Updates to Innovate UK Impact Questionnaire

Innovate UK has released an updated Project UK Impact Questionnaire – Universities Template in response to feedback at the recent drop-in surgeries. The latest version is available to download here, and was accompanied by the following communication:

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Thank you for your email and for outlining the feedback received from the university group. We have now reviewed the points raised and can provide the following update.

1. Alignment between the online and offline forms (particularly Q32-50)

We have reviewed the offline university template against the source file used to generate the online questionnaire and can confirm that the questions included within the offline university template align with the HEI-relevant questions contained within the online form.

The online questionnaire displays all questions that may apply across respondent types. Any questions shown in the online form that are not included within the University Template are intended for businesses only and do not need to be completed by HEIs. These questions may be answered using "Not Applicable" or "N/A" where required.

2. Q45 and applicability to HEIs

Following further review of the underlying metric selection, we can confirm that Question 45, "Number of Research and Development (R&D) projects", is a business-specific metric and is not required for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The question therefore does not form part of the University Template.

As the online questionnaire displays questions applicable across different respondent types, HEIs may still encounter this question when completing the form online. In such cases, the question does not require a substantive response and may be completed using "Not Applicable" or "N/A". This has been clarified within the updated offline University Impact Questionnaire template.

3. Non-HEI questions clearly identified

As noted above, the additional questions appearing in the online form but not included within the university template are business-specific questions. Clarifying guidance has been added to the template to explain this distinction and advise that non-HEI applicable questions can be completed using "Not Applicable" or "N/A”.

4. Character limits in the offline template

We have updated the offline template to include the relevant character limits against all questions requiring a text-based response.

In addition, the Impact Team has advised that the online form will shortly include an enhanced character counter to provide live visibility of remaining characters while completing responses.

5. Visibility for Finance Contacts

We have confirmed that Finance Contacts can access their organisation's Project Impact questions within IFS and should be able to determine whether a form has been completed and submitted.

Once the questionnaire has been submitted, users will see a submission summary screen confirming the status of the Project Impact Questionnaire. An example of the screen displayed following successful submission is shown below:

Where there is any uncertainty, organisations can contact impact@iuk.ukri.org for support. We also understand that further enhancements are being explored to improve visibility within IFS, although no implementation date has currently been confirmed.

6. Dedicated IFS demonstration session

Following the publication of the updated Impact Guidance, it would be helpful to understand whether the guidance has addressed the concerns raised, or whether there remains a need for a dedicated session. We would welcome your feedback on this.

The updated offline University Impact Questionnaire template is attached for reference and incorporates the changes outlined above, including question numbering, clarification regarding business-only questions, and the addition of character limits for free-text response fields.

Thank you again for raising these points. The feedback has been useful in helping us improve the guidance and offline templates available to universities. 

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This will be an agenda item at the Research Finance Forum on 14 October.