Ethical research impact doesn’t happen by default. It takes intention, planning, and the right tools.
If you want to learn more and build your skills, book our Ethics of Engagement and Impact training course 🔗 fasttrackimpact.com/impact-ethics
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🕰️ Design for lasting impact
Short-term wins don’t guarantee meaningful change. Plan for sustainability, handover, and long-term benefit, not just metrics.
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📊 Maintain accountability and evaluate engagement and impact
Be transparent about who is responsible for what. Use rigorous methods to evaluate whether impact claims hold up and for whom.
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🌍 Seek to ensure equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI)
Responsible impact means dismantling barriers to participation, not reproducing them. Who is at the table? Who is not?
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🛑 Manage risk and reduce the potential for harm
Don’t assume good intentions are enough. Impact work can cause harm if risks aren’t identified and managed from the outset.
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⚖️ Engage ethically with all relevant parties
Respect autonomy. Communicate clearly. Share decision-making. Engagement must be more than consultation: it must be an ethical partnership.
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🤝 Build capability and capacity to engage as equals.
Support everyone affected by impact work, especially marginalised groups, to participate meaningfully. Equal footing requires resources, access, and time.
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As researchers, we’re asked to show how our work makes a difference. But an impact that matters also needs to be ethical. This paper sets out six guiding principles for navigating that responsibility.
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📢 Responsible research impact: Ethics for making a difference
Our new paper is out now as a pre-print 🔗 open-research-europe.ec.europa.eu/articles/5-9...
Here’s a breakdown of the six principles for doing research impact responsibly ⬇️
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I'm excited to announce that I'll launch my latest book, The Researcher's Guide to Influencing Policy, with colleagues at the University of Leeds on 10th April, 14.00-15.30 online. Book your place now: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/protocols-...
The 3rd edition of The Research Impact Handbook will come out this summer with Routledge!
Next up will be the 3rd edition of The Productive Researcher, now out of print but still available on Kindle and Audible
Who should you prioritise to engage with your research when you've got limited time and resources? Read our new paper www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti..., book the course www.fasttrackimpact.com/analysing-re... or use this free template to do your own analysis docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Should we be building capacity or making it easier to engage with research? New qualitative study shows that a key barrier to impact is the required time, effort and prior knowledge it takes for people to engage with researchers and evidence health-policy-systems.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Using ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot for Communications (Tuesday, 18 March 2025, 2 pm to 5 pm, UK time). Email me if you want a 10% discount code (there are a limited number of discounted seats available) methodsforchange.org/live-worksho...
The best things in life don't come easy: this new paper reflects on the "discontents" of engaged research including narrow definitions of what counts as academic work, polarised views on knowledge and truth, potential for backlash, and the risk of burnout scholar.google.co.uk/scholar_url?...
New paper on the impact of social media shows how researchers and academic publishers often initiate conversations that appear short-lived but lead to sustained connections between academia and professional communities link.springer.com/article/10.1...
People, Culture & Environment indicators that could make up 25% of scores in REF2029. One factor being piloted is research integrity and ethics (2029.ref.ac.uk/publication/...). The ethics of engagement and impact are a key part of this, currently unaddressed in most universities.
Useful explainer on significance and reach for those new to impact from @researchimpactacademy.com www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuYL...
Listen to me in conversation with @hallged.bsky.social talking about the ethics of engagement and impact, what inspired me to specialise in impact, and two of my "impact heroes". I really enjoyed this chat with an old friend and hope it inspires you just as much! player.captivate.fm/episode/6966...
#ResearchCultureUncovered launches new series #ResearchImpactHeroes with @hallged.bsky.social talking to Prof Mark Reed @fasttrackimpact.bsky.social about the transformative power of research impact, ethical standards & building a collaborative research culture player.captivate.fm/episode/6966...
Are you ready for REF? Taking bookings now to help your team put everything place to ensure your impacts get top scores for your impact case studies (I will be doing a few of these himself and we now have in-person options) www.fasttrackimpact.com/prepareref2029
Webinar from National Coordinating Centre on Public Engagement: Celebrating and Supporting UK Engagement Practice (11 March) www.publicengagement.ac.uk/whats-happen.... See the rest of their seminar series here: www.publicengagement.ac.uk/nccpe-seminars
The importance of timely impact testimonials - useful new blog from Kerry Lesley www.walcottcomms.co.uk/post/the-imp...
Amazing impact opportunity if you do research on peatlands and want free training and support to write and publish your first evidence synthesis in collaboration with UNEP
Find out more via Q&A sessions docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Or apply here: www.methodsinnovation.org/evidence-syn...
YEAR-END SALE - 20% off The Researcher's Guide to Influencing Policy www.tkqlhce.com/click-101258...
Really useful new set of impact resources from Impact Planning & Evaluation Network including templates, explainer videos and other useful tools to help you plan for and evaluate the impact of your research www.ipen.co.nz/impact-news/...
YEAR-END SALE - 20% off The Researcher's Guide to Influencing Policy www.tkqlhce.com/click-101258...
Have you seen our ethical research and engagement resources? www.fasttrackimpact.com/ethical-enga... It grew out of this blog on best practice engagement and impact www.fasttrackimpact.com/post/what-is... (and will soon be part of a paper)
New pre-print uses a grounded theory analysis of 200 REF impact case studies to create a theoretical model of how impacts are generated osf.io/preprints/so...