Impact, Knowledge Exchange (KE) and Engagement
What is impact? What does impact in law look like?
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.
Impact includes, but is not limited to, an effect on, change or benefit to the activity, attitude, awareness, behaviour, capacity, opportunity, performance, policy, practice, process or understanding, of an audience, beneficiary, community, constituency, organisation or individuals, in any geographic location whether locally, regionally, nationally or internationally.
Impact includes the reduction or prevention of harm, risk, cost or other negative effects.
(Annexe C, Guidance on Submissions, Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2019/01 (January 2019), p. 90).
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?
Support for research impact 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