Evidencing and reporting impact

Let us know your impact plans, activities and achievements

NIHR SSCR > Impact > Evidencing and reporting impact

Impact isn’t solely achieved at the end of a research project. Think of research as a journey with opportunities for sharing information (knowledge exchange) and creating impact (meaningful, positive change) along the way.

Mechanisms to measure impact should be in place from the start of any study so that when it comes to reporting and evaluating the impact of your research you will have a wealth of information to call upon.

For SSCR awards, updates about knowledge exchange and impact should be provided regularly via the Knowledge Exchange and Impact Support Form.

Knowledge Exchange and Impact Support Form

Capturing and reporting key information throughout your research will make telling your ‘research story’ and demonstrating the positive impact your research has achieved significantly easier. It will also enable the Knowledge Exchange, Impact and Communications Manager to support you with your activities and help you amplify your impact.

This list is long – but not exhaustive!
- Reports and publications – citations, downloads and reach
- Case studies – where has your research directly influenced change in policy or practice?
- Letters of support that illustrate the positive impact of your research
- Event records – how many people attended? What happened as a result of the event?
- Feedback and surveys
- Testimonies and interviews – personal accounts and statements from key individuals
- Capacity building activities and awards – how has your research supported the development of new skills?
- Details of new collaborations and partnerships resulting from your research activity
- Project reports, annual reports or commissioned reports
- Policy – have any government or organisational policies been influenced or shaped by your research
- Further funding – has your research led to additional grant capture? From which funders?
- Media coverage – local, national, international? Social media?
- Media and website analytics – how many people have accessed your outputs?
- Implementation evidence – proof of how the research has been implemented in practice
- Reviews and evaluations – reviewing the effectiveness of your research and knowledge exchange activities
In addition to the funding built into project budgets to support knowledge exchange and impact, projects funded by the School for Social Care Research since 2019 can apply for a Catalysing Change Award if there is unrealised impact potential.

Members of the current phase of the School (2024-2029) should also talk to their local SSCR Management as there may be funds available within your institution to give your impact activities a boost.

Information for SSCR project leads and award holders

Please let us know about your impact plans and updates via the SSCR Knowledge Exchange and Impact Support (KEIS) form. The form can be completed at any time but project leads/ award holders will be sent periodic reminders to prompt for impact updates.

This is a Google Form and we are aware that uploads are not possible without a Google account. If you don’t have a Google account or cannot complete the form through this mechanism for any other reasons, please download and complete this Word version of the KEIS form and return it, along with any outputs, publications, impact evidence etc., to sscr@york.ac.uk.

We are using this form to fulfil a number of goals:

To ensure support is offered to anyone undertaking engagement, knowledge exchange and impact activities in relation to SSCR projects and activities
To offer a tool for thinking through recent, current and/or upcoming KE activities and how, where and for whom they might generate positive impact.
To identify possible synergies across the School, bringing together researchers undertaking work in similar areas or with the same partners.
To develop an overview of impact and KE activity to help internal networking and planning.

This is not only about capturing metrics. It is about recording where you are in terms of developing impact and engagement activities from your research so this can be effectively supported. This is in addition to any formal annual, award or project reporting but is designed to be helpful when it comes to submitting these reports.

Once you have made a submission a folder will be created to store your responses and any impact evidence, outputs and resources that you upload or email to us. We will be happy to share this folder with you if that would be helpful as being able to refer back to this material may assist you later in forming a timeline or building a narrative of your impact and KE work.

Evidencing and reporting impact

Let us know your impact plans, activities and achievements

Information for SSCR project leads and award holders

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What kind of information should we be capturing?

Is there funding available to support impact activities?

Information for SSCR project leads and award holders

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