Impact, Knowledge Exchange (KE) and Engagement
What is impact? What does impact in law look like?
For the purposes of REF, impact is defined as an effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia.
To support a broader assessment of excellence in REF 2029, the funding bodies have reshaped and rebalanced the three core assessment elements of the REF to include a broader range of research and impact-enabling activities.
- People, culture and environment - will include an increased emphasis on research culture
- Contribution to knowledge and understanding - will largely be based on assessment of research outputs and will also include evidence of broader contributions to the advancement of the discipline
- Engagement and impact - will consist of impact case studies and an accompanying statement
Source: REF 2029 Guidance 4.1.1
At the School of Law, we take pride in the extensive and impactful contributions our research makes on a local, national and global scale. Our commitment to excellence in research spans diverse areas including human rights, commercial law, public law, technology, criminology, and international law.
How do we support impact?
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) describes Knowledge Exchange as the two-way exchange between researchers and research users to share ideas, evidence, experiences and skills. This is often associated with activities such as seminars, workshops and collaborations but good knowledge exchange is as much about approach, mindset, personal qualities and researcher mission. Source ESRC Impact Toolkit.
Support for research impact at the School of Law is provided primarily by a dedicated REF Engagement and Impact Coordinator in the school and an Impact and Knowledge Exchange (KE) Manager in the faculty.
They work closely with researchers at all career stages, as well as with professional services staff, and external partners to lead support for the delivery of the school’s impact activities. This includes building capacity for KE and research impact, securing funding for KE/Impact projects, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of individual, departmental and faculty KE/Impact plans, and support for REF impact case studies.
Current examples of impact work in the School of Law
Our REF 2021 impact case studies
- Tackling impunity for core international crimes by enabling effective national prosecutions and strengthening support for the ICC by Professor Olympia Bekou
- Improving the protection of vulnerable consumers through changes to the practices of regulators in the UK by Professors Peter Cartwright and Richard Hyde
- Shaping the development and application of UK, EU and WTO public procurement law by Professor Emerita Sue Arrowsmith KC (hon)
- Reforming Life Imprisonment Globally by Emeritus Professor of Comparative and International Penal Law, Dirk van Zyl Smit and Dr Catherine Appleton
- Strengthening policy for cross-border insolvency and insolvency of enterprise groups by Professor Irit Mevorach
- Changing Government Policy to Improve Support for Survivors of Slavery by Dr Katarina Schwarz and Dr Andrea Nicholson