Research impact training, resources and more

Discussions about research impact are everywhere – but what training and resources does the University provide for its researchers? Here’s a short rundown of what’s coming up in the impact space at the University, and resources to learn more. 

What’s research impact anyway?

Fun fact: The University of Melbourne has its own definition of research impact! The definition was adapted from the Australian Research Council (ARC), and defines research impact as:

The effect on, change or benefit to scholarly knowledge and the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment, or quality of life.

The Research Impact Framework goes into more detail about the definition in practice. The Framework aims to be inclusive of the array of disciplines, approaches, and people involved in research – there’s not just one pathway to impact, or method of creating it.

You can read more about research impact at the University in this 23 Research Things post written by Professor Jenny Lewis.

What’s on in May and June

If you want to learn more about research impact, or develop your skills, get involved in these events and programmes over the next month.

Webinar: Using impact narratives and storytelling to communicate your research

Research impact expert Saskia Walcott will guide you in using impact narratives and storytelling in funding proposals, case studies, and career progression. Learn about the different types of impact narratives, common pitfalls, and storytelling techniques. Register here for the webinar on 28 May 2024, 4PM-6PM.

Webinar: Evidence and metrics of research impact

All you need to know about finding, and using, metrics that you can use as evidence of your research impact, including citation performance, media and social media interest, commercial potential, and sharing of your outputs. Register here for the webinar on 22 May 2024, 11AM-12PM.

Webinar: Beyond traditional metrics – Finding alternative evidence of research impact and engagement

Looking to demonstrate how your journal publication has had impact beyond just citations? Have you created some non-traditional research outputs (NTROs) and want to show how many people they’ve reached? Find out more about the types of metrics you can use and the tools to find them. Register here for the webinar on 29 May 2024, 12PM – 1PM. 

The Reel Impact Prize

Reel Impact recognises and encourages research impact translation at Melbourne by challenging researchers to succinctly describe the impact of their research to a non-specialist audience in 60 seconds.

Academics are invited to attend an introductory workshop in June to hear from research translation experts about the most effective ways to communicate their research and its impact, and learn more about Reel Impact. Express your interest via the form here. 

Visualise Your Thesis 

Visualise Your Thesis (VYT) challenges graduate researchers to present their thesis in a 60 second audio-visual explainer. It’s a great way to learn digital communication and impact storytelling skills, win  prizes, and go on to represent the University in the international finals. Find out more about VYT, and how you can participate, via the Research Gateway here.   

More resources 

Here’s a selection of resources on research impact: 

• The Research Impact and Engagement page: the main page for all things impact. 
• The Research Impact Library Guide: includes links to Faculty-specific impact Library Guides. 
• The Research Impact Library Advisory Service (RILAS): more Library resources, and information about booking a consultation about your research impact.   
• Research Impact at the University of Melbourne: 23 Research Things post by Professor Jenny Lewis.
• Emerald Impact Services: access training and an Impact Planner to track and measure your impact.  
• hiive ImpactTracker: store and organise information about your project’s impact.  
• Future of Impact Symposium: access recordings and graphic artwork from the symposium held in November 2023.  
• Research Impact Stories: from UoM academics and their collaborators.  
• Graduate Researcher Impact Statements: from UoM PhD and Masters by Research candidates. 
• The Research Whisperer – So, you’re new to research impact?: a collation of resources from around the world.  

Featured image credit: Macro Photography of Water Drop Formation by Jamal Yahyayev on Pexels.