Top tips for H2020 coordinators: Show us the impact!
Latest research and knowledge exchange news at Bournemouth University
HSS PhD student Andrew Harding and fellow authors Jonathan Parker, Sarah Hean and Ann Hemingway have recently had a paper accepted for publication in Social Policy & Society, the sister publication to the Journal of Social Policy and run by the Social Policy Association.
A critical yet under-researched area, the paper presents a comprehensive literature review that critiques current research on the outcome/impact of information and advice on welfare. A realist evaluation approach is then proposed as being capable to address critical weaknesses in existing research.
Among other areas that are covered, the paper provides an overview of the importance of information and advice in the context of the marketisation of UK welfare provision and a new ‘efficacy framework’ is developed which can be used to assess the scope of research.
A final draft post-refereeing version of the paper will be uploaded to BRIAN in due course.
The Arts and Humanities Research Council invites applications for its follow-on funding for impact and engagement scheme: connected communities highlight notice on creating living knowledge.
This supports new and unanticipated pathways to impact which have emerged or evolved from the connected communities programme on participatory research processes and practices.
Proposals must be based on either previous or current research directly funded by the AHRC, or on research that has been co-funded with another UK research council.
Grants are worth up to £100,000 over a maximum period of one year. Smaller grants of up to £30,000 may be awarded for shorter or higher risk activities.
Click here for further information.
If you are interested in submitting to any of the above calls you must contact your RKEO Funding Development Officer with adequate notice before the deadline.
BU Humanisation Conference 21st June 2016
Venue: Room EB708, Executive Business Centre, 89 Holdenhurst Road, BH8 8EB
Please find the Programme for the Humanisation conference on the 21st June 2016 attached.
Please feel free to pass the information on to others internal and external to the university (academic and practice) who you feel may be interested
The conference is being run at no cost and so you need to make your own arrangements for lunch. Let Dr. Caroline Ellis-Hill ( cehill@bournemouth.ac.uk ) know by the 15th June if you wish to attend .
If you only want to attend for part of the day, please state which part of the day you’d like to attend.
| 9.30 | Registration | |
| 10.00 | Dr Caroline Ellis-Hill | Welcome |
| 10.10 | Anne Quinney | Humanisation of the BU Generic Student Assessment Criteria. |
| 10.30 | Dr Sean Beer | Perceptions of the authenticity of food: a study of residents in Dorset (UK) |
| 10.50 | Prof Ann Hemingway | Innovative routes to Wellbeing: Equine Assisted interventions |
| 11.10 | Coffee | |
| 11.30 | Jane Fry | Sharing human concerns: utilising an embodied interpretative approach to convey findings from a descriptive phenomenological study |
| 11.50 | Dr Carole Pound | Humanising care: translating theory into practice in stroke care |
| 12.10 | Rutherford and Dr. Emer Forde | The Rutherford Introspective Photography: Promoting self-reflection and wellbeing of GP trainees through photography. |
| 12.30 | Free time Please see information about local venues for lunch | |
| 2.00 | Dr Vanessa Heaslip | How phenomenology enables insight into the Human lives of Gypsy Roma Travellers’ |
| 2.20 | Mevalyn Cross | Experiencing the Humanisation Framework together |
| 2.40 | Dr Jan Mosja | Chaplaincy at the bedside. Learning from Buddhist chaplains and their contributions to the humanisation of health care. |
| 3.00 | Sally Lee | Humanising and the Care Act well-being principle |
| 3.20 | Dr Mary Grant and Dr Catherine Lamont Robinson | HeART of Stroke: feasibility study of an Art & Health intervention following a stroke |
| 3.40 | Thanks, Tea and Close | |
Congratulations to FHSS PhD student Sheetal Sharma on her latest paper [1]. The paper ‘Measuring What Works: An impact evaluation of women’s groups on maternal health uptake in rural Nepal’ appeared this week in the journal PLOS One. Sheetal’s innovative mixed-methods approach was applied to a long-running maternity intervention in rural Nepal. The paper concludes that community-based health promotion in Sheetal’s study had a greater affect on the uptake of antenatal care and less so on delivery care. Other factors not easily resolved through health promotion interventions may influence these outcomes, such as costs or geographical constraints. The evaluation has implications for policy and practice in public health, especially maternal health promotion.
Reference:

Bokani Tshidzu
Join us on Friday 27 May at 12.00 to find out how to evidence impact from research in a session by Bokani Tshidzu, Chief Operating Officer of impact consultancy Vertigo Ventures.
The session will outline the types of impact evidence that researchers can collect and online tools that can be used to gather this data. Attendees have an opportunity to consider the stakeholders involved in their research and find out how best to collect evidence of impact from different groups. There will also be a chance to find out more about the types of high-scoring evidence that was used in each panel during the last REF.
The session will take place in Kimmeridge House (KG03) Talbot campus from 12.00 – 14.00. Light refreshments will be provided but please feel free to bring your lunch along.

This session forms part of a series of research impact seminars and workshops, organised by RKEO to explore the various pathways to achieving societal and economic impact. Within the series, attendees will explore methods for effectively engaging a variety of research users throughout the research process, and develop new ways to plan, deliver and evidence impact.
View the other events in the series or email Genna West for further information.
Join us on Friday 27 May at 14.30 for a series of lightening talks from BU academics, to find out how their research is making a difference.
The short talks will highlight some key impact case studies that were submitted to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) in 2014 and others that are currently in development. This is an excellent opportunity to hear about a wide range of inspiring research from across BU, presenting key insights into all stages of the impact pathway.
Speakers will include;
The session will take place in Kimmeridge House (KG03) Talbot campus from 14.30 – 15.30, with networking and refreshments until 16.00.
This session forms part of a series of research impact seminars and workshops, organised by RKEO to explore the various pathways to achieving societal and economic impact. Within the series, attendees will explore methods for effectively engaging a variety of research users throughout the research process, and develop new ways to plan, deliver and evidence impact.
View the other events in the series or email Genna West for further information.
Informing government policy was the most commonly cited impact in REF 2014. Join us on Wednesday 25 May or Thursday 26 May to find out how government policy is developed, and explore the ways in which policy can be influenced and informed by research.
In bitesize hour-long seminars, Jane Forster (Policy Adviser to the Vice-Chancellor) and Emma Bambury-Whitton (Policy and Public Affairs Officer) will explore successful routes to impact through policy engagement. From giving evidence at Select Committee inquiries and creating policy briefing papers, to engaging in direct correspondence with MPs and Peers, this session will give practical tips and examples of how research filters into policy discussions.
The session will also outline the opportunities and resources available within BU and externally to support academic and support staff to engage decision-makers with research.
The session will take place on Wednesday 25 May in Kimmeridge House (KG03) Talbot campus from 13.30 – 14.30 and will be repeated on Thursday 26 May at 12.30 – 13.30 in the Executive Business Centre (EB708) Lansdowne campus. Please feel free to bring your lunch along to the sessions.
This session forms part of a series of research impact seminars and workshops, organised by RKEO to explore the various pathways to achieving societal and economic impact. Within the series, attendees will explore methods for effectively engaging a variety of research users throughout the research process, and develop new ways to plan, deliver and evidence impact.
View the other events in the series or email Genna West for further information.
Join us on Tuesday 24 May and Thursday 26 May to find out how researchers can reach a wider audience and effectively use the media to increase the impact of their research.
The PR Team here at BU will take you through traditional and social media channels that can be used to communicate your research findings to both the general public and more specialised audiences. You will receive tips on how to work effectively with the media and find out how BU can support this process.
Dr Sarah Bate will then talk you through her experiences of engaging with the media, presenting a key impact case study that has extensively used the media to generate and evidence impact.
The session will take place on Tuesday 24 May in the Executive Business Centre (EB306) Lansdowne campus from 12.30 – 14.00, and will be repeated on Thursday 26 May in Kimmeridge House (KG03) Talbot campus from 13.30 – 15.00.
This session forms part of a series of research impact seminars and workshops, organised by RKEO to explore the various pathways to achieving societal and economic impact. Within the series, attendees will explore methods for effectively engaging a variety of research users throughout the research process, and develop new ways to plan, deliver and evidence impact.
View the other events in the series or email Genna West for further information.
Join us on Monday 23rd May at 12.30pm as Dr Steve Cross discusses “What’s in it for me? Impact that makes a difference outside academia and supports your career.”

Dr Steve Cross
Dr Steve Cross has spent eight years supporting university researchers to engage with communities outside academia to help their research have impact. He was Head of Public Engagement at UCL for seven of those years, and understands that it can be difficult to balance research and teaching commitments alongside developing the skills and networks needed to support your research impact. His talk will be ripe with examples of collaboration between academics and communities which have led to benefits to the non-academic world as well as improving research careers.
Steve is a Wellcome Trust Public Engagement Fellow and a public engagement and communication consultant, trainer and strategist.
The session will take place in the Shelley Lecture Theatre, Poole House, Talbot campus from 12.30 – 14.00. Steve will talk for around an hour, and there will be 30 minutes at the end for questions and further discussion. Please do bring your lunch along.
This session forms part of a series of research impact seminars and workshops, organised by RKEO to explore the various pathways to achieving societal and economic impact. Within the series, attendees will explore methods for effectively engaging a variety of research users throughout the research process, and develop new ways to plan, deliver and evidence impact.
View the other events in the series or email Genna West for further information.
A networking session will take place on 23 May as part of “Impact Week, with the aim of to taking a closer look at how research can have an impact and make a difference beyond academia, and the ways in which this can be achieved. Developing relationships with external organisations in order to form partnerships and collaborations are just one such way in which to recognise potential “need” for research.
This is a themed networking session: H2H – bringing research to life (Human2Human). A business networking event on the topic of virtual and augmented reality
Time: 14.30-16.00
Location: PG10 – Talbot campus
Event description:
Virtual and augmented reality offers users new ways of perceiving and interacting with the digital world. Not limited to the entertainment sectors, this approach can be adopted for both technical and industrial contexts.
This drop in session provides an opportunity to find out more about the topic and approaches currently being undertaken both within and outside the university. Attendees will have the opportunity to network with academics from BU and local industry partners that may already be involved in projects or are keen to develop collaborations within this area.
Find out more and book now via Eventbrite
Join us to take a closer look at how research can have an impact beyond academia, and the ways in which this can be achieved.
From Monday 23 – Friday 27 May, we’ll be
exploring the various pathways to achieving
societal and economic impact through a
selection of seminars and workshops.
We will be joined by some fantastic external speakers such as Dr Steve Cross, a public engagement expert, and Bokani Tshidzu, a consultant specialising in impact evidence. At the end of the week, you are invited to take part in a celebration of research impact at Bournemouth University.
Come along to as many events as possible to explore how you can effectively engage with a variety of research users, and to find out more about methods for developing and evidencing impact.
These events are aimed at all academic staff members, early career researchers, postgraduate students and professional services staff who support impact across the university.
What’s in it for me? Impact that makes a difference outside academia and supports your career
Dr Steve Cross, Wellcome Trust Public Engagement Fellow & former Head of Public Engagement at UCL
12.30-14.00 | Talbot campus
Find out more and book now via Eventbrite
H2H – bringing research to life (Human2Human). A business networking event on the topic of virtual and augmented reality
Facilitated by Jayne Codling, Rachel Clarke and Charlene Steele
14.30-16.00 | Talbot campus
Find out more and book now via Eventbrite
Using the media to generate research impact
Nathaniel Hobby, Emma Matthews and Dr Sarah Bate
12.30-14.00 | Lansdowne campus
Find out more and book now via Eventbrite
Smart cities sandpit
Facilitated by RKEO, supported by Borough of Poole
09.30-16.30 | Lansdowne campusFind out more
Influencing public policy with research
Jane Forster and Emma Bambury-Whitton
13.30-14.30 | Talbot campus
Find out more and book now via Eventbrite
Influencing public policy with research
Jane Forster and Emma Bambury-Whitton
12.30-13.30 | Lansdowne campus
Find out more and book now via Eventbrite
Using the media to generate research impact
Nathaniel Hobby, Emma Matthews and Dr Sarah Bate
13.30-15.00 | Talbot campus
Find out more and book now via Eventbrite
Collecting evidence of research impact
Bokani Tshidzu, Chief Operating Officer of impact consultancy Vertigo Ventures
12.00-14.00 | Talbot campus
Find out more and book now via Eventbrite
Celebrating research impact at Bournemouth University
Facilitated by Dr Sarah Bate and Dr Zoe Sheppard
14.30-16.00 | Talbot campus
Find out more and book now via Eventbrite
Impact and innovation are at the heart of BU’s research culture. But what is impact and how do we achieve it?
From Monday 23rd – Friday 27th May, a series of seminars and workshops will take place to explore the various pathways to achieving societal and economic impact. Attendees will explore methods for effectively engaging a variety of research users throughout the research process, and develop new ways to plan, deliver and evidence impact.
Events will take place at both Talbot and Lansdowne campuses, on the following topics:
Who should attend?
These events are aimed at all academic staff members, early career researchers, postgraduate students and professional services staff who support impact across the university.
Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from external impact specialists, to find out more about the support available at BU and to interact with colleagues wishing to share their experience and expertise.
Exact dates, times and full details of the events and how to book a place will follow soon.
Check out the interactive maps on our BU Civic Media Hub website to find out!
Everyday tear gas is used around the world, from Brazil to Bahrain, from Thailand to the Occupied Territories of Palestine. Yet, while journalists file news stories of tear gas deployments, there is no national or international data recorded on its use or its effects.
Researchers and campaign groups work hard to raise awareness of the true effects of tear gas, yet its health effects remain undetermined and its death toll ill-defined. Data on tear gas is dispersed across nations, suppressed by governments, and spun by corporate manufacturers with a vested interest in keeping sales figures high. Largely unregulated and unmonitored, the for-profit transnational trade in tear gas continues to raise legal questions, as people around the world face its repressive and often violent effects.
Our 2015 Mapping the Media project sought to aggregate news reports on tear gassing in efforts to make public the frequency and motivations for its use. The maps form part of a larger research project led by Dr. Anna Feigenbaum, Senior Lecturer in Digital Storytelling at Bournemouth University. The 2015 mapping was done by Dr. Feigenbaum and her Undergraduate Research Assistant (URA) Laura McKenna with support from Dr. Pippa Gillingham and the BU Datalabs Team that came together through CCCP Fusion Grant in 2014.

Find out more about digital storytelling for impact from Dr. Feigenbaum’s blog post on the topic.
Responding to a request for more data on tear gas misuse in Council of Europe member states, the BU Datalabs team hosted a daylong data hack day to aggregate information and produce a report for the Council of Europe. The report offers a brief summary analysis of Human Rights investigations into the misuse of tear gas on peaceful and civilian protesters. It covers member states of the Council of Europe that came under investigation in a sample of publicly available reports published between 2006 and 2016.
Our summary report shares a number of key findings regarding human rights concerns. These findings include data indicating that tear gas is frequently being used in confined and enclosed spaces, which can increase the likelihood of suffocation, stampeding and related injuries and deaths. Tear gas is also being used in places with uninvolved bystanders, and in places where there are vulnerable populations, such as near, or even inside, hospitals and schools.
Another major finding of the report reveals the lack of adequate and transparent record keeping on police use of force. No Council of Europe member state currently keeps publicly available statistics on police use of force with tear gas or other less lethal weapons. This means that there is no access to information on the amount of tear gas that is used, where it is used, or what injuries and deaths it causes.
We conclude our report with a list of 9 recommendations for change. Primary among these is a call for member states to comply with the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.
Our full report is available to read and download here:USE OF TEAR GAS ON PEACEFUL PROTESTERS BY COUNCIL OF EUROPE MEMBER STATES
Dr. Anna Feigenbaum, Laura McKenna, Ozlem Demirkol, Tim Sontheimer, Daniel Weissmann, Charlotte Souter-Phillips, Thomas Dence, and Wilfred Collins-Fierkens conducted research for this report. With thanks to Dr. Phillipa Gillingham and Dr. Einar Thorsen for guidance, and a special thanks to Laura McKenna who worked as the Research Assistant throughout this project.
The Omega Research Foundation is part funded by the European Instrument on Democracy and Human Rights.
Yesterday, the Research Councils published their impact reports for the 2014/2015 financial year, demonstrating the impact their investments have made on the economy, on policy and for society.
Each Research Council has produced its own report, showcasing specific examples of the impact of investment through their various awards, programmes and collaborations. The wide-ranging nature of the impact extends from furthering technological advances to combatting disease.
Collectively, the seven Research Councils invest £3 billion in research each year covering all disciplines and sectors, to meet tomorrow’s challenges today and provide the world-class research and skills that are the foundation of a strong and productive UK economy. This helps to achieve balanced growth as well as contributing to a healthy society and a sustainable world. It ensures the UK builds capacity, safeguards the long-term sustainability of research and remains a global leader in research and innovation. Additionally, by working in partnership, the Research Councils combine investments in a multitude of global societal and economic challenge areas to achieve even greater impact.
Highlights from the reports – particularly in boosting the economy, shaping policy and contributing to society – include:
The Impact Reports for each Research Council can be accessed from the following links:
Civic Media Hack Day: Human Rights and Policing
Feb 9th 2016
10:00-16:00
W403 (Computer Lab, Weymouth House)
Open to all UG students, PG students, staff and the wider BU community. To register email: a.feigenbaum@bournemouth.ac.uk
On Tuesday February 9th Bournemouth University’s Civic Media Hub – Datalabs team will have a ‘Hack Day’ at Bournemouth University, pulling together news and human rights data to feed into an investigation for the Council of Europe’s Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights.
The Council and UN Special Rapporteur is looking for figures on death and serious injury from tear gas in member countries for their March 2016 policy meeting. Our Hack Day at BU stands to have a direct impact on European human rights policy-making, shaping the regulation of policing in member states. There will also be opportunities to write and pitch journalistic stories arising from the investigation, as well as for mapping data.
During the hack day, we will use investigative web searching, as well as basic data scraping techniques to aggregate and verify records of tear gas deaths and serious injuries in Council of Europe member states. This will involve, in particular, working with data and reliable sources from human rights reports, news organisations and medical institutions. If you are new to these methods, mentorship will be provided on the day – all welcome.
There will be a briefing on the task from 10:00-10:30. After that, you are welcome to come for all of the day or part of the day. It is also fine to pop in and out.
There will be lunch and refreshments provided throughout the day.
Please RSVP if you would like to attend by emailing a.feigenbaum@bournemouth.ac.uk
….”Please can you keep me up to date with what’s happening in the area of knowledge exchange, impact, student research and research communications, and public engagement”….
The Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team (KEIT) within the Research and Knowledge Exchange Office will be working hard to make sure this new year resolution is well and truly kept !
To keep you up to date with what we are up to and how we are working ‘to bag a bargain’ read on to find out more. (Your diary or calendar is an essential item when reading this blog post to make sure you don’t miss out on key dates and deadlines.)
Interdisciplinary Research Week kicks off next week with a variety of events running from 25 until 29 January. It’s not too late to book your place onto many of the sessions.
These include the next inaugural lecture on 25th January in the EBC. This gives newly appointed professors the opportunity to share an insight into their field of work, research interests and achievements to date. Professor Lee Miles of BU’s Disaster Management Centre will be speaking on entrepreneurial resilience and disaster management.
“What will Marty McFly need in 25 years?” will take place on 26th and 27th January. We we are looking to prompt great debate in order to generate potential ideas for future projects as part of this sandpit event involving local businesses and BU staff and students. This will be facilitated by RKEO staff.
This year’s Bournemouth Research Chronicle is progressing well and will be published in the spring. It features a host of fascinating examples of interdisciplinary research from across the university. A publication not to be missed !
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships celebrated 40 years in 2015 and this national scheme continues to thrive as a great way to develop and engage business and university partnerships. The third cohort of training (at BU) started at the end of 2015 and will continue in 2016 with a number of academics across the university involved. To find out more about KTPs at BU contact Rachel Clarke.
Make sure you don’t run out of time as the call for proposals for the Festival of Learning are now open with a January 31st deadline. Click on this link to find out how to find out how to submit your proposal. A great opportunity to showcase your research to the public.
Love is in the air with the 14th and 29th February being key dates for those cupids out there ! If romance is in the air make sure you have the next Cafe Sci in your calendar – Tuesday 2nd February. Martin Graff will be speaking on the function of nonverbal behaviour in Human Courtship.
We’ve been working hard, reviewing the case studies submitted to the light touch impact review and have been meeting with UoA leaders and impact champions to go over feedback. There are some very promising cases under development and we are looking forward to sharing these in the future.
The area of student engagement moves into its third year having been established as part of the KEIT’s remit in 2014. Events to support this area of research include the research photo competition. Voting is now open ! Don’t miss out on your say. Click here to view all the entries on the research website and cast your vote or check out the Facebook page. All of the entries will be displayed in the Atrium Art Gallery during February and an awards ceremony will be held on the 4th February to announce the winners of the competition.
We received an overwhelming response to the Undergraduate Research Assistantship Programme (URA). Busy with recruitment there are a total of 46 vacancies across 36 projects to be filled. The first student induction has already taken place with many students starting on the programme this week. The next round of URA funding applications is due to open in February 2016 for summer research assistants.
If you want any further information on this blog post please feel free to contact a member of KEIT.
Look out for our next blog post published in February !