Overview
Recognising the ever-evolving nature of their field, the University of Queensland connected with us to increase their impact and deepen engagement with industry partners.
The challenge
To ensure efficient, engaging and enduring value in multiple fields, the University of Queensland (UQ) had to adopt a new culture: away from the knowledge discipline of the past, and towards a more collaborative and impactful future.
However, within their various departments, UQ has over 3500 researchers. Change at such a scale is not easily adopted, and the globally reinforced university structures aren’t suited to such a shift.
The Project
Engaged by UQ’s Deputy Vice Chancellor, our team facilitated discussions with UQ staff and external partners to develop a research impact strategy.
Combining human-centred design with complex systems methods, we:
- Met to discuss project intent, scope, and requirements
- Collected qualitative data and categorised findings into a database of 450+ observations
- Conducted research quality analysis (RQA) using data on publications, grant funding and researchers
- Generated insights and initiatives to develop high quality, implementable initiatives
The Result
Coming alongside UQ stakeholders, our team co-designed an implementation plan to address organisational challenges. This included a new Global Change Institute to accelerate trans-disciplinary research through major partnerships.
The Future
Empowered with tools, methods and a comprehensive research and impact strategy, UQ can cultivate a culture that’s on track for impact.
What we delivered
- Established deep engagement with key partners, collecting observations from over 100 participants leading to 8 key insights
- Designed and detailed research impact pathways for 5 major research areas
- Co-designed a suite of six strategic behaviour change initiatives leveraging tools in technology, networks, and infrastructure
- Met regularly with internal co-design team, managing constant delivery and ensuring a successful implementation
- Connected weekly with our client to guide implementation and ensure the desired impact results were achieved
