Research Impact

About HMRI Research Impact

Research impact is the next big thing to hit the research ecosystem. While using rigorous research methods and disseminating findings through academic publications are still important, research impact is becoming a key measure of research success.

The HMRI Research Impact team is passionate about building impact and translation literacy and capability amongst researchers, pivoting the research ecosystem to value and incentivise impactful research, and advancing the science of impact assessment. More than ever before, funders of health and medical research and the community want to understand the benefits of research and how it improves the health and wellbeing of our community.

HMRI’s team of leading research impact practitioners are here to help researchers and research teams optimise, evidence, assess, and report on the impact from their varying research.

How can the HMRI Research Impact Team Support You?

If you're interested in doing more impactful research and being better placed to translate your research to policy, practice and commercialisation, the HMRI Research Impact team can offer:

One-on-one coaching and facilitation
Capacity-building workshops
Research impact consultancies
Resources

All our services are customised to meet your research needs. We can also support your research team to build the foundational knowledge and skills essential for building a leading impact culture.

What benefits do you get?

The HMRI Research Impact Team works with researchers, research groups and programs, policymakers, and funders to achieve:

Efficiency in how we allocate funding and undertake research
Broader engagement of other key stakeholders
More effective translation into policy, practice and products
Improved preventative health and patient care
Increased health and wellbeing of our communities

Our Services

Preparing Impact Sections in Grant Proposals

Are you intending to submit a grant proposal that requires a personal impact statement?

Does your grant proposal require a program logic model to map the pathway to impact?

We can help with:

Workshop
One-on-one coaching

Planning for Impact Upfront Using a Program Logic Model

Are you tired of leaving the impact of your research purely to chance?

Would you be interested in optimising your chance of impact by planning for translation & impact upfront?

We can help with:

Workshops
One-on-one coaching
Consultancy

Translating your Research for Better Impact

Need help translating your research to the next users, policymakers, clinicians, the general public?

Have you got an elevator pitch or Twitter handle for your project? How confident are you to write a press release or policy brief?

We can help with:

Workshops

Evidencing your Impact

What do you need to be able to report your impact to funders, key stakeholders, the public?

How and where are you storing your impact evidence and data?

We can help with:

Workshops

Assessing your Impact

Are you interested in doing a comprehensive impact assessment of your research project/program?

Are you ready to direct your own FAIT?

We can help with:

Customised support
Consultancy
Self-paced learning modules

Improving your Impact Literacy & Skills

Do you or your team really understand what research impact means – why it's important, the terminology, the methods?

We can help with:

Workshops
Resources

Resources

FAIT

The Framework to Assess the Impact from Translational health research (FAIT) is a novel framework designed by HMRI's Research Impact team. It was specifically developed to encourage research translation and measure and report on research impact in a multi-dimensional way.

Access FAIT Learning Modules

Publications

The following publications by members of the Research Impact team are useful for potential FAIT users who require more information about the development of FAIT, the different methods used in FAIT and how it is being applied in the real world.

Seminal FAIT paper – everything you need to know about the Framework

An Approach to Measuring and Encouraging Research Translation and Research Impact. Click here to access.

Scoping literature review of the objectives for impact assessment

Measuring research impact in Australia’s medical research institutes: a scoping literature review of the objectives for and an assessment of the capabilities of research impact assessment frameworks. Click here to access.

Attitudes towards research impact assessment frameworks

Measuring research impact in medical research institutes: a qualitative study of the attitudes and opinions of Australian medical research institutes towards research impact assessment frameworks. Click here to access.

Protocol for the implementation of FAIT to five Indigenous primary health research projects

Encouraging translation and assessing impact of the Centre for Research Excellence in Integrated Quality Improvement: rationale and protocol for a research impact assessment. Click here to access.

Protocol for the implementation of FAIT to a childhood obesity prevention program

Measurement of the translation and impact from a childhood obesity trial programme: rationale and protocol for a research impact assessment. Click here to access.

Protocol for the implementation of FAIT to streams of stroke rehabilitation research

Implementing a protocol for a research impact assessment of the Centre for Research Excellence in Stroke Rehabilitation and Brain Recovery. Click here to access

Researcher opinions of research translation – it’s scope, importance, responsibility and skills and knowledge required

This publication presents results from a mixed-methods study to explore the opinions of research translation held by researchers working in a Centre of Research Excellence in Australia. Click here to access

Strengthening and measuring research impact in global health: lessons from applying the FAIT framework

This paper presents the results from applying FAIT to two public health projects in low to middle income countries and the learnings and limitations of applying FAIT retrospectively. Click here to access

Templates

The following resources are available for those interested in applying FAIT. Both are designed to be applied upfront, at the planning stages of a project.

The Program Logic Template is designed to assist users to map out the intended pathway to impact. It includes a step-by-step process for developing a program logic model for a research project from demand all the way through aims, activities, outputs, potential users and impacts.

Click here to download the Program Logic template

The Research Translation Planning Template is designed to assist users to develop a research translation plan. This activity builds on the development of the program logic model by expanding on the types of translational activities that will be required to achieve the intended impacts. It also helps to identify the skills and resources required to implement the research translation aspects upfront

Click here to download the Research Translation Planning template

Presentations

This section contains pdf versions of powerpoint slides from a selection of poster and presentations about FAIT and Research Impact Assessment at a range of conferences:

Resources and Implementation Project Links

This section provides links to resources on research impact assessment and research translation that could potentially be useful to projects that are implementing FAIT including two NHMRC Centres of Research Excellence.

Organisations Applying FAIT or FAIT Principles

Centre for Research Excellence in Integrated Quality Improvement in Indigenous Primary Healthcare

Centre for Research Excellence in Stroke Rehabilitation and Brain Recovery

George Institute

HMRI

NSW Regional Health Partners