Enhancing knowledge exchange and impact
We want our research to benefit society, through enhancing knowledge and skills, producing evidence and technologies, and fostering critical reflection and debate.
To release the potential benefits of research, we need to build in appropriate communication and engagement activities with relevant audiences and potential users from idea to impact, both locally and around the world. Over the past decade we have worked to ensure knowledge exchange is embedded in all our activities to support research. We have also supported targeted engagement with the purpose of research impact through the CAHSS Knowledge Exchange and Impact grant, and through the second round of ESRC Impact Acceleration Account (2019-2023).
Engaging with industry, publics, policy and practice
Industry engagement
Our industry engagement activity includes working with with private sector companies, social enterprises, trade bodies and regulatory bodies, ultimately contributing to the economy in sustainable and socially responsible ways. Our industry engagement has developed considerably since our first strategy was put in place in 2018, supported through additional funding from the ESRC Business Boost. This has led to research from a wide range of disciplines, including philosophy, history and politics, contributing to industry needs. It has also underpinned collaborations with industry partnerships in research applications and awards. We will continue to encourage this by working with Schools to identify potential areas that may contribute to business, active brokering of relationships, providing “business boost” seed funding, and promoting relevant funding opportunities including through Innovate UK.
Activity in this area has been boosted by the creation of a new CAHSS-facing industry engagement team, bringing together colleagues in the Knowledge Exchange and Impact (KE&I) team, EFI and Edinburgh Innovations to provide a joint approach to supporting industry engagement and enterprise, including consultancy, business led research (funded by partners or industry oriented and translational grants), and licensing of tools and technologies. Our industry engagement is underpinned by commitment to inclusive, sustainable and socially responsible innovation and growth (and due diligence in this regard), reflecting the college’s model of values-led research.
Public engagement
Our public engagement activity involves interacting with people outside academia in their capacity as citizens and members of communities of place or interest. We engage communities of interest by delivering exhibitions and events, young people through schools, and we engage people in need of and providing care through advocacy groups and service providers. We also engage people in local communities in Edinburgh and across the world wherever we conduct research. We are committed to ensuring we extend these activities to social and economic groups currently under-represented in engagement with the university as well as those with protected characteristics. We will also continue to work with the University’s community engagement and widening participation agendas, including by providing training and development and building strategic relationships with broker organisations.
Our location in Edinburgh is central to our engagement with the creative arts (local, national and international). We will continue to strengthen our partnerships with the city’s festivals, museums, exhibition spaces and performing arts institutions to foster researcher creativity and innovation in the design of public engagement activities.
Policy engagement
Our policy engagement activity involves influencing decision-makers in local, national and international governments, elected and public bodies, often through collaborations with NGOs, advocacy organisations and other intermediaries. We have strong connections to UK and devolved government and parliaments, as well as overseas governments and international governmental bodies and agencies. The KE&I team draw on the Universities Policy Engagement Network, the Scottish Policy and Research Exchange and the Scottish Parliament Academic Network to help broker opportunities for engagement, including bringing new colleagues into policy engagement.
Practice
In the area of practice we have a successful record of extensive engagement with artists, museum curators, teachers, health and social care professionals and other service providers in the UK and overseas. We have co-produced research leading to implementation of guidance and toolkits, research informing continuous professional development and new tools and technologies improving performance. Through our research themes and the support of the IAA, we aim to bring together new and existing relationships of academic and professional practice to add further value both to the research and the impact it may achieve.