Designing Research for Impact: Part 3: ‘Identifying pathways to stakeholder engagement’

The following blog is the third part of a series of blogs by guest blogger, Hannah Clark, Impact Facilitator, University of Manchester, all looking at designing impact from research. 

We all know that Humanities research has enormous potential to shape public discourse, inform policy, support cultural institutions, and bring about positive societal change. The question is never whether the impact is possible – it is how to ensure that it happens!

The aim of this blog is just to give a brief introduction to pathways to impact and how your connection with your stakeholders can enable you to successfully deliver your research impact aspirations via methods that suit your project and your audience.

What is the difference between ‘impact’ and a ‘pathway to impact’?

A pathway to impact is essentially the plan. It is the set of activities, connections, and strategies you will use to help your research reach the people it will most benefit. This might include working directly with a business, public talks, partnerships with schools or cultural institutions, media engagement, or co-creating outputs with communities.

Impact, on the other hand, is the change that actually happens as a result of the engagement. It is the shift in understanding, behaviour, practice, or policy that occurs because of your work.

In short: pathways to impact are what you do; impact is what happens because of it.

Being able to clearly identify both within your project is vital for funding proposals. A well-thought-out pathway helps demonstrate the potential for meaningful change, even if the full impact takes time to emerge.

How can you identify a successful pathway to impact?

1. Collaborate from the start

Traditionally stakeholders are brought in after the research is done, usually when it’s time to share results. But meaningful collaboration often begins well before data collection or analysis. Consider co-developing/co-producing research questions with your stakeholders, whether that means consulting with a particular company or seeking the opinions and ideas of community groups, curators, educators, or local authorities. This not only ensures your work speaks to real-world concerns, it also builds important relationships from the outset of a project and will inform how you approach the impact element of your project. Co-production is highly valued amongst many funders, and there are often funding streams (such as Knowledge Transfer Partnerships) targeted to support co-produced research. Your local research impact team can help you identify whether they will be appropriate for your work.

2. Translate your work for different audiences… and avoid jargon!

Compared to other disciplines, Humanities research often deals with abstract or nuanced concepts, which can be challenging to communicate to non-specialist audiences. Think about the audiences you want to reach i.e. cultural organisations, policymakers, key demographics such as Gen Z, and tailor your communications accordingly. Universities will have dedicated Communication teams who can help with this if you are not sure where to start. Remember: avoiding jargon doesn’t mean oversimplifying; it just means being strategic and thoughtful in how you present complex ideas and learning to identify what is appropriate for your audience.

3. Be flexible in your outputs

While journal articles are undeniably important in academia, many stakeholders will value other forms of engagement. Could your findings be turned into a digital archive, podcast, public lecture, or an installation hosted at a local art gallery? Try to think creatively about outputs and consider what formats will most effectively reach and resonate with your audience. Including and budgeting for these ideas in a funding application will demonstrate that you have placed significance on the value of your work to those who will benefit from it in the world outside of academia and therein lies research impact gold!

4. Reflect, share, and adapt

After a project concludes, it’s vital to share outcomes with stakeholders – not just through final reports, but through conversations and feedback sessions where appropriate. Reflect together on what worked, what could be improved, and how the research might evolve. This element of any external collaboration is important. It enriches both academic and non-academic perspectives and paves the way for future collaboration.

By engaging stakeholders thoughtfully, you can help ensure your work reaches the people who will most benefit from it and successfully achieve robust and evidencable research impact.