Abstract: Impact is a small word with many meanings. It can be overwhelming for someone starting out, or even for seasoned experts, to navigate the challenges of evaluating impact. The impact coffee club is a friendly group of people who gather every couple of months to network, share knowledge and keep up-to-date on new developments. In-between meetings, members stay in contact and share resources through a LinkedIn hub. The club was first conceived when directors of health funding agencies, universities, NHS Trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups came together for an AMRC/NIHR impact forum in the spring of 2016. It became clear that a shared language around impact needed to be developed and an informal forum seemed like the best environment for this to succeed. The first coffee club meeting was held in June 2016 and the membership continues to grow.
Dr Jocelyn LeBlanc joined the AMRC in August 2017 as the team’s impact officer. Her aims are to demonstrate the impact of the medical research charity sector as a whole and to support AMRC members in optimizing collection, analysis and communication of their own impact data. Jocelyn has a background in medical research. After earning her PhD in neuroscience from Harvard Medical School, she spent several years as a research fellow at Boston Children’s Hospital studying brain development. Her work with patients and families affected by neurodevelopmental disorders inspired her to pursue a career in the medical research charity sector.
Dr Claire Vaughan is an Impact Lead at the NIHR. Claire’s work focuses on supporting, building capacity and embedding impact within the organisation. She also coordinates a research impact assessment training programme for NIHR staff in collaboration with The Policy Institute at King’s. Prior to taking on the Impact Lead position, Claire worked in the NIHR infrastructure team overseeing the management of a portfolio of initiatives. A microbiologist by training, before joining the NIHR, Claire worked in the evaluation team at the Wellcome Trust and before that as an evaluation officer at the Health Research Board in Ireland.
