Research Outputs Phase

Aside from meeting the funders requirements, there is little point to producing research outputs, unless you have given consideration to the impact that they can have!

Return to your Stakeholder Map and the records you kept during data collection, and identify the range of different audiences for your outputs
Consider each of your target groups and key messages and match them
Consider how you can ‘recycle’ or build on the same content, so you are not starting from scratch for every output (e.g. a So What? Summary and a Podcast with the same content)
Identify, or arrange, gatherings of your audiences, e.g. Conferences or Workshops, that you could develop an output for
Don’t forget academic impact (see Journal Article) but balance it with other types of impact activity and outputs

Barriers

Lack of specificity. For an output to have an impact it needs to be relevant to a specific audience or stakeholder group – trying to produce one overarching impact is rarely likely to have an tangible impact.

Attitude! In some departments or organisations knowledge exchange and impact activity is seen as less important than conducting research. Prepare arguments for why this is not acceptable and build your resilience.

Lack of time is stated as a barrier at every stage but particularly pertinent now when pressure is asserted (by yourself or your department) to move onto new funding applications and research.

Enablers

It is essential that you incorporate the costs and time required to produce and promote outputs into your funding proposals.

Funders are clear that they will (usually) fund outputs, but only if they have been included in the initial proposal, so think early.

Share, share and share again. There is no point producing high quality outputs if no one knows about them. Consider engaging the press and using social media and blogs to share.

This is the stage where your network building and engagement activity throughout the research process will pay off, if you’ve done it!

Useful Impact Methods to Integrate at this Stage

Useful Impact Management Methods to Integrate at this Stage