Research Impact Group
About the Department of Health Sciences Research Impact Group (HS RIG)
The aim of the group is to provide advice and support for activities that assist in maximising the impact of all our research. Established in November 2021, the HS RIG will identify needs, and then develop and make available practical support and resources for researchers across the department. The ultimate goal is for research impact activities to become embedded as routine practice across the department of health sciences.
We define research impact as the provable effects/benefits of research in the ‘real world’, that is outside of academia.
Research Impact Group Members
The Research Impact lead for the department is Alison Booth (alison.booth@york.ac.uk), who, together with the Impact Coordinators for each research group, form the RIG.
| Research Group | Impact Coordinators | |
|---|---|---|
| Epidemiology and Cancer Statistics Group (ECSG) |
Maxine Lamb Rebecca Sheridan |
|
| Cardiovascular Health Research Group (CHRG) | Alex Harrison | alexander.harrison@york.ac.uk |
| Health Services and Policy Research Group (HSPRG) | TBC | |
| Mental Health and Addiction (MHARG) |
Katie Pybus Kate Bosanquet |
|
| Public Health and Society Research Group (PHSRG) | Gerardo Zavala Gomez | g.zavala@york.ac.uk |
| York Trials Unit and Statistics (YTU) |
Kerry Bell Laura Clark |
Role of the Research Impact Group
The RIG plays a key role in promoting knowledge and awareness of activities that support a pathway to impact. This includes dissemination, knowledge mobilisation and exchange, and ways to demonstrate the link between activities and resulting impact.
The Department Research Impact Lead works closely with the Research Group Impact Coordinators, and liaises with the Department Research Committee, the Faculty of Science Research Impact Lead and the University’s Impact Manager.
As a team, the RIG members undertake awareness raising of research impact related activities within the research groups. They help to identify examples of best practice and where there may be training and support needs. Collectively they work on providing resources, sharing ideas and examples, and promoting best practice. Encouraging and supporting the routine practice of planning, implementing and recording research impact activities helps meet the needs of major funders like NIHR and Wellcome.
Working with Principal Investigators and research teams, the RIG team members help to identify case studies for the department website, whatever the size or nature of the impact.
The RIG has a role alongside the Department Research Committee and Principal Investigators in identifying where there is a need for additional research to establish impact for case studies, and the likely funding requirements for such research. This work will play a key part in ensuring that the requirements of future Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercises are more easily met.