Research Fellow: University Social Impact

Part time, Fixed term

Location: York 

Salary: £39,906 to £48,822 per annum (£15,962 to £19,528 pro rata)          

Introduction to York St John University

York St John is an ambitious, modern university at the heart of historic York and there has never been a more exciting time to join us.

As one of the fastest growing universities in the UK over recent years, we have a new strategy for the next decade, emphasising our commitment to widening opportunity through the power of education and contributing our talents to creating a fairer world, and a more prosperous region. We are putting inspirational learning and impactful research at the heart of this strategy, recognising our academic expertise as our greatest asset.

The Institute for Social Justice

The Institute for Social Justice was launched in 2020 to underpin York St John University’s mission to ‘stand up for social justice'. We do so through developing collaborative research and practice that seeks to identify, expose and address some of the inequalities, injustices and challenges facing society today. At its core, the Institute seeks to work with people, partners and communities in a manner that sees participation, implementation and change as vital parts of its mission. 

The role

We are looking for an innovative and skilled researcher to work with the ISJ core team on an 18-month project focused on ‘Evidencing University Social Impact’.

York St John University’s social impact strategy states that ‘through our excellent education and research, we will be a catalyst for change that creates a fair future.’ Included within our indicators of success is the need to evidence increased social impact. To do this we need a clear definition of what we mean by social impact and agreed approaches to impact assessment that have both internal and external validity. Through doing this we will also better understand what we are doing well and be able to strategically plan how to push ourselves to do better in the future.

York St John’s approach to this is being developed by the Institute for Social Justice. The ISJ intends to do so in a manner that reflects our values and that has strong integrity and stakeholder engagement. To this end we are beginning an 18-month period of research, consultation and design to develop a YSJ bespoke definition and approach to evidencing social impact. This will be done with key stakeholders including: YSJU staff and students, external partners, collaborators and communities. 

In developing this YSJ approach we wish to ensure that:

• It has strong internal buy-in and integrity;
• We invest in YSJ capacity and ownership of the approach;
• We establish opportunities to learn and develop in a way that helps improve practice rather than just measure it.

While leaving scope for our approach to emerge from the period of consultation and co-production, we are likely to be exploring social impact in the domains including research and knowledge exchange; our community, city and region; institutional practices, structures and systems; teaching and learning. 

This role is to work with the Director of the ISJ and a cross-university working group to undertake an 18-month period of research and development in order to develop a YSJ bespoke approach to evidencing social impact. 

This will include:

• Conducting consultation with YSJ stakeholders (internal and external)
• Desk research into existing models, existing University social impact evidence and possible external benchmarks (e.g. UN SDGs)
• Design and testing of approach, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative approaches
• Development of action orientated insights and impact strategy
• Publication of results to multiple and appropriate audiences

Required skills and experience

Candidates will have knowledge of various approaches to understanding and evidencing social impact, ideally within the education and HE sector. Candidates should have experience of mixed methods and an awareness of co-productive research methods. We are also interested in creative and alternative approaches to the use of quantitative measures in social/community/education contexts. We are looking for a researcher able to work well with other people and to engage diverse stakeholders with the research process. Candidates should also understand and share the ethos of the Institute for Social Justice and our approach to social, ecological and epistemic justice. 

Additional information

For informal enquiries please contact Matthew Reason (m.reason@yorksj.ac.uk )  

For further information about the ISJ visit. www.yorksj.ac.uk/ISJ