Economic and Social Research Council Impact Acceleration Account

Our Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) enables our researchers to have positive impact that improves outcomes for individuals, advances society and strengthens the economy across the UK and beyond.

We allocate funds to accelerate the impact of our research projects through partnerships with public, private and third sector organisations, supporting secondments, events, and training. The success of our partnerships can be seen in the fact that half of our completed projects have led to further work with partners.

Since 2018, £1.2 million has improved the take-up of social science research by a range of end users including policy makers and external organisations, leading to outcomes, such as improved decision-making in emergency situations with the National Fire Chiefs Council and shaping electoral reform in the Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament.

We support the communication of our research to a broad and diverse range of communities through our annual Festival of Social Sciences as part of a large network of ESRC IAA partners celebrating the work of social sciences across the UK.

Projects funded

We have funded 141 projects.

Partners

We have worked with 210 partners.

Documented policy changes

ESRC projects have inspired more than 50 documented policy changes.

Aims

engage with, and support, the ESRC research community to share knowledge, good practice and technologies that arise from social sciences research
assist in ensuring that public, private, third sector and/or communities can engage with social science research, enabling impact to be achieved more readily
identify and support high quality collaborations and partnerships
expand the capacity of social sciences academics, students and professional services staﬀ to make a difference in the world

Outcomes

increased numbers of researchers with the skills, motivation and experience to undertake knowledge exchange
increased impact literacy of participating academics at all career stages, further strengthening our impact and innovation culture
increased awareness of university research in, and benefit to, external organisations and communities in our region and globally
sustainable relationships with a broader range of external organisations who work with the university: from collaborative research to consultancy and knowledge transfer partnerships (KTPs), to becoming core partners with our innovation campus communities located in sbarc|spark
enhanced public engagement through events, such as our annual Summer of Innovation Fayre, resources and tool kits developed with partners and cohort training and masterclasses

Funding

Between 2018 and 2023, we had £1.2 million of ESRC funding. We used this to launch 3 to 4 funding calls a year for 4 categories of projects:

The next call launches on the 9 May 2023. The deadline for applications is 12 July 2023. Projects will commence in October 2023 for a duration of up to 12 months.

Type of fund	Description	Initial fund amount
Initiator	Seed funding designed to develop new collaborations	Up to £4,000
Events	Funding to assist with engaging the public and industry in your research through events	Up to £3,000
Accelerator	Funding to catalyse partnerships and accelerate projects to outcomes	Up to £30,000
Placements	Funding to allow external partners and researchers to work together either within industry or a Cardiff University setting	Up to £15,000
Rapid Response	A responsive-mode scheme that is open all year round for spontaneous impact-related activity.	Up to £3,000

Additional support

We were successful in bidding for additional social science innovation support through two related ESRC IAA funds.

Commercialising Research out of Social Sciences (CRoSS)

CRoSS is early-stage commercialisation funding to test, de-risk or show the commercial potential of new research ideas. Made possible by ESRC IAA top-up funding, the university hosted its first ever social sciences pitching event, Devils’ Den, in 2022. Participants pitched their ideas for the opportunity to secure £5,000 to scale up their research and progress it along the commercialisation pathway to impact.

The ESRC IAA is currently offering additional funding of up to £5,000. Staff can find out more on the application process and training opportunities on the ESRC intranet page.

Local Acceleration Fund (LAF) challenge based mini placements with the Cardiff Capital Region

A partnership between the university and the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR), the Local Acceleration Fund is one of only 11 ESRC-funded programmes funded across the United Kingdom to boost local and regional growth, innovation and resilience. The Cardiff Local Acceleration Fund (LAF), in partnership with the University of South Wales and Cardiff Metropolitan University, has successfully secured seven mini-placement opportunities for early career researchers to work with local innovation communities to tackle local challenges, such as tackling food poverty and sustainable housing.