In the first in a new series of posts from the Impact Team, Christina introduces herself and and her role in the Alliance Manchester Business School.

I’m Christina Brennan, the new Research Impact Facilitator at the Alliance Manchester Business School. I joined the school in June 2022 after a series of impact and business engagement roles at the University of Oxford and other institutions. In my previous role, I worked in the central Impact team at Oxford and collaborated with the Saïd Business School and the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship. I’m a few years out from graduating from Manchester’s PhD programme in English Literature and American Studies, so it’s a joy to be back in the city while re-acquainting myself with the university’s ambitious research culture as a staff member.

I’ve joined the Faculty of Humanities at an exciting time, when Schools and Divisions are celebrating the success stories of REF 2021 while also developing long-term strategies that will consolidate strengths across wide-ranging research areas. With the University ranking in the top three in Business and Management Studies, the REF confirmed the diverse ways that business-related research significantly benefits many aspects of UK cultural, economic, and societal life. Whether it’s the Work and Equalities Institute providing evidence for European trade unions, or the Recovery, Renewal, Resilience project supporting long-term recovery from COVID-19, or research helping to improve extended access to primary care in the UK, AMBS research has increasingly significant impact, both nationally and internationally.

My role is to provide advice and support to researchers in developing impact plans and opportunities while also supporting the development of AMBS’s research impact strategy. It’s an incredibly interesting role which allows me to work with researchers across the school to effectively translate and communicate research to industry, policy makers and the general public. In my first few weeks, it’s great to be having conversations with researchers that do not solely focus on building an impact case study but also think about the applied benefits of research that fall outside stricter REF criteria. There’s also been some early opportunities to begin thinking about strategic planning which supports the long-term efforts of researchers to generate and evidence high-quality impact from within their schools. I look forward to being part of the team that builds upon these successes and championing impact across different sectors and industries within such a high-profile and productive school.

Dr Christina Brennan is the Research Impact Facilitator for AMBS and provides strategic advice on how best to plan, generate, evaluate and evidence impact for grant applications, research projects and the impact case studies. If you are an academic or PhD researcher in AMBS with an interest in impact, please do get in touch: christina.brennan@manchester.ac.uk

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