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  1. Queen Mary University of London
  2. Research
  3. Research impact
  4. Funding for Knowledge Exchange & Impact
  5. Queen Mary Impact Fund
  6. Guidance

Guidance

Guidance and Key Considerations

Please check the links to the guidance documents for the Impact Fund or you can check the full document here. 

Before applying, please make sure to read the following key considerations:

  1. Have you considered all external funding opportunities, including making applications where appropriate?
  2. Have you made a contribution from your flexible research fund to this work?
  3. Can you start and finish in 12 months?  We expect projects to start shortly after decisions have been communicated. Funding is time limited and grant periods often cannot be extended.
  4. Do you have a clear plan for how you will deliver your project and produce impact?  If successful, funds will need to be spent within one year and achieve a number of impact milestones, so a clear plan of action is required at the application stage.
  5. Are you able to commit to our reporting requirements: If your project is funded, you are required to produce a report within 3 months of the project end date, and to update it for 5 years after the project’s conclusion. This main report will be structured in line with the format of a REF Impact Case Study.
  6. If the project is a resubmission have you addressed the feedback from the previous application.
  7. The achievement of applicants who have already received QM funding: Please note that if you have previously received QMI Proof of Concept, Public Engagement, Community Engagement, Patient and Public Involvement, Participatory Research, Policy Secondment or other Impact funds, you will need to demonstrate you have successfully met milestones within the previously-funded projects or explain why it was not possible to do so. We reserve the right to exclude applicants who cannot prove this success.

Eligibility

All projects must have support from a relevant Business Development Manager, Technology Transfer specialist, or Impact Officer. We encourage you to discuss your project and start engaging with your Faculty Impact Officer and the broader teams that support Knowledge Exchange as earliest as possible.

Eligible projects should:

  • Strengthen engagement with research users and beneficiaries.
  • Foster strategic partnerships for knowledge exchange and impact across various sectors.
  • Progress research toward the next stages in the impact pipeline, such as proof of concept, commercialization, market validation, and activities targeting policy, business, and the third sectors.

Recommended Steps

  • For Exploratory Impact Awards (£5,000 to £10,000), you will only need to complete Steps 1 to 3
  • For Impact Project Awards (£10,000 to £20,000), you will follow all stages Except Step 5
  • For Impact Accelerator Awards (£20,000 to £50,000), you will need to complete All of the steps

Steps to developing an Application:

  1. Review the guidelines, case studies of successful impact projects, and start informal conversations with colleagues, line managers and others of your intention to apply.
  2. Submit a short ‘intention to apply’ email to impact-acceleration@QMUL.ac.uk with an overview of your idea, the research it builds on, intended impacts, any partners and likely size of funding requested.
  3. Meet with Business Development Manager or Technology Transfer specialist or Impact Officer to talk through the project idea. The team will provide feedback on the ‘expression of interest’ email, point you to the relevant guidance, advice on which award to apply for or whether other schemes are more suitable. This stage and support is vital to the development of the application. The focus here is on developmental feedback oriented to support your learning.
  4. Develop your project and complete the application, including getting letters of support from external non-academic partners as required and secure a supporting statement from a Business Development Manager or Technology Transfer specialist or Impact Officer.
  5. Notify your academic Impact lead in the School or Institute regarding your project idea
  6. Meet with your School or Institute Research Officer to discuss project plan and seek costings and necessary School based approvals ahead of application submission. E.g. Worktribe Standalone budget
  7. Secure approval from within your school or Institute (Academic Impact Lead, or Head of School or similar) with a signature on your finalised application
  8. Submit your application by the deadline to your Faculty Impact Officer who will assess the project’s eligibility against a checklist.

 

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