I recently attended a NCCPE event featuring Steven Hill (Head of Research Policy, HEFCE) which addressed the relevant public engagement questions in the current HECFE consultation on the future of the REF. Question 23: What do you think about having further guidance for public engagement impacts and what do you think would be helpful? [Also discussed were Questions 15, 20, 21, … Continue reading “Public Engagement and the REF: A process of judgement, not measurement…”
Category: Think: Research
Researchfish: Why your submission is important…
This is your big opportunity to tell your funders about the activities, impact and publications that have come from your own research! Researchfish is the system used to by many funders to collect and evaluate the outputs and outcomes of your research projects. If you’re the Principal Investigator (PI) on an active Research Council (RCUK), … Continue reading “Researchfish: Why your submission is important…”
Data Quality in Current Research Information systems
November saw the first Pure User Community event at the University of Birmingham. As the Research Information Manager I am really lucky to have a great community of institutions using Pure through the UK and international user groups. However, I was very aware that we have a growing group of staff supporting Pure internally who … Continue reading “Data Quality in Current Research Information systems”
Project focus: Professor Andrew Ewer
Critical congenital heart defects (CCHD) occur in around 2-3/1,000 babies, and are a leading cause of infant death. Prior to work led by Prof Andy Ewer at the University, diagnostic testing identified only 50-70% of affected babies before discharge, resulting in babies being sent home before diagnosis where they could become unwell or die. Blood … Continue reading “Project focus: Professor Andrew Ewer”
Radical Sabbatical Residency 2017
The Cultural Engagement team are seeking expressions of interest from academics who would like to collaborate with artists in a residency scheme called Radical Sabbatical. They are are interested in how artists and academics can explore each other’s research and consider how it is produced and conveyed. They aim to pair practitioners with academics, enabling an in-depth understanding of … Continue reading “Radical Sabbatical Residency 2017”
Reflecting on the Stern Review
On 28th July 2016, Lord Stern published his much anticipated review of the REF: Building on Success and Learning from Experience. The report neither proposed a wholesale move to metrics to assess research quality nor the abolition of REF – both apocalyptic scenarios trailed early in the review process. Rather, the proposals for change are … Continue reading “Reflecting on the Stern Review”
Public Engagement in the REF: Where’s our ambition?
I recently attended a session, ‘Lessons from the REF’, run by the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE). The day-long workshop focused on the outcomes of their review of the impact case studies and impact templates submitted to the Research Excellence Framework 2014 which featured public engagement. Below are some of the key points I … Continue reading “Public Engagement in the REF: Where’s our ambition?”
Science, Research and Parliament – An academic’s guide to getting involved in Parliament
As a new-ish member of the Research Planning Team at the University of Birmingham and from a background in scientific research I now regularly get asked the question ‘How do I get involved in parliament, and influence government policy? – Not a simple answer. So to raise our team’s knowledge and to allow us to … Continue reading “Science, Research and Parliament – An academic’s guide to getting involved in Parliament”
Open Forum Event: Research Impact – Delivering Excellence
A delegation from the Research Planning Team (Gavin, Katharina and Ronni) attended an Open Forums event earlier this year Research Impact: Delivering Excellence. It was billed as an opportunity ‘to explore REF case studies and testimonials to help universities effectively measure and evidence impact, offering practical guidance on delivering high quality submissions across disciplines, institutions and … Continue reading “Open Forum Event: Research Impact – Delivering Excellence”
Welcome to the Think Research blog
Our new blog aims to pull together work and ideas from staff, both Academic and Professional Services, across the institution who are involved in developing and supporting research and the research environment. This could range from the increasing need to make your work and your data open access, to the development and evaluation of impact, the … Continue reading “Welcome to the Think Research blog”