for determining impact, that savings would be negligible.  The final speaker of the day was Ceridwen Roberts, senior research fellow from The University of Oxford who presented a more critical viewpoint of the impact assessing process in the REF, but concluded that the significance of impact is due to continue and Universities must continue to be aware of this.

One of the aspects of the day observed by Bangar, Daniel and other delegates were the lack of students and early career researchers. It has been argued that for impact to be embedded within research, a cultural shift needs to occur, something which I feel will be hindered if only senior researchers attend events like this.

On reflection, Daniel and Bangar felt that their attendance was worthwhile, as the event gave context to the national discussion on impact. There seemed to be a variety of approaches to impact, reflecting the multifaceted nature of impact. This variety of approaches has given Daniel more ideas about how the various understandings of impact needs to be reflected in the toolkit, in the hope that ScHARR researchers can be supported in their work.

Written by Daniel Froste, Research Impact Assistant, ScHARR, University of Sheffield

NHS Test Beds announced

Older patients and people with long term conditions and mental health problems will be among the first to benefit from a major new drive to modernise how the NHS delivers care.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens launched the first wave of NHS Innovation ‘Test Beds’.

These collaborations between the NHS and innovators – including Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences), IBM and Philips – aim to harness technology to address some of the most complex issues facing patients and the health service.

Frontline health and care workers in seven areas will pioneer and evaluate the use of novel combinations of interconnected devices such as wearable monitors, data analysis and ways of working which will help patients stay well and monitor their conditions themselves at home.

Successful innovations will then be available for other parts of the country to adopt and adapt to the particular needs of their local populations.

Sites are:

 

North East London

Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale

Lancashire and Cumbria

Sheffield City Region

Birmingham and Solihull

West of England

Surrey and Borders

Please click here to find out more.

PhD Studentship available - University of Birmingham

Where? University of Birmingham, Institute of Applied Health and Research
What? Helping preventable mortality measurements and interventions as part of the NIHR's CLAHRC West Midlands.

Requirements

• A medical doctor, or a first or upper second class honours degree in areas such as physical or social science, economics, mathematics, management studies; relevant degrees in other subjects may also be considered
• Additional relevant research experience or higher qualifications, and experience with the NHS would be preferred.

For further information about the PhD, please contact Dr Semira Manaseki-Holland (s.manasekiholland@bham.ac.uk; Tel 0121414533).

Formal applications require:
– CV to include the names and addresses of two referees (postal and email)
– Covering letter explaining why your experience makes you suitable for this PhD.
Please send your application to haps-pgr@contacts.bham.ac.uk by midday on 1st December 2015
Full time three years (envisaged start date February 2016)
Part time applications will also be considered up to a minimum of 50% time on project.
Please note closing date may close early if high number of applications received

Funding Notes
The University of Birmingham registration fee is covered for duration of 3 years for UK/EU students. You are not exempt from applying if you are an overseas student (non-EU), but you will be required to pay the difference in the Overseas registration fee
Stipend

Annual stipend of £16,000 (15/16), plus research expenses (travel and consumables)
The project information is also is on findaphd.com and can be accessed via this link.

Day Two of the Canadian Association on Aging conference (CAG)

Hello, THAW PhD student Jake Andrews again, highlighting more points of interest from the CAG conference (cag2015.ca).

Impact is becoming a buzzword, with the Research Excellence Framework (REF) putting a lot of emphasis on it, and researchers working to demonstrate the practical worth of their research. On the second day of the CAG conference, Professor Thomas Scharf ofNUI Galway gave a keynote speech on the social impacts of ageing research.

In his speech, Professor Scharf discussed the increasing importance of impact, suggesting that researchers in the field of ageing should aim to make a difference, and believe that their work can make a difference. He highlighted some concrete examples of impact and how these might be produced. One case from his own work showed how research had led to a change in government policy, clear evidence of the impact of research. He also described how doing research develops the skills of the research team, thereby producing highly skilled people. The impact of this was highlighted by the fact that a member of his research team had gone on to work in the cabinet office. He showed also how impact could be made at a more grassroots level by researchers taking part in public events and engaging with broadcast media. He argued that in the field of ageing, this can lead to the challenging of long-held perceptions of ageing, within the community.

Professor Scharf concluded by admitting that impact was not easy to achieve, and that it must be underpinned by scientific excellence. His final point was that researchers are well placed to define their own impact ‘narrative’, and tell the world why and how their own work is impactful.

Written by Jacob Andrews, THAW PhD student