The Research Impact Awards 2024 are now closed for entries. Shortlisted applicants will be announced in mid-May.

For all enquiries, please contact the RQI team: rqi@sussex.ac.uk

You will need to complete your application through Qualtrics. Please ensure you select the correct link under the category you wish to enter below.

For key information, eligiblity and further guidance on what to expect at each stage of the award process, please refer to the document below:

Research Impact Awards 2024: Key Information and Guidance [PDF 324.90KB]

Please note there will be a shortlisting stage. Therefore the following information, as also detailed in the document, is relevant in the event your entry is shortlisted: You will be expected to attend the Research Culture and Impact Awards ceremony on Tuesday 18 June 2024 in the ACCA. Please refer to the document if you are unable to attend, or contact the RQI team at the above email address.

What are the Research Impact Awards?

The Research Impact Awards are an important recognition of all impact achievements at Sussex. Whether this is through your own body of research, or through your work to support colleagues, all achievements are celebrated.

Award entry forms this year have been designed to focus on the entrant’s main impact/impact support achievement(s) so far, which is what is being recognised and rewarded.

As part of this recognition, which includes a financial prize, award entry forms have also been designed to assess the entrant's impact work more broadly (described with terms such as 'project' and 'activities'), meaning that it is understood that impact does not necessarily need to derive from one project/activity or support mechanism, or in a linear way/specified timeframe. Therefore award winners will be able to use the financial prize in any way, as long as this can be justified as contributing towards their impact development.

Celebrating everyone's impact achievements at Sussex

The Research Impact Awards seek to acknowledge what could be described as a perceived hard line between academic and research colleagues and Professional Services colleagues at Sussex, by offering award categories that are accessible to all roles and career levels and providing an overall purpose of recognition and reward with these awards.

 Award Categories

1. Outstanding early-career impact - £1500

This award rewards activity by an early career researcher that is generating early or advanced impact in any field.

2. Commercial impact or outstanding engagement with a commercial partner - £1000

This award rewards engagement with a commercial partner that is generating early or advanced impact in any field.

3. Impact through interdisciplinary work - £1000

This award rewards the collaborative activity of an interdisciplinary team or informal grouping that is generating early or advanced impact in any field.

4. Social or cultural impact - £1000

This award rewards activity that is generating early or advanced social or cultural impact in any field.

5. Impact on public policy - £1000

This award rewards activity that is generating early or advanced impact on public policy at any level (locally, nationally or internationally) and in any field.

6. Impact on health or wellbeing - £1000

This award rewards activity that is generating early or advanced impact on health or wellbeing in any field.

7. Outstanding public or media engagement - £500

This award rewards media or public engagement that is generating early or advanced impact in any field.

8. Academic impact champion - £500

This award rewards the contribution of an academic staff member to supporting their School’s / Department’s / Division’s community, culture and / or capability to achieve and / or report on research impact.

9. Professional Services impact champion - £500

This award rewards the contribution of a professional services staff member to supporting their School’s / Department’s / Division’s community, culture and / or capability to achieve and / or report on research impact.

To assist with your application, please see below PDF versions of the application form which you may wish to refer to before completing your entry on Qualtrics:

Research Impact Awards 2024 - Entry Form (Categories 1-7) (For info only) [PDF 205.58KB]

Research Impact Awards 2024 - Entry Form (Categories 8-9) (For info only) [PDF 179.02KB]

FAQs

Can I enter if I am a doctoral researcher or student?

Unfortunately doctoral researchers and students at any level are not eligible to enter. Doctoral researchers may instead be interested in the Adam Weiler Doctoral Impact Award.

Can I enter if I am a Visiting Fellow?

Visiting Fellows can enter if they are both employed by the University of Sussex and will be in post up to 31 December 2024.

Are the Awards open to BSMS staff members?

Yes, BSMS staff can apply for the Research Impact Awards.

Can I apply for both the Research Impact Awards and the Research Culture Awards?

Yes, you can make applications to both Awards. 

Can I only apply for one category in the Research Impact Awards?

As long as you meet the eligibility criteria, you can submit an entry to multiple categories in the Research Impact Awards. However, you cannot submit more than one entry per category. 

See who won the Awards in previous years: Previous Research Impact Award winners [PDF 167.65KB]

Testimonials from previous winners

Dr Sarah King - Winner of the Impact through public engagement award, 2023

It was fabulous being awarded the "Impact through Public Engagement Award" and getting recognition for my work in this domain.

What do you think about the impact awards (as a funding opportunity, a recognition of colleagues at Sussex)?

When looking for resources and support, Public Engagement often feels like the poor cousin of commercially driven knowledge exchange. Having Public Engagement specifically included in the impact awards is great. The recognition is gratifying and hopefully inspirational to other colleagues that there is value in this kind of impact work. 

Was the timing of the award critical to your plans and activities?

It was well timed as it was a little after the bulk of our initial work had ended and I was able to demonstrate the impact of the work. For future plans it was great as it allowed me to consolidate what we'd done and have the resource to plan future activities and also generate more outputs from the work already completed.

What have you used the funding for?

The funding has been used to purchase and develop more resources that will be used in future engagement events and also the publication of reports on the work. We have approval for a report in the academic journal, Brain and Neuroscience Advances, and I plan to submit a piece to a specialist public engagement journal, Research for All, as well as writing some blogs for internal Sussex websites. 

The award has really given me the impetus to build on my achievements and continue my engagement work. I have found an area to which I really feel I can contribute to the University's strategic development and excellence and am passionate to continue. 

Dr Richard Gorman - Winner of the Emerging Impact (Early-career research) award, 2023

I was delighted to receive the 2023 Emerging Impact (early-career researcher) Research Impact Award for engaging with patient groups about new genomic medicine technologies though creative methods. I was nominated by my mentor Professor Bobbie Farsides, which speaks to the highly supportive research culture that exists within Brighton and Sussex Medical School that encourages and celebrates success. Having a specific category for early-career researchers is a vital way to support the development of researchers at the start of their careers. Since being presented the Award, our impact work has drawn critical acclaim from stakeholders across the genomics sector, become part of library and museum collections, and incorporated into the NHS-led International Genomics Education and Training Summit and distributed as a training resource to delegates from 49 countries. The Award has given me a platform to pursue further funding opportunities by recognising the importance of the work I’ve been involved in; it has given me the confidence to develop my impact activities further and engage with new communities and stakeholders.

Dr Barny Greenland - Winner of the Emerging impact through enterprising activity award, 2022.

I was very pleased to have been the recipient of a research with impact award last year for my work with Athos Medical Technology. We are using the money to enable professional branding for the company which will support our new funding round in the next few months.

Dr Özden Melis Uluğ - Winner of the Emerging impact open award, 2022

How did you find the process of applying for and receiving your Sussex impact award?

The process of applying for the impact award was relatively straightforward. The questions were clear, and I understood what I needed to write in the application form. Overall, it was a smooth process.

What have you used the funding from the award for?

I am still in the process of establishing an online discussion platform called “WITNESS and SUPPORTER” where women can share their discrimination experiences (e.g., being a target of/witness of discrimination), raise their awareness of gender discrimination (e.g., reading about other’s women stories), get support from each other (e.g., receiving female support through discussions) and discuss how to take action against gender discrimination (e.g., individual or collective action). As I thought self-identified women students at Sussex might use this platform, I wanted to examine their opinion first. Together with a PhD student, we conducted focus group discussions with them and asked some questions about a platform like ours. We are now analysing the data from these discussion groups. Once we do that, we will use this knowledge to shape the platform.

Do you think this is a good way to celebrate and recognise impact at Sussex?

Absolutely! It encourages researchers like myself to think about the potential impact of our research. When I saw this award call, I was motivated to think about how my research could translate into the real-world, and this is how I came up with the idea of the "Witness & Supporter" platform.

Would you recommend colleagues to apply for the upcoming internal impact awards?

I even did. I am glad Sussex is supporting researchers through these awards.