Affiliated Postdoctoral Members Liaison and Associate Dr Valeria Ramirez was invited to lead a workshop on measuring inclusive innovation at the recent Knowledge Exchange Network Cambridge Conference, bringing together colleagues from across the University to explore how research impact and knowledge exchange can create meaningful and demonstrable change.

Dr Ramirez, a researcher at the department of Engineering, facilitated a session using the Meaningful Metrics Framework, an approach developed through four years of international research on digital measurement, social value and collaborative KPI design.  

The conference explored successful inclusive innovation across people, place and partnerships. Among the highlights, Professor John Aston, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, reflected on the need for diverse measures of local and global impact; Roland Sinker CBE discussed the importance of combining established indicators with more exploratory metrics.

During the day, participants developed measures around user involvement in technology development, funder engagement, opportunities for early-career researchers, influence and repeated engagement, and ways of tracing contributions over time.

Evaluation of the session showed a 33% overall increase across measures of confidence, understanding and practical application of meaningful metrics, with the largest increase — 43% — in participants’ understanding of stakeholder involvement.

The Meaningful Metrics approach was also presented at this summer’s R&D Management Conference in Manchester and continues to inform her wider research on evaluation, innovation ecosystems and the measurement of social value. 

Dr Valeria Ramirez is current work focuses on inclusive manufacturing, laboratories and R&D, including the co-design of standards and practices to improve accessibility, address skills shortages, and strengthen diversity and innovation across advanced manufacturing ecosystems.