Our impact

STFC funded research, technology and facilities benefit the UK's economy and society. Our social and economic impact is considerable and affects our lives in a number of different ways. Examples range from knowledge about the fundamental nature of the Universe to designing new drugs and from mapping the brain to investigating alternative energy sources.

STFC delivers this impact to the UK by the delivery of world class research, innovation and skills through programmes at universities, national and international large facilities, Science and Innovation Campuses, and our UK based laboratories. STFC aims to catalyse knowledge exchange and economic impact arising from all of these activities.

We currently have several projects and activities which ensure that the impact of our funding is maximised. These include our:

• Science and Innovation Campuses - representing a step change in academic & business collaboration and innovation
• Business Development activities - Our Technical Sales team provide valuable links with industries through managing access to facilities/skills and expertise and direct sales of products and services. More information on both of these activities can be found on the STFC Innovations Ltd (link opens in a new window) and the ATC Innovations (link opens in a new window) websites
• Commercialisation activities - the commercial exploitation of the intellectual property from our UK laboratories, more information on this activity can also be found on the STFC Innovations Ltd (link opens in a new window) website
• Industrial Liaison activities - STFC has dedicated Industrial Liaison Managers to exploit contract opportunities for UK industry which arise from our international subscriptions to CERN, ESO, ESRF and ILL. For example the ESO Industrial Liaison Office is currently working to maximise UK industrial contract opportunities from the E-ELT (link opens in a new window). Interested companies can register for tender notifications
• Innovation funding for UK Universities - STFC have several funding opportunities available to STFC supported universities to help them commercialise their research
• Futures programme - STFC's programme to ensure that skills and technology originally developed to address fundamental research questions are harnessed effectively to provide solutions to the global challenges.

As well as delivering impact, capturing and reporting this impact to stakeholders is a key part of our remit.

In previous years, STFC annually reported its economic impact to our parent Government department, the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS), through the Economic Impact Reporting Framework (EIRF) and the Economic Impact Baseline. In 2011, a new report was introduced to consolidate these reports – the Research Performance and Economic Impact Report (RPEIR).

The main way that the STFC communicates economic impact is through a series of impact reports and case studies which outline some of ways that the STFC has impacted the UK's society and economy.

We are continually seeking to improve the ways in which we capture and report the impact of our funding and programmes. We have commissioned an on-line system (STFC e-Val) which will capture the economic impact of our university grants in a systematic way.