Engagement and impact training

Skills for successful engagement

These engagement/knowledge exchange and impact training sessions and resources are primarily aimed at researchers of any level. They will also be useful to professional services staff in research, communication and knowledge exchange management and support roles. View upcoming sessions in the Autumn Term and Winter Term, catch up with past training, and browse our catalogue of online resources. Additional training is available for PhD students through the PhD Academy

If you have specific training requests or would like to suggest a training topic, please contact research.kei@lse.ac.uk. If you have an engagement and impact success story to share, we can also help you develop training for others based on your experience.

Upcoming sessions - Autumn Term 2024

Getting published series

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Workshops with award-winning writer James Moran

LSE are delighted to offer three workshops from award-winning writer James Moran, featuring exclusive advice from academic publishers and writing tips from fifteen years of professional writing experience. James' workshops are always in heavy demand with limited spaces, so book now to avoid disappointment.

3. Pitching to publishers, Friday 22 November, 10.30am-3.45pm

Aspect (A SHAPE Platform for Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation, and Transformation) training programmes

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The latest Aspect Training cohorts are designed to support academics and professional support staff in developing the essential skills needed to thrive in the evolving SHAPE commercialisation landscape. LSE is an Aspect Hub member, which means LSE staff can access these courses for free.

Engaging with External Partners

This course provides practical tools to forge partnerships with external stakeholders — be it businesses, NGOs, or charities. It covers vital strategies in consultancy, Knowledge Exchange, R&D collaborations, and effective engagement, helping you extend the impact of your research far beyond the university walls. It will support the development of SHAPE skills in communication - engaging with diverse stakeholders, working with others - encouraging collaboration, decision-making - supporting informed choices on pathways to increase research impact, analysing, and adaptability and creativity.

This 10-hour interactive online course (including 4 hours of live training and 2-6 hours of self-learning) is ideal for those who want to learn how to engage external partners for scalable research impact. Upon completion, participants will receive a **micro-credential** validating their new skills. Hear from the course instructor Liz Flint on how you can benefit from this practical course: link to video

**Cohort 3**:  
- Dates: 28 November & 5 December 2024  
- Time: 10:00 – 12:00 GMT  
Register here using your university email

LinkedIn for SHAPE Academics

This course will help you harness the power of LinkedIn to build professional networks, promote research, and identify potential collaborators. It provides actionable strategies for optimising LinkedIn profiles, creating engaging content, and expanding digital networks to support academic and career growth. It will support the development of SHAPE skills in communication - engagement and profile optimisation strategies, working with others - fostering connections and collaborative opportunities on a global scale, decision-making - supporting informed choices on presenting your research and expanding your networks, and independence.

In just 4 hours of live online training, participants will learn how to use LinkedIn effectively and will earn a **micro-credential** that showcases their digital networking proficiency. Hear from the course instructor Dr Sarah Campbell on how you can benefit from this insightful course: link to video

**Cohort 3**:  
- Dates: 27 November & 4 December 2024  
- Time: 14:00 – 16:00 GMT  
Register here using your university email

 

Register your interest for Winter Term 2025

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An introduction to research engagement at impact at LSE
Wednesday 22 January, 12-1pm, Shaw Library (in person, lunch provided)

At this networking session new and existing faculty can meet with colleagues from the Communications and Research and Innovation Divisions who support all aspects of research engagement and impact, from policy and media engagement to consulting and innovation.

Email research.kei@lse.ac.uk to register for a place.

 

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Academic blogging: how to write an engaging blog
Wednesday 29 January, 11am-12.30pm, Graham Wallas Room (in person, lunch provided)

This workshop will provide a comprehensive introduction to academic blogging and teach how to write an engaging post. The session will focus on the importance of writing consciously for your audience, and how this drives the format, tone and structure.

Email research.kei@lse.ac.uk to register for a place.

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Broadcast Media Training

Are you an academic who wants to learn how to do commanding broadcast media interviews about your research?

Our one-to-one sessions with a professional trainer will continue in Winter Term 2025. Each session will run for approximately one and a half hours. The training will take place at a time agreed between you and the trainer.

If you are interested in signing up, or would like to discuss further, please contact Sue Windebank in the Media Relations Office on s.windebank@lse.ac.uk

 

Catch up with recent sessions

Getting published

Session One: Spotlight on trade publishing

Our new training series on the publishing process began with a spotlight on trade publishing, featuring Matthew Marland from RCW Literary Agency as well as Dr Tom Curran reflecting on his experience of trade publishing. The session includes a review of the current non-fiction market, an assessment of the difference between trade and academic publishers, a description about the role and value of an agent, and some tips for getting published. Read the notes from the session.

Session Two: Spotlight on open-access publishing

What's different about open-access books? How do you cover the costs of open-access? Does open-access mean online-only books? How does copyright work? LSE Press and academic colleagues with experience of open-access publishing reflect on what it might mean for you. Watch the recording, view the slides.

Engaging with the new government

Now is an exciting time to think about how your research might shape the policies of the new UK government. Learn more about the best ways to get your research in front of the right people at the right time, and how LSE can support you. 

View the slides.

Participatory Research network and workshop series

The Winter Term Participatory Research workshop series has come to an end. You can catch up with resources from the sessions below.  A new Participatory Research Network channel has been launched on Teams to connect members of the LSE community who are doing and/or interested in participatory research. You can join the channel by following this link: LSE-Participatory-Research-Network (Team) | General | Microsoft Teams.


Session One: Navigating ethical issues in participatory research

Dr Sharmila Parmanand (LSE Department of Gender Studies) introduces ethical and methodological issues in Participatory Action Research across various stages of the research process, from developing and designing the research until after the research formally ends. 
Watch the recording (LSE only)
Download slides

Session Two: Working with young people in participatory research, from recruitment to mapping methodologies

Dr Julia King and Olivia Theocharides-Feldman (LSE Cities) draw on their experience of running the ‘‘Young Researcher-in-Residence’’ and the ‘‘Making Space for Girls’’ projects to reflect on doing participatory research with young people. 

Session Three: Using film in participatory research 

Dr Baljit Kaur (LSE Department of Sociology) and Dr Sonja Marzi (University of Glasgow/Radboud University Nijmegen) give insights into using film as a creative method in participatory research. They draw on their experience of using film in participatory research projects to reflect on the opportunities and challenges it presents.
Watch the recording (LSE only)

Session Four: Doing effective participatory research in international contexts

Professor Danny Burns (Institute of Development Studies) and Professor Sandra Jovchelovitch (Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science) reflect on the process of doing effective participatory research in international contexts, including insights into navigating the challenges it can present. 
Watch the recording (LSE only)

Session Six: Sense of an ending: bringing participatory research projects to a close

A panel discussion reflecting on the challenges of ‘‘ending’’ a participatory project in ways that are compatible with the commitments of participatory research, featuring speakers Hannah Cowan (KCL), Sharmila Parmanand (Department of Gender Studies, LSE), Kate Summers (Department of Methodology, LSE) and Anjali Sarker (AFSEE Senior Fellow), and chaired by Flora Cornish (Department of Methodology, LSE).
Listen to a recording of the session (LSE only)

Session Seven: Why are things this way? Using artistic practice in participatory research

Dr Eileen Alexander (LSE Department of Methodology) and Andy Sewell (artist and photographer) reflect on a creative participatory research project they have facilitated in Hackney, East London. Why are things this way? is a collaborative artwork created with six Hackney residents to explore the cost-of-living crisis and is on display in LSE’s Atrium Gallery from 4 March to 12 April 2024.

Navigating public responses to research

One of the challenges in communicating or engaging non-academic stakeholders with research in many areas, from climate change to taxation or immigration, can be the unpredictable and sometimes hostile response of those non-academic groups. In this session we will build the skills and confidence you need to navigate those responses, in the media, on social media, at public events and in policy engagement. Watch a recording (LSE only).

 

Additional training resources

What is impact?

Watch online: Writing impactful knowledge exchange in grants 

Lots of funding has a focus on the contribution of research to the economy and society, and to be successful in winning grant applications the possible impacts of your research and the ways in which you plan to achieve them need to be apparent throughout your grant applications. How do you go about building-in knowledge exchange into your plans and applications? How do you articulate your expected outcomes and desired impacts?

Watch the recording (LSE only) / download the slides from the Michaelmas Term 2021 session.

Watch online: Spending for impact

What kinds of small, but meaningful engagements can you make to increase the chances of your research having an impact? Join this session for some inspiration on effective but low cost knowledge exchange and impact activities, as well as advice on how to keep track of your engagement and impact.

Watch the recording (LSE only) / download the slides from the Michaelmas Term 2021 session.

 

Open research

So, you've published a book/book chapter, what next?

Congratulations! Take a look at these top tips on how to approach promoting your publication. 

Read more and download the checklist

Building a research project website

How to build a project website within the CMS. What makes for good content? How should it be presented to be most engaging with the tools available? And how can you measure whether it is meeting your objectives?

Resources from this session

 

Communication for Engagement

What’s in a tweet? Social media engagement with research

Download slides
How can you best use social media (including Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram) to engage audiences with your research? 

Visualising research

Download slides - AbdeyBurn-Murdoch

How can you present your research, particularly your data, visually in a way that best engages a non-academic audience?

Dr James Abdey, Assistant Professorial Lecturer in the Department of Statistics John Burn-Murdoch, Senior Data-Visualisation Journalist at the Financial Times and Senior Visiting Research Fellow at the LSE Data Science Institute.

PowerPoint design

In this age of Zoom, PowerPoints have never seemed so important! Learn the visual design skills (and PowerPoint design secrets) to make eye-catching presentations. The focus is on Microsoft PowerPoint but the theoretical lessons can be applied to other softwares. 

Presentation considerations
Using a grid systempresentation grid examples (email research.kei@lse.ac.uk to request a PowerPoint file with grid)
Working with images
Typography
Tips for presenting

Community engagement

How to engage with local communities around research projects, and how you might link to policy engagement at a local level.

Resources from this session

 

Partnerships, Innovation and Consulting

Academic consultancy

Private sector companies, public organisations, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are looking for independent, unbiased, quality-driven solutions to the challenges they face. Consulting within an academic institution offers a way for researchers to apply their expertise to address these issues, generating real-world impact and at the same time an additional income beyond their salary. Download session slides to learn more about what “consultancy” involves, the opportunities available, and the support provided by LSE for it.