Lucy Day

Lucy Day is a Research Impact Officer within our Research and Innovation Services here at LJMU. She graduated from LJMU in 2002 in psychology and biology and has been working at LJMU since 2010.

Lucy came to Liverpool in 1998 as an undergraduate. She loved Liverpool so much that she decided to stay.

On what Lucy wanted to be when she grew up, she said: “I didn't have a clear idea of a specific job or sector I wanted to work in, it was more that I wanted to do something that I would enjoy, and which was worthwhile.”

Before working at LJMU, Lucy was a highways and transport engineer and consultant, designing and testing road junctions and layouts for big developments. She began at environmental consulting company RPS Group, transitioning to other companies such as Savell Bird & Axon, 2020 Liverpool, Peter Brett Associates, and Crowd Dynamics International where she remained until 2010. That year she joined the field of research and innovation at LJMU and has been working here ever since.

“I have always admired people who have done or are doing extraordinary things. I guess that’s what ultimately led me to working at a university where we’re surrounded by people doing extraordinary things all day every day.”

Lucy's role is to support researchers and research teams across the university to capture and articulate the impact of their research beyond academia, on society, economy, and environment. This is particularly important for submitting research funding bids, for the Research Excellence Framework (REF) submissions - the UK's system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions - and for researchers who want to develop their own impact profile.

Most recently, Lucy led on the collaboration and evidence gathering for LJMU’s submission to the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings. It’s the first time the university has submitted to the Impact Rankings, which scores universities across the world based on their commitment to and progress towards the 17 United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Alongside submissions to the prestigious rankings, LJMU produced their first ever SDG report which showcases a broad range of activity from across the university which aligns to the UN SDGs.

“Being part of the REF team and coordinating the submission of 56 impact case studies for REF 2021 plus coordinating our first submission to the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings and producing our first Sustainable Development Goals report, are all achievements I’m very proud of from my time at LJMU so far.

“Both projects have included gathering case studies, data and examples that highlight our commitment to a sustainable future through our research and knowledge exchange, student education and experience, and activity with partners across the Liverpool City Region and beyond, from our five faculties and from our professional services.”

Lucy said her colleagues at LJMU are fantastic and are some of the best people she has ever worked with. “It's a really exciting time to be part of the team at the moment.”

With her connections to LJMU dating back more than 25 years, Lucy has a whole host of experiences and memories associated with the university, but it was an experience working at graduation that she recalls as one of her most memorable moments of being part of the LJMU community.

“It was graduation, November 2001, the penultimate ceremony for the outgoing Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Brown. At the time, there was a table and a couple of chairs located near the toilets and gift shop at the top of the stairs by the well in the cathedral. Solid wood alter rails were used to prevent guests from walking directly into the well.

“It had been a long week. I was volunteering as an usher and directing guests to their seats. During the Vice-Chancellor’s speech - a very quiet moment - I thought I’d take a quick sit down for five minutes. What I hadn’t noticed was that the chair I was about to sit on was leaning against a wooden block. As I sat down the chair nudged the huge wooden block off the top of the stairs, hitting every step on its way down to the well. The ceremony stopped and security ran in thinking someone had shot the Vice-Chancellor.

“In extremely good humour he said, ‘Follow that!’, and carried on his speech like a pro. I will never forget the look of horror on the Director of Communications’ face as that block bounced down the stairs. There were no wooden alter rails at the top of the steps the following year!”

Away from LJMU, Lucy has also volunteered her time in the city as the chair of Liverpool Pride from 2013 to 2018. While rewarding, it was a huge challenge to raise the funding, plan and deliver what is a major annual event for the city which attracts around 50,000 people every year and she learnt so much during those five years.

“Working alongside a team of fantastic volunteers, we delivered events and projects across Merseyside to celebrate the LGBTQI community."