School Impact Strategy
Overview
The School of Social Sciences at Brunel prides itself in conducting work that is not only academically important, but of practical significance for society. Our work has had significant impact on UK society and on policies worldwide, ranging from changes in the training of UK Intelligence analysts to the development of new procedures to identify children with dyslexia and autism; from impacting on financial regulation and the banking system to developing new approaches to the control of neglected tropical diseases. Solving societies' problems often involves working across disciplinary boundaries. Departments of the School are therefore actively engaged in University interdisciplinary research centres (for example, in Intelligence and Security Studies. We promote this collaboration actively in the School, through initiatives such as the School’s Collaborative Research Projects, which 'pump-prime' such activities. We also participate in national events bringing together social scientists, such as the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences
We achieve our impact through 3 major routes:
1. Public Engagement
Members of the Social Sciences participate in Public events, organised by Brunel Research Centres, the School, and the University as a whole. Speakers from the Social Sciences contribute regularly to Brunel’s Public Lecture Series. We also host public seminar and speaker series, workshops, conferences and symposia. For example, the Brunel Brain Awareness week helped showcase our contributions to neuroscience research, whilst the Centre for Economic Development and Institutions runs regular workshops examining how a country’s economic performance is affected by its institutions. Leading journalists joined academics to discuss moral panics at an international meeting held on this topic at the University. The School and University seek to maximise the reach of our work through its policy of funding open access publication, ensuring that the wider public can freely download our research outputs. We also publish many working papers on our websites which again, are freely available to the public.
2. Collaborations
Our work often seeks to change the way policy makers behave, affecting policies for the benefit of the economy and society. Alongside the University-wide collaborative Centres, the School hosts its own collaborative groups that bring together academics with practitioners and policy makers from a wide spectrum of society. One example is the think-tank the Magna Carta Institute, which brings together leading figures from the world of politics, law, business, the media and academia. Our colleagues act as special advisors to UK and European Parliamentary committees, and present their work regularly at the Home Office, Treasury and other Governmental Departments; colleagues have briefed senior officials at, amongst other places, Scotland Yard, NATO and the Ministry of Defence. Building on our long established work placement scheme, our students aid us in active collaborations with community groups and industry, while we maintain public engagement through alumni events held at major venues, such as the House of Lords. We hold a stakeholder database, shared by colleagues across the Social Sciences, to help further enhance the impact of our research. Unsurprisingly therefore, our work has been used by political parties in their manifestos, has helped form the policies of government departments, regulatory authorities and international bodies, and is actively used by charitable foundations and a wide variety of public groups in both the UK and overseas.
3. Media
Our academics regularly appear in a wide range of national and international media including the leading news and current affairs shows (e.g. Newsnight, the BBC Daily Politics policy); the UK’s leading national newspapers and magazines; and broadcasts further afield (such as BBC World Service, Swedish National Radio or the Times of India). We are proactive, working closely with the University’s PR company to encourage coverage of our work in the wider media; and we regularly brief leading television programmes and blog in major popular magazines (e.g. Psychology Today). We also positively engage with social media, using podcasts, social media including Facebook and Linkedin, and Twitter (for example follow our work on moral panic at Twitter).
You can keep up to date with the School’s latest activities through our News and Events webpage and through the Departmental Impact websites:
- Anthropology Impact Strategy
- Economics & Finance Impact Strategy
- Politics & History Impact Strategy
- Psychology Impact Strategy
- Sociology & Communications Impact Strategy
For further information, please contact Professor Robin Goodwin, School of Social Sciences Impact Co-ordinator (robin.goodwin@brunel.ac.uk)
Last updated August 2012
