Researchful

Making research more visible

University of Hertfordshire

Making research more visible

To complement its sector-wide reputation for innovative business engagement and teaching excellence, University of Hertfordshire asked for targeted communications input to increase the visibility of its research in priority areas. As well as for wider profile raising, the support was designed to help researchers meet specific impact objectives.

Our approach

  • Explored and captured key research data, stories and impact outcomes from across the institution.

  • Working alongside academics and research support professionals, co-designed and implemented targeted communications strategies to support outward engagement with partners and beneficiaries, and increase impact.

  • Advised on the creation of new microsites and webpages to improve messaging.

  • Compiled narrative submissions to national research awards for wider profile raising.

Our impact

  • A UH research programme to develop emergency response protocols for chemical terror attacks was named STEM Project of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards; a partnership between UH’s ‘coffee historian’ and Nespresso was shortlisted for most innovative university-business collaboration.

  • High-profile media coverage for UH research - including a study on older people’s food shopping habits that reached an estimated international audience of 22m and supported a stakeholder engagement and policy campaign.

  • Revitalised a communications campaign for UH’s autism robot Kaspar; a licensing deal was later signed with a Canadian software company.

  • All the above research areas were the subject of REF 2021 impact case studies.

  • Strengthened the University’s research-led submission to the Government’s Science and Innovation Audit for the East of England and its response to the Industrial Strategy.

“Some of our strongest research stories were going untold or unnoticed. Highly targeted communications plans, coordinated by Chris, resulted in some ‘big wins’ for the University both in terms of delivering research impact and achieving the wider recognition that our researchers richly deserved.”

Catherine Manthorpe, Former Head of the Research Office,
University of Hertfordshire

"Facing the challenge of articulating the impact of our work, we provided Chris with disparate pieces of information - journal articles, technical reports, policy interactions, media pieces - gathered from several years of multidisciplinary research. Through in-depth discussions with the research team, Chris turned this wide-ranging material into a coherent, illuminating and evidence-based narrative that underpinned a high-scoring REF 2021 impact case study, our Group's online research content and our winning submission to the Times Higher Education STEM Project of the Year Award."

Professor of Rob Chilcott, Head of Toxicology,
University of Hertfordshire

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