REF guidance on types of impact

The REF2021 Panel Criteria and Working Methods listed a wide range of possible types of impact (see Annex A, pp. 77-89).

These were indicative rather than exhaustive, and departments were not expected to use them as categories into which to fit their impact work. Many impacts combine or sit between two or more of these descriptions.

For advice on planning for impact, you can contact the A&H Faculty Impact Managers on ah-impact-manager@york.ac.uk.

Some of the most relevant types of impact for arts and humanities researchers include:

• Co-production of new cultural artefacts, including films, novels or TV programmes.
• Generating new ways of thinking that influence creative practice, its artistic quality or its audience reach.
• Inspiring, co-creating and supporting new forms of artistic, literary, linguistic, social, economic, religious or other expression.
• Enhancing heritage preservation and interpretation, including in museum and gallery exhibitions.
• Developing stimuli to cultural tourism and contributing to the quality of the tourist experience.
• Increasing cultural participation or social and educational inclusion among marginalised groups.
• Informing changes to or the design of education curricula and vocational courses.
• Enhancing cultural understandings of issues and penomena; shaping or informing public attitudes and values.
• Contribution to processes of commemoration, memorialisation and reconciliation.
• Shaping public or political debate, challenging established norms, modes of thought or practices.
• Influential contributions to campaigns for social, economic, political or legal change.
• Influencing policy, professional practice or legislation, possibly leading to improved outcomes for specific groups.
• Widening public access to or participation in the political process.
• Influencing the work of an NGO, charitable or other organisation, international agency or institution.

Further examples

Annex A (pp. 77-89) of the REF2021 Panel Criteria and Working Methods includes an extensive list of possible impact types and descriptions.

Panel C and Panel D each produced lists of expected impact types in the disciplines they covered ahead of REF 2014:
Panel C examples of impact for REF2014 (PDF , 207kb)
Panel D examples of impact for REF2014 (PDF , 197kb)

For information on potential routes to these types of impact please see the central routes to impact pages.