Research Impact: Creating meaning and value (USA)

Research Impact: Creating Meaning and Value (US edition) is a four-module online training course designed to support postgraduate and early-career researchers in understanding how research can create meaningful impact beyond traditional metrics such as impact factors.

About the project

The course focuses on how research can positively affect communities and drive real-world change, and explores ethical, inclusive approaches to involving and empowering the communities researchers work with. The course was redeveloped in collaboration with Anne Toomey, a US-based professor and expert in research impact, who worked with me to adapt and redraft the original UK and international version for an American audience.

Date:

20 Aug 2025

Client:

Epigeum, SAGE Publications

A comic strip cartoon panel of two people looking at a laptop screen. They are discussing an idea that could help with HR processes.

Project Details

This project involved critically evaluating which elements of the UK and international course could be adapted, and which required a full redraft. The US market differed significantly from European approaches to research impact, where impact was not typically a requirement for funding or evaluation, meaning parts of the original course needed to be reoriented. Interactive elements and scenarios were also reworked to better reflect the lived experiences and demographics of US learners.

My contribution

As the learning designer, I was responsible for:

Course adaptation for a US audience
Adapting and refining an existing digital learning course to ensure relevance for US learners, working closely with US-based subject experts and partners to understand differences in lived experience, institutional context, and learner demographics. This involved identifying where content could be adapted rather than rebuilt, and where substantive changes were essential to maintain credibility and pedagogical integrity.
Scenario and content refinement
Updating course scenarios and examples to better reflect US research culture and learner experience, while ensuring alignment with the learning objectives.
Multimedia adaptation
Recommissioning existing multimedia for the US market while retaining original visual assets to balance quality and budget constraints.
Cross-team and time-zone coordination
Managing collaboration across multiple time zones between contributors to keep development on track.
Inclusive and engaging learner experience
Ensuring the final course was clear, inclusive, and engaging, and felt locally grounded for US learners while remaining consistent with the overall design approach.