School of Psychology Impact Fund
Although research grants can (and should!) include specific funds to cover
impact-related activities, and there are a number of University-based and
national schemes to fund impact, funding impact that arises after a grant ends or
where a small input could greatly enhance the impact of existing work can still
be challenging. The Psychology School Impact Fund is a small fund that
members of faculty can apply to for funds to cover the costs of specific activities
that could enhance the impact of their work. This could be outward facing
activities, such as workshops, aimed to bring specific work to the attention of key
stakeholders, specific pieces of work that take existing research outcomes and
translate these into applications that could be exploited commercially, etc.
Relevant activities could include:
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organise showcase events to be attended by non-academic research users
(building on the success of previous showcase events)
employing an RA/RF on a short contract to work on specific impactrelated activities such as
o market research to test commercialisation potential
o development of a web-site or other social media activities
o pump-priming of recent outcomes to facilitate an application for
external follow-on funding
o etc
costs of putting on a specific public engagement activity (such as demo at
Brighton Science Festival, etc)
How much can I apply for?
For 2015, the total budget available for this activity will be £20K. It is envisaged
that the majority of applications will be for sums less than £2K, but exceptional
cases will be considered for awards of £5k (maximum) where there is a clear and
string case that the enhanced impact would have strong benefits to the School
(for example by significantly increasing the likelihood that the researcher could
put together a strong Impact Case study for the next REF).
How do I apply?
Applications can be submitted at anytime using the standard application form,
which is attached with the launch email and which will be available on-line
shortly.
How will bids be assessed?
Bids will be read by the Impact Champion and one other member of the
Psychology Research Advisory Group: the application will then be discussed for
approval by the Research Advisory Group at the next possible monthly meeting
to ensure a fast turnaround. Details of all applications and expenditure will be
summarised at termly Research Committee meetings.