our team
who we are
research and impact was launched in August 2023. All of our consultants work within HE and we pride ourselves on addressing problems that scholars and other university professionals actually face, rather than talking in generalities that could apply to any sector. Our guidance is grounded in contemporary research and our own experience gained over many years. We have a core team of consultants who lead most of our training work and offer both one-off and longer term support to research centres and projects. We also have a growing number of associates who bring specialised knowledge from specific areas of research and practice.
consultants
Knowledge mobilisation, communications strategy, policy engagement,
KEI planning
Nick Bibby
Nick Bibby is Director of research and impact and is the main point of contact for much of its work. He was previously the founding director of the Scottish Policy & Research Exchange, and has worked with academics throughout Scotland to help them connect successfully with policymakers. He is a trustee of Migration Policy Scotland and sits on the board of SCOTCHEM Ltd. He is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and previously served on the board of its Campaign. A former journalist with credits for the BBC, Herald, Scotsman, Sunday Times and Independent, he worked more recently in media management and communications roles for a series of high profile research projects. He founded the Cross Party Group on Social Science in the Scottish Parliament and has been invited to advise governments and parliaments on how to more effectively engage with academics. Much of Nick’s work for research and impact relates to engaging with public policy and the media or developing appropriate communication strategies for research projects and centres. He helps researchers think about their work from the perspective of key audiences to better understand the impact of their research.
Hannah Grist
Science communications, policy engagement, interdisciplinarity, community engagement
Hannah Grist is a Lecturer in Socio-Environmental Systems, and Deputy Director of the MSc in Environmental Protection and Management at SRUC/University of Edinburgh. Her teaching and research interests are in conservation, ecology, community engagement, communication and participation. She works at the human-environment nexus, using interdisciplinary approaches and systems thinking. She has been an Associate at the SRUC Rural Policy Centre and currently serves on the Board of the Cairngorms National Park Authority, the BES Scottish Policy Group committee, and the Cairngorms Upland Advisory Group. She previously worked as a Knowledge Exchange Fellow for an Arctic Climate Science project, a Teaching Fellow in Science Communication and led her own consultancy, Mercurious, which provided training in events, communications, policy engagement, and evaluation for citizen science and community engagement projects. Hannah leads much of our work on aspects of policy engagement, communicating natural science, interdisciplinarity and developing projects with community organisations.
Al Innes
Research funding, funding strategy, cultural engagement,
impact reporting
Al Innes is Research Development Manager for the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. Prior to this he was a Business Development Manager in the tech sector, delivering FP7 and Horizon 2020-funded projects in the realm of data, digital and AI. He is a specialist in climate research and is currently an executive member of the Scottish Arctic Network (SCAN) and The John Rae Society. He holds a MA in history from the University of Edinburgh, and trained as a journalist at the School of Arts and Creative Industries, Edinburgh Napier University. Al spent ten years working in video and audio production for various media outlets and international arts festivals, including the BBC Book Café, The Skinny, Fest, The Guardian and the Edinburgh International Festival. Al leads much of our work focused on research funding strategy and helping scholars navigate the requirements of funding councils, national and international charities and the European Commission. He helps academics assess how their work relates to the strategic priorities of external funders, and how the design and delivery of a funding proposal pipeline can support a research career.
associates
Paul Godzik
Public policy, stakeholder mapping
Paul Godzik is a public affairs and political communications adviser who served on the City of Edinburgh Council between 2007 and 2017 and was Convenor of Education, Children & Families from 2012-2016. As well as working for clients across the public, private and third sector, Paul has experience within the Scottish Parliament, Westminster and in Australian politics. He has worked on a number of political campaigns, including as an election agent for Ian Murray MP, as well as being campaign officer for the Scottish Labour Parliamentary Group. He has extensive experience as a non-executive director across a wide range of organisations, including the Edinburgh International Festival; Royal Blind; The Royal Lyceum Theatre; Edinburgh Theatres Trust and Edinburgh Film Focus. He currently sits as a director and trustee for the Spartans Community Foundation in north Edinburgh and Killin and Ardeonaig Community Development Trust.
Third sector partnerships, public policy
Elinor Jayne
Elinor Jayne is Director of Scottish Health Action for Alcohol Problems (SHAAP), a partnership of Medical Royal Colleges in Scotland aiming to reduce alcohol health harms in Scotland. Prior to this, Elinor worked in a range of sectors on a number of different issues, most recently heading the influencing team at the healthcare charity Sue Ryder. Her previous roles include the Royal College of Nursing, Edinburgh City Centre Management Company and the Scottish Retail Consortium, and she is a trustee for homelessness charity, Cyrenians, and for the community justice organisation, Apex Scotland.
Jennifer Trueland
Media engagement, media and medicine
Jennifer Trueland is an award-winning freelance journalist with more than thirty years’ experience, mainly specialising in issues relating to health and medicine. She began her career on the Leicester Mercury, before moving to roles including health editor for The Journal in Newcastle and health correspondent on The Scotsman. As a freelance journalist she has worked for The Guardian, The Times and Sunday Times, the Daily Record and many other titles. Currently she writes primarily for specialist publications including Nursing Standard, Health Service Journal, Digital Health and the BMA's membership magazine The Doctor. She also writes reports, mainly with a focus on health or social policy, and chairs events for organisations in the same fields.
clients
Since being established in the summer of 2023, we have had the opportunity to work with some truly exceptional colleagues at universities and research networks across the UK and beyond. We have worked with researchers from the arts, humanities, and social and natural sciences, as well as professionals in university research administration. We have had the opportunity to meet and support academics at all career stages, from postdocs to professors, and have adapted our services to meet the needs of the individual researchers and the organisations where they work.
We look forward to growing the list below in the months and years ahead and thank all our partners for their continued support.
