Impactful academic departments: learning from REF leaders

This chapter examines characteristics of top-scoring academic departments for impact in the UK Research & Innovation's 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF), to provide insights for both REF impact and wider research-impact strategy. The chapter is based on reviews of 269 REF impact case studies in the highest-performing departments, and interviews with 25 individuals across 23 of these departments. The chapter draws out challenges and opportunities commonly experienced by academics aiming to deliver impact and provides insights for department and faculty impact leads. It concludes that institutions and departments that wish to be impact leaders need to act early to embed a research–impact culture and deploy resources, such as knowledge exchange support, strategically to focus on maximising research impact. Based on our research and experience, we propose that ambitious, impactful institutions and departments are characterised by having: (1) a clearly articulated vision of how research and impact work together in their departments that promotes an inclusive research–impact culture; (2) tailored support and training for researchers and department leadership focused on designing impact generation and measurement strategies and integrating then into research plans; and (3) clear roles allocated to those with the rights skills and incentives to deliver the impact strategy.