Impact Acceleration Account

Lancaster’s Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) applies research into real-world problems, offering flexible funding from £500 to £50,000 based on the project scope and suitability, with an average award of around £20,000. Recent IAA-funded projects include the £5M Cyber Focus initiative.

“The IAA provides short-term seed-funding to rapidly mobilise research into action – enabling knowledge exchange with external partners and benefitting society.”

Awards provide early stage funding for projects with the potential to scale up. They also support the development of new opportunities and partnerships, and facilitate collaborations between Lancaster University academics and external partners including businesses, charities, and community groups.

IAAs are a funding mechanism, supported by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) with the allocation and management of them devolved to organisations, including Lancaster University.

Impact Development Team

The Impact Development Team is focused on assessing and capturing the impact of research, that is, the benefits of research beyond academia. They are responsible for building impact literacy and capacity and supporting the design of plans and activities that will maximize the use of FST research and help evaluate and demonstrate its benefits. They work closely with Impact Champions in each department to curate a portfolio of impact case studies for the REF assessment and wider impact framework, helping to identify and capture evidence that shows the reach and significance of research impact. They can also signpost to impact and engagement funding opportunities and manage the allocation of the FST Impact Fund.

LU provides access to the online Research Impact training programme (developed between Lancaster University and other international HEIs, for Sage Publications), and Impact Development Managers deliver tailored training and presentations across FST to help develop impact literacy, impact planning and capture, and understanding impact in REF.

If you require any support in understanding, planning and/or capturing the impact of research, please contact the Impact Development Manager for your department:

Research and Engagement Team

The Research and Engagement team are a Faculty-based team focused on supporting driving the Faculty’s research and engagement ambitions in three key areas: research income, research promotion and the enhancement of our research and engagement culture.

They are responsible for leading the promotion of the Faculty’s national and international research and engagement activities and enhancing the profile, performance, quality and impact of our cross-disciplinary research community.

They will support departments and centres with external and internal communication and the delivery of research and engagement events, with a particular focus on public and community engagement.

Examples of support that the Research and Engagement team can provide:

• Writing of news articles about research wins or public engagement events
• Promoting of research achievements or upcoming public engagement events on social media
• Servicing committee meetings
• Organising public outreach events, both within the Faculty and at a departmental level
• Creating and updating research-orientated webpages
• Supporting academics in searching for relevant grants

If you require any support at all for enhancing your research or engagement profile, please contact the member of the team relevant to your department or centre.

Research Development Team

The Research Development Team are based within Lancaster's Research Services and are there to support you with all stages of the grant application process, from identifying funding opportunities and writing a good proposal to constructing impact plans and navigating costings and approvals.

Please contact your named RDO for further information/support. If you are unsure who to contact about your proposal, please email rso-submissions@lancaster.ac.uk as soon as possible for assistance.

RDO contacts by Department

• Chemistry - Phil Lewis
• School of Engineering - Ruth Templeton
• LEC - Tracy Quilliam and Laura Vela Serrano
• School of Mathematical Sciences - Mary English
• Physics - Rozie Carty
• Psychology - Vicky Kingsman
• School of Computing and Communications - Gina Ramsden