The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) ihas announced £27m of funding for Impact Acceleration Accounts (IAAs) at research organisations across the UK. The University of Glasgow will receive £1.15m.

Over the next four years, this second round of ESRC IAAs will help social scientists collaborate with businesses, policymakers and civil society, creating new opportunities for research to make a positive contribution to society and the economy.

IAAs are block awards made to research organisations to speed up the impact of research. Research organisations can make decisions about how to invest their IAA funding based on their individual needs and strategies, responding flexibly and creatively to opportunities for social scientists and potential research users to collaborate and share knowledge. ESRC IAAs create opportunities for the social sciences to work with other disciplines and proactively engage across their institution to build networks and leverage funding vital for sustainability of knowledge exchange and impact.

Professor Sally Wyke, Dean for Research at the College of Social Sciences, said: “In Glasgow we are excited to begin work to make use of the second ESRC Impact Acceleration Account support. We will build on our experience during the first round of funding to work innovatively with businesses, with government and with civic society organisations in Scotland and internationally. We will also use the support to incubate new local businesses that use social science research to enhance and accelerate social good via enterprise.”

Building on a first round of ESRC IAAs, these 26 new awards continue to focus on building capacity, skills and culture around knowledge exchange within research organisations, as well as strengthening engagement opportunities with research users, including at an early stage and in innovative ways. IAAs are also intended to enable organisations to focus on longer-term sustainability of knowledge exchange and impact support, and to help improve plans for supporting impact included within new research projects.

Following a competitive, peer-reviewed process open to invited research organisations that receive substantial levels of research investment from the ESRC, 26 research organisations from across the UK have been awarded IAA funding, which will commence from 1 April 2019.

Professor Jennifer Rubin, Executive Chair of ESRC, said: “This next generation of IAA funding will enable research organisations to build the capacity, capability and opportunity for social scientists to play their part in ensuring the UK’s world-leading research is brought to bear on the pressing social and economic challenges and opportunities we face.”

---

First published: 31 January 2019