From outrage to embedded: 25 years of impact with Sarah Morton (Episode 86) – reflecting on a career spent helping researchers and research to make a difference
For this episode of the Research Adjacent podcast Sarah is joined by research impact consultant Sarah Morton. Sarah has spent her entire career working in knowledge exchange and impact – first in a university, then as co-founder of Matter of Focus and now independently as Capture Impact.
Sarah and Sarah talk about
- Being the ‘granny of impact’ and leading the way in impact and knowledge exchange (before they were even a thing)
- Falling through the cracks between research and administrative roles
- Escaping university bureaucracy to become an accidental tech entrepreneur
- Why knowledge exchange and impact work is all about relationships and making a difference
Timestamps
- 00:04:38 – Sarah calls herself “the granny of research impact” having worked in it since 2001
- 00:07:33 – Discussion of how “impact” and “knowledge exchange” weren’t terms being used in 2001
- 00:10:15 – The announcement of REF impact in 2010 and the outrage it caused
- 00:25:10 – “Every promotion we had to argue for” – being stuck between academic and administrative tracks
- 00:26:43 – Leaving university employment and starting Matter of Focus with Ailsa Cook
- 00:31:25 – Relationship building as an invisible but essential part of impact
- 00:32:30 – How emotional labour and relational work is missing from conversations
- 00:34:54 – The work still to be done on truly embedding impact in research
Find out more
- Connect with Sarah Morton via LinkedIn or the Capture Impact website
- Get Sarah’s co-authored book ‘How do you know if you’re making a difference?’
- Read Sarah’s highly-cited article on research impact assessment
Events mentioned in this episode
- Getting Started as a Research-Adjacent Freelancer (Online) Mon 23 Feb 2026, 4.30pm UK time. Find out more and sign up
- Research Adjacent Community Networking (Manchester) Thu 12 March 2026, 5.30pm UK time. Find out more and sign up
Theme music by Lemon Music Studios from Pixabay
