29. Planning Ahead for Impact: Prof Lisa Given and Dr Wade Kelly on making the new year your most impactful one yet

View the full show notes, including a summary of practical tips on the Amplifying Research website: https://www.amplifyingresearch.com/podcast/29-lisa-and-wade 

 

Looking to make 2025 your most impactful year yet? Prof Lisa Given and Dr Wade Kelly share practical tips for planning ahead to make impact manageable - from carving out time in your calendar to building the right relationships.

Lisa is Director of RMIT's Social Change Enabling IMPACT platform, and Wade is a Senior Lecturer in Deakin University's Researcher Development Academy. Together, they unpack how researchers can balance career progression with their impact goals, and tap into opportunities within their university.

"It's about understanding how organisations work. Most people can only see one system below them, one system above them, maybe two. So if you're within a lab, you might understand your school and faculty, but you really aren't looking at what's going on in the university. Keeping abreast of all of those levels to be an empathetic researcher is important because it'll allow you to pitch your work in ways that respond to those different levels." – Dr Wade Kelly

This episode is essential listening for any researcher wanting to make impact a sustainable, practical part of their work. From protecting your time to building the right relationships, Lisa and Wade offer actionable advice you can start implementing today.

 

Our conversation covers:

• How to carve out time and energy for impact when juggling multiple commitments

• Balancing career progression goals with impact goals

• Finding and creating opportunities within your university

• Protecting your time and learning to say "no"

• Building relationships that support your impact goals

• Making impact work manageable and sustainable

• Planning for the year ahead while staying flexible

• The importance of face-to-face connections

• Finding your community and support network

 

Find Dr Wade Kelly online:

• Linked In — https://www.linkedin.com/in/wade-kelly/

• Bluesky — https://bsky.app/profile/wadekelly.com

Find Prof Lisa Given online:

• LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisagiven/

• Bluesky — https://bsky.app/profile/lisagiven.bsky.social