Hello everyone,

In this month's edition, I’m sharing a mix of opportunities, resources and reflections to support your research impact work.

You’ll find upcoming training and practical courses from Fast Track Impact, alongside curated insights on how impact is created in practice, including the role of partnerships and institutions, evidence use in policy, and embedded research in local government.

There is also a selection of useful reading, including key books, papers and methodological resources to help you strengthen how you design, deliver and communicate impact across different contexts.

Finally, as the end of the UK financial year approaches, many organisations are reviewing how to use remaining professional development budgets. Fast Track Impact training offers a practical, evidence-based way to invest in skills that help researchers deliver meaningful impact. You can read more about our training courses here.

Enjoy!

News from Fast Track Impact

FREE WEBINAR: OPEN SCIENCE AND INCLUSIVENESS IN PRACTICE

Institutional commitments to Open Science and gender equality are easier to make than to assess. Join this free webinar on Thursday, 28 May 2026, from 12 to 1 pm (UTC), where the speakers will introduce a practical framework for reviewing current practice, identifying barriers to women's participation and leadership, and prioritising realistic next steps. You will leave with a short diagnostic and action sheet for use within your institution or project. Register here.

FREE INFLUENCING POLICY TRAINING COURSE

Join my free Influencing Policy training session on Wednesday, 6 May 2026, from 09:30 to 12:30 (UTC). This course will help you navigate the complex and ethical challenges of working with policy to make a meaningful and far-reaching impact. As part of the session, you will receive a discount code for The Researcher’s Guide to Influencing Policy.  Register here.

You can read Co-Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science's Activism, Change and Influence programme Duncan Green's review of my book, The Researcher's Guide to Influencing Policy, on the LSE Blog here.

RECORDING | FAST TRACK YOUR RESEARCH IMPACT

If you missed the Fast Track Your Research Impact training course I presented on Wednesday, 15 April, you can watch the recording on the Fast Track Impact YouTube channel.

FREE ONLINE IMPACT TRAINING FOR RESEARCHERS

A reminder that you can access this free five-week course to help you fast-track the impact of your research, no matter what career stage or discipline you are in. It takes around 10 to 20 minutes to work through the course materials each week over 5 weeks, and anywhere from a couple of minutes to a couple of hours to complete each week's tasks.

THE RESEARCH IMPACT HANDBOOK

Remember to get your copy of the third edition of The Research Impact Handbook from Routledge, now updated with new tools, recent case studies and insights from current practice.

Check out our growing catalogue of courses here (worth checking out the new ones if you haven't looked for a while!) and get in touch to set up a call to discuss your needs. 

Research impact news

• The analysis of REF2014 and REF2021 case studies by Wang Zuorong et al shows how libraries, museums and archives enable research to generate impact in different ways. Museums create public experience, libraries connect knowledge to use, and archives provide trusted records and memory. In this sense, impact is less of a pipeline and more a set of complementary roles and relationships. Next time you plan your impact, do not just ask who can help disseminate research: ask what each partner is uniquely able to contribute.
  
  

• I found a useful list of impact books and papers from Sarah Morton here. This includes Using Evidence: How Research Can Inform Public Services by Nutley, Walter and Davies, The Many Meanings of Research Utilisation by Carol Weiss and Practice-based Evidence for Healthcare: Clinical Mindlines by Gabbay and Le May, as well as other useful resources.
  
  
• Making evidence work: How can 'embedded researchers' support decision-making in local government? Access the new paper from The York Policy Engine here.
  
  

• A reminder that Eric Jensen’s social research methods textbook, Doing Research in the Real World (6th Ed.), is available. It offers a clear, practice-based introduction to designing and conducting robust research across disciplines. A free preview is available for anyone interested in updating their teaching materials or refining methodological skills.

I hope you've found something useful in this newsletter. If you think others would benefit from future emails, they can subscribe here.

I'll be in touch again next month with another newsletter edition.

Take care till then,

Mark