In the intersection between perspectives real insight can be gleaned – Margaret Heffernan, Wilful Blindness

The Scottish Universities Insight Institute promotes collaboration and engagement between researchers and wider society. Our objective is to help members of wider communities - in the public sector, business and the third sector - gain new insights into issues and to be better informed in the decisions they take. In doing so, we provide universities with pathways to impact for their research.

 

SUII supports programmes that address important issues facing Scotland and the wider world, which draw in wide-ranging research knowledge from Scotland’s top research-led universities, together with international perspectives and expertise from across policy and practice.

 

Collaboration and partnership working

 

Our aim is to mobilise existing knowledge through a collaborative focus on shared issues or problems. We do not fund primary research but rather aim, through deploying knowledge in fresh ways, to get added value and impact from excellent research in which society has already invested.

 

Programmes are designed to stimulate in-depth knowledge exchange and mobilisation through workshops, seminars, and other activities over a period of several months. In particular we encourage collaborative activity that wouldn’t otherwise take place, supporting partnerships to generate new insights and make a difference to policy and practice.

 

 

Helping people and institutions to do things differently

“The Scottish Government really values the work of the Scottish Universities Insight Institute. It offers a very effective way of bringing together researchers, practitioners and policy-makers. It creates real impact by focusing on the key challenges for Scotland. Delivered in a very cost effective way its project calls allow for creative approaches to problems to be tested and can lead to both academic research and policy and operational impact.” - Dr Roddy Macdonald, Head of Higher Education and Science Division, Scottish Government

SUII programmes generate new networks and communities of practice linking academia to the wider community; recommendations and guidance for policy makers, businesses and the third sector; and new research collaborations which build on newly uncovered policy and practice questions. 

 

The flexible support enables programme teams to be creative in their approach and to develop outputs that are both engaging and useful for organisations and individuals outside academia.

 

 

 

A resource for Scotland but with wider reach and impact

 

The wider international participation which we promote informs thinking, helps benchmark the Scottish research, policy and business environment, and builds Scotland’s reputation for innovative approaches to addressing societal challenges.

 

To date, SUII collaborations have involved partners from over 30 different countries.