Using SharePoint Solutions for Research Impact

The University is currently working towards a REF2029 submission, where engagement and impact accounts for 25% of the assessment. Data on research impact across Colleges and Schools are stored in Pure, the University’s Current Research Information System (CRIS), which offers a number of benefits such as easily linking to research outputs and other research-related activity. However, uploading evidence of impact is a very clunky process in Pure, and once uploaded it is also difficult to manage and track evidence over time.

Following a process of consultation and gathering of best practice across the three Colleges, a new custom SharePoint site, linked to Pure, has been created to store evidence files and help manage the progress of impact records across the University. The SharePoint solution helps collate relevant information such as publications and funding data which currently reside in different University systems (including Pure and Worktribe) to provide a one-stop shop location for tracking developments of impact projects.

SharePoint enables evidence linked to impact records in Pure to be stored in one place. Users identify the relevant impact records entered in Pure, and this data is automatically integrated into the SharePoint site through Choreo. The SharePoint solution makes it easier for users to upload additional evidence, which may include a range of documents including letters from beneficiaries (some of which may be confidential), publicly available or internal reports, screenshots of webpages etc. Any changes that are made to records in Pure are automatically updated in SharePoint, ensuring synchronicity and instant availability of latest information.

This integration of Pure into SharePoint makes REF impact preparation much easier and more efficient, as well as supporting a consistent approach to reporting for Schools and Colleges. SharePoint also has the added advantage of additional security and granularity of access with local impact leads in individual units around the University being able to control permissions on a case by case or even file by file basis.

This is a significant improvement from the last REF cycle, during which data was manually captured in different ways and in multiple locations, making it difficult to manage. With a more user-friendly, consistent, and efficient system in place, this new SharePoint solution will make reporting for the REF2029 cycle much easier.