What is Researchfish?
Researchfish is an online system by Elsevier, used by the NIHR to collect information on the research activities that are undertaken by its award holders. On an annual basis, holders of NIHR-funded research and personal awards are asked to submit data about their outputs, outcomes and impacts.
Why is Researchfish important?
The NIHR has a responsibility to demonstrate the value and impact of the research it funds. The NIHR uses information from Researchers and Trainees on the outputs, outcomes and impact of their NIHR funded projects to report to both the Government and the public. As well, this data is analysed to understand the process of NIHR research and its effects on patients, and feed into our strategic planning. The systematic collection of research outputs, outcomes and impact enables the NIHR to:
- provide a strong evidence base to support the continued funding of health research in the UK and overseas
- improve the quality of reporting research outcomes to Government, the public and other organisations
- maintain a longer-term relationship with award holders to capture new developments and impacts from research after an award has finished.
Why use Researchfish?
The NIHR uses Researchfish as we believe it to be an accessible and user-friendly web-based outcomes collection system. The key benefits of Researchfish are:
- Researchers and Trainees, or their delegates, can log onto Researchfish at any time and add details of new activities
- Researchfish connects to many data sources, reducing duplication of data entry
- The information builds over time, so researchers do not have to enter this information again, but only update it in the future
- Used by over 100 Research Organisations and Funders, which makes it possible for researchers to provide information to multiple funders in one place, thereby reducing their administrative burden.
Where can I find help and support to use Researchfish?
Researchfish provides a wealth of information and support for researchers via the Help and Support section of the interface. Here you will find information such as help videos, a user guide, frequently asked questions and contact information for the support team
NIHR provides further support and you can find FAQs (below). If you have any questions or queries regarding the NIHR's use of Researchfish or specific NIHR awards that are not covered by our FAQs you can contact the NIHR evaluation team via evaluation@nihr.ac.uk.
Find out what to do if you have forgotten your username or password. If you have any other problems logging on, or have any questions about the data in your profile, please contact the help desk at support@researchfish.com.
What information is reported to Researchfish?
A wide range of information about the outputs, outcomes and impact of research can be reported through Researchfish. Within Researchfish there are three types of question sets which it uses to systematically gather information:
- Common question set – this refers to output, outcome and impact questions, divided into 15 categories, that are asked by all Funders for all Researchers who use Researchfish. NIHR award holders are encouraged to report information in sections relevant to their research outputs, outcomes and impacts. You can download a copy of the common question set through the Researchfish ‘Help and support’ function.
- Funder specific question set(s) or additional questions – these are questions defined and requested by specific funders that are asked to recipients of their awards. The NIHR is currently using the “Patient and Public Involvement” and the “Career Tracker” additional questions. Where additional questions are in use, completion is mandatory.
- Award specific question set(s) – these are questions defined and requested by specific funders in relation to a subset of awards. The NIHR currently has a small number of award specific questions in use. Where award specific questions are in use completion of these questions is mandatory.
How to access Researchfish and make an annual submission
If you are a new NIHR award holder you will be sent a unique link by email when your award has been added to Researchfish. Click on the link to connect your award to your Researchfish account. If you don’t already have a Researchfish account you will be asked to create one. You will then be able to enter outputs, outcomes and impact information.
Existing NIHR research and personal award holders or those holding grants for other funders may already have a Researchfish account. If you have forgotten your username and/or password then follow the instructions for 'Forgot username or password’ from the Researchfish login screen. Within your account you will be able to view information about your NIHR award(s). If you hold awards with other funders that use Researchfish you will also be able to view these.
Award holders can access their Researchfish account at any time and are strongly advised to update their portfolio throughout the year. To support this, researchers can add Delegates. You can also link your account to ORCID to enable ORCID data synchronisation with Researchfish.
Once a year, the NIHR opens a submission period when we ask that you review all your output information in Researchfish, allocate it to the appropriate awards, and confirm that this has been done by submitting this to us.
Please note that not all sections of the Researchfish question set will be relevant to all research, especially if you have started your award recently. However, we do expect you to review all sections and remember that even activities, such as putting together a questionnaire, count as research outputs.
How to complete your data efficiently
Make sure you acknowledge NIHR as the funder and state the unique award reference when publishing outputs and entering data into other systems. Researchfish will harvest outputs data and import it into your portfolio. In some cases, your institution may also upload publications data into your portfolio. Citing other unique identifiers, e.g. DOI will also help Researchfish to find your outputs and to make your submission more efficient.
Link your account to ORCID to facilitate ORCID data synchronisation with Researchfish. As well as allowing you to log in to Researchfish and ORCID using a single sign-in, this will also enable you to reuse information on publications with unique identifiers already entered in either ORCID or Researchfish to update the other.
Assign Delegates to aid the completion of outputs, outcomes and impacts for your awards, or Team Members for a specific award.
Publishing data and Sanctions approach
The NIHR will only publish information which is attributed to NIHR research projects, programmes or fellowships and for which the submission process has been completed. Award holders are advised not to disclose data that conflict with agreements they may have with third parties, is sensitive, or is considered confidential. You can find out more about how we use the information.
The NIHR will contact award holders annually during the period of the award and for at least five years after the award has terminated.
We have a clear sanctions approach for those award holders who do not provide an annual Researchfish submission in accordance with their contractual requirements:
- the researcher or award holder may be ineligible for consideration for further NIHR awards
- payments may be withheld.
NIHR’s use of Researchfish response codes
We use response codes in relation to specific awards in the following ways:
| Response Code | Submission expected | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A submission is expected this year | The Principal Investigator (PI) is contractually required to provide a Researchfish submission and the PI works at the named Research Organisation (RO). The award is within the mandatory reporting period. or The PI is expected (but not contractually required) to provide a Researchfish submission and is strongly encouraged to do so (e.g. Senior Investigators, ACFs, CLs and Masters students). |
| 2 | No submission is expected this year | The Principal Investigator has a one year exemption as a result of long term leave e.g. maternity/paternity. The PI is temporarily exempt from providing a Researchfish submission due to a specific reason and by agreement with NIHR (e.g. on maternity leave or long-term leave). |
| 3 | No further submissions are expected against this award | The Principal Investigator is retired/no longer active in research. By exception and in agreement with NIHR we may agree that response code 3 is appropriate. The PI is not expected to report again against a specific NIHR award. The award is outside its reporting period and no further outputs are expected. These awards are not added to the NIHR submission period. |
| 4 | A submission is expected; the award holder is no longer at the contracting/award holding organisation. This award does not contribute to organisational compliance statistics. |
The Principal Investigator (PI) is required to provide a Researchfish submission but is not working at the named RO. The award is within the mandatory reporting period. or The PI is expected, but not required, to provide a Researchfish submission given diminished reporting responsibility in the award terms. |
| 5 | No submission is expected for this award | The PI is not expected to provide a Researchfish submission for a specific NIHR award, but may choose to do so (e.g. award is outside its reporting period). |
PIs may hold more than one NIHR award, and different awards may have different response codes associated with them. Response codes apply to awards not individual PIs.
If a PI has several NIHR awards with differing response codes all of the awards will be submitted during the submission period as part of the submission process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Research Organisations
Q. I am a Research Manager within a research organisation - can I see awards for my organisation in Researchfish?
Yes, you can. Research organisations can use the Researchfish system to view and analyse outputs submitted by their award holders where they are the contracting organisation. Information about how to do this available on the Researchfish website – there are two versions of Researchfish available:
- RO-lite is free and allows Research Organisations to view key award information, if a researcher has accepted the invitation to the platform and when the last submission happened.
- RO-Full allows full institutional access to additional functionality including reporting and publications data uploads into Researchfish on behalf of their awards.
We strongly advise research organisations to familiarise themselves with the Researchfish functionality. Once logged into Researchfish, research managers will be able to view all the NIHR awards assigned to your institution. We advise you to check this information and get in touch with us if there are any issues you identify.
Award holders
Submission
Q. I have an ORCID and I’d like to connect this with my Researchfish account, what should I do?
In your Researchfish account you can add your unique ORCID identifier. Researchfish and ORCID can be linked but interplay between the two accounts. This is something that you as the account holder is in control of. Read more about ORCID. If you require support in terms of linking your ORCID and Researchfish information please contact Researchfish support for assistance.
Q. Can a member of my team help me to complete my Researchfish submission?
Yes, a Principal Investigator can set up Delegates to help complete a Researchfish submission, but only the Principal Investigator can finalise and submit information relating to a NIHR award. Delegate access is managed through your Researchfish account. More information about the Delegate functionality within Researchfish is available from the ’Add a delegate user guide’ and the ‘Help and support’ function within Researchfish:
Q. Is it possible to get an extension to the deadline?
Under usual circumstances, no, we do not offer extensions to the deadline. The NIHR’s Researchfish submission window is open for 6 weeks each year. We are in regular communication with award holders and Research Organisations about the submission window to ensure there is sufficient notice. We advise award holders to add outputs and impacts throughout the year as this makes the task of submission less intensive. Principal Investigators are strongly encouraged to use the Delegate and Collaborator facilities in Researchfish to aid the recording of outputs and impacts.
Q. I have missed the deadline - what do I do?
Those that fail to provide a submission will enter the NIHR sanctions process. If you have missed the deadline we advise you to enter your outputs and impacts into Researchfish as soon as possible. We will be able to see that you have accessed your account and added information to it. You will be contacted in due course with information about the required next steps.
Q. I’ve already completed an annual report for my programme, why am I required to complete Researchfish?
The NIHR funds health and public health research in a wide range of fields and methodologies. As a result, different programmes ask their Researchers for detailed reports in different formats and timescales. The annual snapshot provided by Researchfish is the only means of looking at all NIHR research in a standard way at one time.
Q. How can I make completing my submission more efficient?
Assigning Delegates to aid Principal Investigators in completing their submission will be less burdensome. If you acknowledge the funder (NIHR) and state the unique award reference when publishing outputs, Researchfish will harvest publications data and import it into your portfolio. In some cases, your institution may also upload publications data into your portfolio. Citing other unique identifiers, e.g. DOI, will also help Researchfish to find your outputs and make your submission more efficient.
Q. I am on maternity leave, do I need to participate in Researchfish this year?
If you are currently on maternity or other forms of leave then please contact us via email evaluation@nihr.ac.uk for further assistance.
Q. For what time period should I report my research activities?
You should tell us about any activities that started or ended, or accomplishments that occurred during or after your award. Almost all of the activity types in Researchfish have date fields. So if, for example, you have a multi-year collaboration that ended this year but you have never reported it in Researchfish, then you can still enter the earlier start date.
Q. Who will have access to the information entered in Researchfish?
Identifiable information will be seen by the NIHR Senior Management Team and the Programme Managers at the relevant NIHR Coordinating Centre that manages your award. Data and analysis will be used for a variety of purposes such as supporting research management processes, and in preparing reports, ministerial briefings and NIHR news stories. The NIHR will also draw Researchfish data into the NIHR Journals Library website, similar to the UKRI Gateway to Research. Award holders are advised to check and update their submission in the knowledge that some of this information (for example, publications, collaborations and partnerships, further funding, engagement activities, PPI) will be shared in the public domain.
Q. How do you use data from Researchfish?
We use your data to respond to information requests and parliamentary questions, to report to our stakeholders and to enable a wide range of evaluative activities about the research funded by the NIHR. It also informs the impact stories we showcase on our website and highlight through our social media channels.
It has also been used as a data source to enable the NIHR outcomes framework, a recently launched tool that allows a systematic and transparent way of describing the benefits we want to achieve for patients, the public and the economy.
As part of the collaborative evaluation we are undertook with Marie Curie assessing the impact of our combined investment in palliative and end of life care research. It also helped us understand how we are doing in our ambitions to support open access publishing and our progress in building capacity through investment in research. Information on the outputs, outcomes and impacts arising from NIHR awards provides vital data for our programme evaluations, including the 10 year evaluation of the EME Programme, and supports our current analysis of the Health Technology Assessment programme 30 years impact assessment.
We are developing the ways in which we use our data to populate information on the NIHR Journals Library and our Funding and Awards pages.
Find out more about the many ways in which we use the data you provide.
We know it can take time for research outputs, outcomes and impact to arise. Therefore, we maintain contact with you beyond the initial lifecycle of your award(s). This enables us to capture as much information as possible on the work you have done and the benefits achieved.
Q. Is it possible to view the Researchfish questions in advance?
Yes, you can download a copy of the common question set used by all Funders from the Researchfish website.The NIHR has a small number of additional questions focusing on Patient and Public Involvement in research, data sharing, NIHR Senior Investigators, career tracking for trainees.
Awards
Q. My NIHR award has finished, does Researchfish continue to track my project?
Yes. Your continuing Researchfish submissions are very important to us as we use Researchfish to track research outputs, outcomes and impacts over the medium to long-term. We recognise that many research outputs, outcomes and impacts occur in the years after an award has finished. To capture that activity, we require feedback from Researchers and Trainees whilst an award is active and for five years after the award has ended.
Q. My NIHR award finished a long time ago, why are you still contacting me?
We recognise that benefits can be realised long after the end of the five-year reporting period required by the NIHR, so you can continue to tell the NIHR about research outputs, outcomes and impacts after this reporting period if you wish to do so through Researchfish. In some particular cases a natural end point may be reached where no further benefits are likely to be realised. If you consider that this may be the case then please contact us for further discussion evaluation@nihr.ac.uk.
Q. My award has no output or outcomes yet, what should I do? I don’t have any new outputs or impact to report in this submission, do I still need to submit?
Log in to Researchfish and take a look at the sections as this may prompt you to remember things you could tell us about. For example, perhaps you have undertaken some engagement activities? You may also find that there are some NIHR additional questions that you need to respond to before you submit.
We understand that there may be times when there have been no tangible outputs or outcomes from the research, such as shortly after work begins, or even for a period after completion. Do not use Researchfish to report outputs or outcomes that you are planning but that have yet to be realised. You may need to respond to some ‘Additional Questions’. Click on ‘Begin submission process’ in the ‘My awards’ tab.
Q. I have more than one NIHR award, do I need a different Researchfish account for each award?
No, you do not need separate accounts for each award. We provide information to Researchfish about the awards we make. If you have more than one NIHR award where you are the Principle Investigator all of your awards should appear inside your Researchfish account in the ‘My awards’ tab. Awards that have only recently received notification of funding, or, contracts that have not yet or only recently been signed will not appear in your Researchfish account for the upcoming submission. If you have awards from other Funders that use Researchfish you should also be able to see these awards within your Researchfish account.
Q. I don’t have an NIHR research award, but I am an NIHR Senior Investigator- why have I been contacted about Researchfish?
While the NIHR Senior Investigator award is not a research award, the management team is very interested in finding out what is done with that money and if this programme is useful to the health research system. There are specific questions for Senior Investigators within Researchfish. If you do not feel that the standard research output categories apply to your use of the Senior Investigator award, then simply Click on ‘Begin submission process’ in the ‘My awards’ tab and follow the process that will take you to the specific Senior Investigator questions and use the free-text box to describe how the award was used.
Q. Some of my award details on Researchfish are incorrect, how do I change them?
Some award details such as titles, start/end dates and funding amounts are updated by the NIHR coordinating centre during an annual data refresh. To discuss discrepancies in your award information, please contact the NIHR Evaluation Team through evaluation@nihr.ac.uk.
Q: I cannot see all of my awards in my Researchfish portfolio, how do I find them?
This may happen if more than one account has been set up in your name. If the ‘missing’ awards are from the NIHR, then please contact the NIHR evaluation team through evaluation@nihr.ac.uk. Only awards where a contract has been signed before 30 September 2023 will be included in the 2024 submission period. Awards where the contract has been signed after this date will be included in future submissions.
For non-NIHR awards you need to contact Researchfish or the other Funder. You can find further assistance through the ‘Help and support’ section of Researchfish:
Q. What are the NIHR Career Tracker questions in the additional question section?
In order to capture career progression information, additional questions may be applied after you have completed your award. For awards managed by the NIHR Academy, there are up to 3 sets of additional questions that will be presented and form the overall Career Tracker:
- ‘Your award’. You will only need to answer these once after completing your award and they will be removed from subsequent requests.
- Award specific questions. If your most recently completed award was an NIHR ‘Academic Clinical Fellowship’ or an NIHR ‘Clinical Lecturer’ post, we will ask you a few additional questions about particular aspects of your award. These also only need to be answered once and will be removed from subsequent requests.
- ‘Career tracker’. These questions will be available every year for at least 5 years after the end of your award. As with other details that you add to Researchfish, the information that you add to answer these questions will stay in your portfolio and you need only to update any changes in the next submission periods.
These questions are mandatory and you must complete each section in order to submit your Researchfish portfolio.
Q. I’m an NIHR Master’s student – do I have to complete Researchfish?
Yes, if you are a student on one of the following programmes:
- HEE/NIHR Masters in Clinical Research
- Research Methods Programmes:
- Masters in Medical Statistics
- Masters in Economics of Health
- Research Methods Fellowship
- Systematic Review Fellowships
In Researchfish you will be referred to as ‘PI’. This is you, as the master’s student and not your supervisor/academic lead.
In some cases there may not be anything to report at the annual submission period. If this is applicable, you can simply log in to Researchfish, respond to any ‘Additional Questions’ that you may have assigned, and submit by following the ‘Begin submission process’ straight away. This ensures you have complied with your reporting obligations. We will continue to contact you for up to 5 years after the end of your award in order to capture research outputs that may be realised (such as a PhD fellowship) that you attribute to your NIHR Masters funding. Once your award has finished, we will also ask you additional questions to find out about your career progression.
Q. I’m an NIHR ACF – do I have to complete Researchfish?
Yes, if you are in an NIHR ACF post or a locally funded NIHR-recognised ACF post and have been invited to report your outcomes and outputs through Researchfish. Your award will be added into a Researchfish portfolio about one-year into your post.
In some cases there may not be anything to report at the annual submission period, for example if you have not started your research component yet. If this is applicable, you can simply log in to Researchfish, respond to any ‘Additional Questions’ that you may have assigned and submit by following the ‘Begin submission process’ straight away. This ensures you have complied with your reporting obligations.
We will continue to contact you for up to 5 years after the end of your award in order to capture research outputs that may be realised (such as a research training award) that you attribute to your NIHR ACF post. Once your award has finished, we will also ask you additional questions to find out about your career progression.
Q. I have an NIHR award from an Infrastructure centre (ARC, BRC, HPRU or PSTRC) – do I have to complete Researchfish?
Yes, if you hold a fully or partially funded NIHR award through one of the following NIHR Infrastructure centres and have been invited to report your outcomes and outputs through Researchfish:
- Applied Research Collaborations (ARC)
- Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)
- Health Protection Research Units (HPRU)
- Patient Safety Translational Research Centre (PSTRC)
Please note that in Researchfish you will be referred to as ‘PI’. This is you, as the trainee/award holder and not your supervisor/academic lead.
In some cases there may not be anything to report at the annual submission period, for example if you have not started your research component yet. If this is applicable, you can simply log in to Researchfish, respond to any ‘Additional Questions’ that you may have assigned and submit by following the ‘Begin submission process’ straight away. This ensures you have complied with your reporting obligations.
We will continue to contact you for up to 5 years after the end of your award in order to capture research outputs that may be realised (such as a research training award) that you attribute to your NIHR funding. Once your award has finished, we will also ask you additional questions to find out about your career progression.
Type of output/activity/impact
Q. How do I decide if a research output, outcome or impact should be attributed to my NIHR award?
We understand that research is a team exercise and research outputs, outcomes and impacts may be connected to more than one NIHR award and potentially those of other Funders. We are interested to understand if you think your NIHR award has contributed to some impact, and how and with what effect. For example, if you have produced a briefing document that refers to findings from your NIHR funded research alongside other related research we would like to hear about it as much as we would like to hear about directly linked publications such as journal articles reporting findings from your award.
Q. I can’t see where to upload documents in Researchfish?
You do not ‘upload’ outputs into Researchfish – it is not a repository. Researchfish asks for specific information about publications and other categories of outputs but does not require you to upload a copy.
Q. I need to report conference attendance, where in Researchfish should I report this information? I have already entered information about conference attendance but now I can’t see it, where has it gone?
Following feedback from Researchers and Funders, the way in which you tell us about conference attendance in Researchfish has changed. We are particularly interested to hear about the outcomes of conference attendance rather than conference attendance in its own right. You can tell NIHR about conference outputs such as abstracts, posters and conference proceedings through the ‘Publications’ question set. If you have been invited to be a keynote speaker at a conference then you can tell us about this in the ‘Awards and Recognition’ question set. If you have been invited to speak or present at a primarily non-academic meeting then you can tell us about this in the ‘Engagement Activities’ question set. If none of these options fit then you can always use the ‘other’ option in the publications question set.
Q. I wish to tell you about something I have written – where do I record this in Researchfish?
You can tell us about a wide range of written materials in the ‘Publications’ section within Researchfish. In this section you can tell us about the following research outputs (choose the most appropriate description from the list provided for each output you wish to tell us about):
- Book
- Book Chapter
- Book edited
- Conference Proceeding / Conference Paper
- Consultancy Report
- Journal Article / Review
- Manual / Guide
- Monograph
- Policy Briefing Report
- Systematic review
- Technical Report
- Technical Standard
- Thesis
- Working Paper
- Other – use 'other' if the output you wish to tell us about does not fit easily into the categories above (for example Cochrane Review), but consider if the output you wish to tell us about might fit in the engagement section of Researchfish.
You should only assign outputs relevant to your specific NIHR award, although you may have many other outputs held in your personal portfolio within Researchfish.
Q. I have prepared a Protocol for my research, where should I put this in Researchfish?
If your protocol has been published and you have acknowledged the NIHR as the funder and included your project reference number you may find that this appears automatically in your portfolio as Researchfish regularly ‘harvests’ publications data and links this to specific awards where possible. Alternatively you can tell us about this in the ‘other section’ within the publications question set. If you have prepared a protocol but this has not been published then you do not need to report this in Researchfish.
Q. I have written an article for a magazine/newsletter (online or paper), where would I record this in Researchfish?
In Researchfish, articles in magazines (for example a magazine for patients or carers) is considered an engagement activity. You can tell us about magazine articles or newsletter items within the ‘Engagement Activities’ section of Researchfish.
Q. I have given a talk/presentation to a (non-academic) group, where would I record this in Researchfish?
In Researchfish, giving talks or presentations (for example to patients, carers, parents etc.) is considered an engagement activity, where the audience is primarily non-academic. You can tell us about such involvement within the ‘Engagement Activities’ section of Researchfish. In this section you will be able to describe the nature of your contribution such as keynote or invited speaker, presenting a paper or poster, or facilitating a workshop.
Q. I have given a talk/presentation to a primarily academic group, where would I record this in Researchfish?
We are pleased that you are engaging academic colleagues in your research activity and we are particularly interested to hear about the outputs of such talks/presentations such as conference proceedings, new collaborations/publications etc. You can record the outputs of such talks in the relevant sections such as in the ‘Publications’, ‘Further Funding’, ‘Collaborations and Partnerships’ or ‘Engagement Activities’ sections of Researchfish.
Q. I have attended a conference or other scientific meeting, where should I record this in Researchfish?
The NIHR is particularly interested in understanding more about what happened as a result of attending a meeting (e.g. development of a new collaboration) rather than meeting attendance in of itself. You can tell us about what happened as a result of attending a scientific meeting within the following question sets within Researchfish: ‘Publications’, ‘Further Funding’, ‘Collaborations and Partnerships’ or ‘Engagement Activities’.
Q. I have developed a collaboration with colleagues in other countries, how should I record this in Researchfish?
There is a whole section about collaborations in Researchfish. We understand that collaborations are very important to successful delivery of research and application of research findings. Sharing information on your collaborations helps us to understand this better and ensure that the NIHR provides appropriate support for such activity. The ‘Collaboration and Partnerships’ section in Researchfish allows you to provide further information about the collaborations you have and the nature of those collaborations. We are particularly keen to understand the benefits, outputs and outcomes from these collaborations.
Q. I have been successful in attracting further funding, do you want to know about this?
Yes, we are very interested to understand more about how NIHR awards interact with other funding awards (including other NIHR awards). You can tell us about this in the ‘Further Funding’ section within Researchfish. This information helps us to understand the funding landscape better and we can use this information strategically to inform discussions between the NIHR and other Funders.
Q. I am involved in a working group/expert panel, where would I record this in Researchfish?
In Researchfish, involvement in formal working groups, expert panels or dialogue are considered an engagement activity. You can tell us about such involvement within the ‘Engagement Activities’ section of Researchfish. Membership of and participation in advisory committees and/or government reviews for the purpose of defining policy and practice should be included in the section on 'Influence on Policy, Practice, Patients & the Public'.
Q. I have participated in press/media activity, how should I record this in Researchfish?
You can tell us about a range of press-related activity in the ‘Engagement Activities’ section of Researchfish. Examples of such activity may be preparing a press release, undertaking a press conference or responding to a media enquiry.
Q. I have undertaken a radio interview, how should I record this in Researchfish?
You can tell us about a range of press-related activity in the ‘Engagement Activities’ section of Researchfish, including media interviews or broadcasts such as radio ,TV, films or podcasts.
Q. I have been actively engaged in social media activity, how should I record this in Researchfish?
You can tell us about a range of social media activity in the ‘Engagement Activities’ section of Researchfish, including engagement focused websites, blogs or other forms of social media activity.
Q. I have developed/adapted a questionnaire, how should I record this in Researchfish?
You can tell us about questionnaires that you have either developed or adapted in the ‘Intellectual property and licensing’ question set as 'copyright'.
Q. I have been engaged in discussions to share information, stimulate thinking, inform decision making and/or make decisions, how should I record this in Researchfish?
The role of Researchers in informing decision-making is of great interest to the NIHR, and Researchfish can be used to document this kind of contribution effectively. To accommodate this well, you need to think about how this contribution has been made. The ‘Engagement Activities’ section of Researchfish enables you to describe how this contribution has been made (for example via meeting), who has been involved, and describe what has happened as a result of these interactions. This section within Researchfish is a very useful way to describe such activities that may led on to other important outcomes such as changes in policy. If you think your activity has had an influence on policy and practice then you can tell us about this in the ‘Influence on Policy’ section within Researchfish.
Q. I have been able to influence policy, how should I record this in Researchfish?
Understanding better how the NIHR supported research influences policy is vital. In Researchfish you can describe how this influence has taken place and the effect of that policy change in the ‘Influence on Policy’ section. The following types/methods of influence are included within Researchfish:
- Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health
- Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
- Citation in clinical guidelines
- Citation in clinical reviews
- Citation in other policy documents
- Citation in systematic reviews
- Membership of a guidance committee
- Participation in a national consultation
- Participation in advisory committee
- Gave evidence to a government review
It is possible to record the following effects of this influence on policy in Researchfish:
- Improvements in survival, morbidity or quality of life
- Changes in efficiency and effectiveness of public service deliver
- Improved accessibility of public services
- Improved regulatory environment
- Economic impacts
- Improved educational and skill level of workforce
- Changed public attitudes on social issues
- Effective solutions to societal problems
- Improved environmental sustainability
- No impacts yet
- Not known
Q. I cannot find the appropriate category for my outputs, how should I record this in Researchfish?
Until the 2023 iteration of the Researchfish common question set, you had the option to include “Other Outputs”. Please notice that from 2024 onwards, the section “Other Outputs” is no longer part of the NIHR reporting requirements. This is a step towards reducing researchers' reporting burden and it has been agreed in collaboration with other UK funders. If you have any questions on how to record your outputs, you can contact the NIHR evaluation team via evaluation@nihr.ac.uk.