Kate Barker

Following a degree in Medical Cell Biology, Kate moved into the world of science and technology policy, taking a Masters degree at the University of Manchester and staying as a researcher at PREST (Programme of Policy Research in Engineering, Science and Technology). Early work involved the development of research evaluation systems for government research laboratories and programmes, as evaluation began to be introduced in research organisations and programmes in the 1980s. She worked on early evaluations for the European Commission’s Framework programmes, for example the socio-economic impacts of ICT and telematics collaborative R&D.

PREST transformed into the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research in 2004, when Kate became a senior lecturer. She has recently worked on the interactions of firms with physics-based large scale research infrastructures, and the societal impacts of ICT research, developing the SIAMPI framework (societal impact assessment measured through productive interactions). Within the ERA-LEARN project, Kate is contributing to the development of frameworks for mapping the impacts of ERA-nets and Joint Programming Initiatives. Recently she has been working on models of impact in a different domain, namely the impacts of social enterprises and community-based funding instruments for community organisations.