Research Impact and the Challenge of External Partnerships

The emphasis on ‘impact’ under the Research Excellence Framework has slowly evolved from a requirement that external actors engage with academic research to an ambition that (some) research be ‘co-produced’ with external actors. However, partnerships between universities and others can be challenging. In this seminar I will discuss the emerging partnership between the Centre for Applied Human Rights and ActionAid. I will draw on my own experience and the anonymised findings of 2015-16 study of academic-INGO partnerships to draw out some of the key opportunities and challenges with this type of partnership. My assumption is that such partnerships are useful (at least in some instances); using my observations as a starting point, the seminar will provide an opportunity to think together about how to make such partnerships work in practice.

My work at York, in collaboration with my former employer, ActionAid, is funded through a collaborative award between the Centre for Applied Human Rights and ActionAid, modelled on the more traditional industry-university collaborative relationship (but fully funded by the ESRC). In the past, I have used academic research and worked with academics in the context of my work as a policy analyst with ActionAid, Oxfam, UNDP and the European Commission.