Impactful Research and Innovation

For research and innovation that has delivered significant and sustained impact on society.

Loughborough University Policy Unit

The Policy Unit has consistently provided high quality support and advice to colleagues at all stages of their careers – supporting them to realise impact on public policy at local, national, and international levels. Over the last year, their work has facilitated the development of high-profile impact activities, the uncovering of hidden gems across the University, and the patient and skilled support for anyone who is trying to build a policy profile with their research - at whatever grade, with whatever topic.

Professor Stacy Clemes

Through her leadership of the Structured Health Intervention for Truckers (SHIFT) programme, an NIHR-funded cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT), Stacy developed and implemented one of the UK’s most impactful occupational health interventions transforming the wellbeing of a high-risk, underserved workforce. Over a decade, Stacy led the project, demonstrating that SHIFT increases activity, reduces sedentary time, and supports lasting behaviour change, especially in drivers with obesity.

The ‘InterAct’ Team

The InterAct Team at Loughborough Business School has delivered a transformative, human-centric research programme through the UKRI Made Smarter Innovation Challenge. InterAct’s mission is to support UK manufacturing in adopting industrial digital technologies (IDTs) using actionable human insights. As the only social science-led initiative in a traditionally engineering-dominated space, InterAct has redefined how digital transformation in manufacturing is understood and delivered. With new funding to scale IDT adoption and amplify impact through 2026, InterAct is cementing Loughborough’s leadership in sustainable, human-driven industrial innovation.

The Battery-Electrolyser Team

A diverse, multidisciplinary team led by Dr Jonathan Wilson and Professor Dani Strickland has delivered a world-first innovation in green hydrogen production: a hybrid lead-acid battery-electrolyser that combines energy storage and hydrogen generation in one recyclable, low-cost device. This summer, the first full-scale unit will be deployed in Malawi to power a rural hospital and provide hydrogen for clean cooking.