We’re kicking off a series of posts to mark 10 years of the UK Data Service Data Impact Fellows scheme, celebrating the many high points and looking forward to applications for the 2027-2029 cohort. Our Director of Impact, Finn Dymond-Green, looks back.
‘Once a Data Impact Fellow, always a Data Impact Fellow’ is something you’ll catch me saying quite often. I have worked with Fellows across all of our cohorts and it’s been an absolute pleasure (a privilege, even) to share some of the journeys of these brilliant Early Career Researchers.
Where it all started
Our Data Impact Fellow scheme was started in 2016 by the then Director of Impact for the UK Data Service, Dr Victoria Moody. As Victoria still works for Jisc, I was able to ask her about the origins of the scheme.
“I wanted to support the long-range use of UK Data Service data and resources by new generations of research professionals through the research partnerships they develop, with the students they teach and for the industries they work in – from the earliest stages of, and throughout their professional life.”
Victoria went on to say
“Data Impact Fellows are leading experts in their research fields and I wanted to set up an innovative scheme to support them to use the data that we have within the UK Data Service with that focus on impact and to make that impact accessible to the wider public through the coordinating expertise of the Impact team at the UK Data Service.”
There have – so far – been five cohorts of Data Impact Fellows (32 Fellows in all). The scheme is a relatively light-touch one. Each Fellow receives a small grant to spend on activities or resources which support them to develop their approaches to impact and engagement.
We bring the Fellows together in person at the start of the two-year award to share their work and begin exploration of what impact can mean.
A key strand is supporting Fellows to broaden their skills in engaging with different audiences, whether through contributing regularly to the Data impact blog, practising in front of other experts or contributing to UK Data Service impact events.
Fellows also have the opportunity to work with us to develop an impact case study. Some Fellows have worked with the impact team on bigger projects or partnerships.
That focus on developing approaches to creating impact was always at the heart of Victoria’s vision:
“What also makes the Data Impact Fellows distinctive is that they develop cutting-edge research methods to use the data and link their focus on impact directly through their data analysis design, which for them means placing changing the lives of real people and communities at the centre of their research.”
Developments in the scheme
Since the 2019 round of the scheme, we have opened up applications to the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector.
Fellows from such organisations as Cancer Research UK, the Institute for Employment Studies and the Intergenerational Foundation have brought dimensions of experience and different perspectives to the scheme.
As the scheme has developed, we have added additional online meetings to support networking and collaboration, alongside other developments.
Both the 2023 and 2025 cohorts have gained from the excellent workshops run by Rob Davies of CLOSER’s Policy Engagement Unit (so much so, that we invited him and his team to be part of our 2026 impact event: Perspectives on Engagement and Impact).
Activity like this aligns well with Victoria’s initial aims for the scheme:
“[…] to bring together a peer support group that could connect their focus on data driven impact and expertise in research data methods over the nationally and internationally significant data assets the UK Data Service makes available.”
An example of peer support and networking was Claudia and Esmeralda collaborating on organising and promoting postgraduate conferences.
Esmeralda said:
“For me, being a Data Impact Fellow means becoming part of a small network of like-minded peers who inspire and encourage me to collect, cite, and contribute data to the public.”
Collaboration, networking and peer group support really can come in all forms. When we caught up recently with some of our earlier Fellows, I did learn that Ben and James had recently been collaborating – over a pint watching a World Cup game!
Where are our Fellows now?
Fellows have gone on to leadership roles across academia, policy, international organisations and professional bodies. Here are just a few examples.
Dharmi is now Director of the Centre of the Dynamics of Ethnicity (University of Manchester).
Both Bram and Claudia are associate professors at their respective universities.
Christian is recognised as a global expert on food loss and waste and sustainable diets.
Meanwhile, beyond academia, Oliver now works for the International Monetary Fund, while David works for the UK civil service.
James and Esmeralda work together at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the professional body for HR.
Dan now works for the Youth Futures Foundation, specialising in public policy evaluation and Rhiannon is an Evaluation Analyst at the North West Ambulance Service.
Looking to the future
I’m delighted that we can celebrate 10 years of the Data Impact Fellows scheme – and we’ll be digging further into some of the Fellows’ stories over the next few months, starting with my next post where I’ll uncover some of my memories of working with our Fellows.
But the story doesn’t end there.
We’ll shortly be launching applications for the next round of the UK Data Service Data Impact Fellows scheme, with some enhancements we hope will make it even more appealing.
Keep your eyes peeled!
About the author
Finn Dymond-Green is Director of Impact for the UK Data Service.
Before joining the UK Data Service, they worked as a primary teacher, heritage educator and consultant, e-learning developer and evaluator.
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