Participant information sheet: Facilitator feedback
Participant Information Sheet: Facilitator feedback
DBAA pilot workshops
Title of study: Developing Business-Aware Academics
Researcher name: Dr Jo Bowler
You are being invited to take part in an academic research study, in your role as session facilitator. Before you decide to participate in this study, it is important that you understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take the time to read the following information carefully.
Purpose of the research
The Developing Business-Aware Academics (DBAA) project brings together academics, industry, non-profits and policy makers to inspire collaborative and impactful research that addresses today’s most urgent societal and environmental challenges. The project is designing initiatives that will offer doctoral and early-career researchers from all disciplines the knowledge, skills, and networking opportunities to engage effectively beyond academia.
- Networking workshop
- Konfer collaboration clinic
- Feedback session with coach
- Exhibition hall experience
- Workplace visit
- Networking event
The Networking workshop is a pilot initiative that is intended to prepare participants for connecting with non-academic organisations. This in-person or online workshop will be delivered by you, the facilitator. Participants will actively engage in practical activities which may include identifying potential collaborations, networks and partnerships for research impact, understanding modes of working with non-academic organisations, understanding how to align collaborations with ethical values, understanding industry R&D, communicating complex ideas with clarity, networking efficiently and effectively, enhancing personal impact, boosting confidence, accessing networking resources and organisations.
The Konfer collaboration clinic is a pilot initiative that is intended to introduce researchers to Konfer, one of the main UK-based digital platforms for networking between academics and businesses. The workshop prepares participants to present ideas, build partnerships and accelerate knowledge exchange between academia and industry.
The Feedback session with a coach offers a one-to-one online or in-person support session with an experienced facilitator to consolidate prior learning and prepare for future events. The session is intended to offer participants the opportunity to deliver a jargon-free description of their research and receive immediate constructive feedback to increase confidence in networking situations.
The Exhibition hall experience offers an introduction to face-to-face industry networking at a conference exhibition with the support of an experienced facilitator. Researchers are invited to immerse themselves in a real-world industry exhibition. An exhibition stand gives them a base from which they can meet non-academic attendees working in their discipline. The initiative aims to develop participants’ networking skills, build confidence, and create new connections, in a supportive environment through practical, experiential learning.
The Workplace visit aims to develop participants’ business-awareness and understanding of industry research and development through a visit to a non-academic workplace aligned to research areas. The initiative aims to create a mutually beneficial environment where academia and industry can learn about each other’s approaches to research and development, workplace culture and priorities. The initiative may include a guided tour of the facility/workplace, a presentation from the host organisation, delivery of a research presentation, a question-and-answer session, facilitated networking activities, informal networking.
The Networking event aims to bring together researchers and industry employees to showcase and celebrate collaborative research, spark new research collaborations and drive innovation and impact. The initiative may include inspirational speakers talking about their personal journeys, panel sessions, facilitated fireside chats, lightning talks, facilitated round table discussions, collaboration pitches, research-industry matchmaking activities, exhibition stands, investor pitches, awards and informal networking.
Who is doing this research?
The lead researcher of this study is Professor Alison Truelove. Professor Truelove is an Associate Professor in the University of Exeter Business School. Other researchers on the team include Dr Jo Bowler, Dr Kate Ellis, Rachel Vowles, Holly Frostwick, and Dr Felipe Nascimento Rodrigues.
Ethical review of this Research
This study has been reviewed by the University of Exeter Business School Research Ethics Committee and received a favourable review. The review reference is 10665280. The Business School Ethics Committee may be contacted by email via the Co-Director, Steven Boyne, S.Boyne@exeter.ac.uk and Co-Director, Dr Helena Fornwagner, H.Fornwagner@exeter.ac.uk. If you wish to raise concerns about the integrity of research carried out under the auspices of the University of Exeter, please contact the Head of Research Governance, Ethics, and Compliance, Sean Jennings, S.Jennings@exeter.ac.uk.
Procedures of this study
The pilot initiatives are being tested with researchers to assess the effectiveness and suitability of the sessions for inclusion in the wider DBAA programme.
As the Facilitator (and also participant, for the purposes of data collection), you are being invited to share your reflections on the design, delivery, and logistics of the session, once the session has concluded. Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected using open and closed questions, with free text boxes for further information. We anticipate the survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Benefits and risks of taking part
The findings from this evaluation questionnaire will inform future development and refinement of training and development initiatives – so the benefits are largely for the DBAA team in terms of better-designing future workshops, and for future facilitators, who will deliver the improved-design workshops. If you feel any discomfort or doubt about taking part, you can stop at any time. The well-being of participants is our primary consideration, and you can meet with an experienced member of the research team to discuss your participation before and after the events should you wish to do so.
Voluntary participation and your right to withdraw
Your participation in this study as a Facilitator is entirely voluntary. You are under no obligation to take part, and you may stop at any time. You will be assigned a unique participant number. If you wish to withdraw your data after completing the evaluation questionnaire, inform the researcher. The researcher will remove your data and send you confirmation of the removal.
You can request to withdraw your data at any time before the end of the project (June 2027). If you request to withdraw your data once analysis has started, your data will be removed from any analysis in progress and from any future analysis or publication. It will not be possible to withdraw your data once analysis is complete, or the results have been published. Data analysis will start at least ten days after your facilitation of an initiative.
Anonymity
Your participant data will be link-anonymised; your name and contact details will not appear in the evaluation or equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) datasets, but will be linked through the consent form, so that the researcher can withdraw data on your behalf, if required. If you complete the EDI form, some personal characteristics such as age, ethnicity, gender and disability will be linked from the consent form to the evaluation data, to ensure that research findings and outputs are inclusive and accessible.
If a DBAA research partner is delivering the session, an anonymised version of the evaluation data collected during the initiative will be shared with them via a secure SharePoint folder controlled by access permissions. This is so the research partner can learn from the evaluation and work with the DBAA team to improve future iterations of the workshop.
At the end of the DBAA project in June 2027 your anonymised data will be uploaded to the Open Research Exeter (ORE) repository.
The Data Controller for this research is the University of Exeter. You may contact the Information Governance office of the University of Exeter by emailing dataprotection@exeter.ac.uk.
University of Exeter Data Protection for Research Statement
Qualtrics data privacy statement / Microsoft Forms privacy statement
The Results
Results will be published or presented in academic papers and presentations. If you wish to be updated about the results of this study, please email dbaa@exeter.ac.uk.
If you have any questions or you are interested in finding out more about this research you may contact the researcher, Jo Bowler, by email at J.Bowler2@exeter.ac.uk.
