The Nifty Academy
A community for researchers to scale their impact by building their communication skills, connections and confidence.
Say hello to The Nifty Academy!
An online community to help you SCALE YOUR IMPACT by:
✅ building your communication and impact skills
✅ connecting with other researchers for support and collaboration
✅ practising and getting expert feedback on your research communication
We're on a mission at Nifty Fox to equip the next generation of researchers and leaders with the creative, co-design and communication skills to:
✏️ write successful funding bids;
💡create compelling outputs that inspire action;
🙌 meaningfully engage with stakeholders and other researchers;
🔥 and ultimately, forge impactful relationships for change.
The Nifty Academy
- £150.00
- Access to 3 CPD accredited e-courses - Infotopia, Storyslingers and Critical Inking
- Fortnightly office hours to get live feedback on your work
- Monthly and quarterly deep dive sessions to build your skills and your network
We've trained over 2000 researchers from 50+ institutions, including:
You're in good company
Here's what other Nifty learners have said...
Practical advice - not just theory
It was practical - Nifty's courses gave me tools to help me visualise my presentations, not just strategies.
It actually works!
I realised the power of telling your research as a narrative, and that you can put the passion in that drives you to help engage people. It actually works!
Easily accessible frameworks
I loved the easily accessible frameworks, tools and activities to help me apply my knowledge. It doesn’t take a lot to make presentations more impressive and make a huge impact!
Here's what you get as part of The Nifty Academy
A structured programme of skill building, networking, coaching and feedback.
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Access to all our CPD accredited e-courses on visual storytelling for research impact
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Access to exclusive resources and templates, including our ReStory Rocket repeatable storytelling framework and our database of over 100 FREE research communication tools
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24/7 access to our network of over 2000+ researchers to connect, collaborate and support each other
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Fortnightly office hours with ex social researcher, award-winning visual storyteller and Director of Nifty Fox Laura, to get live feedback on your work and connect with your peers
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Monthly deep dive sessions on a core research communication, knowledge exchange and translation, public engagement or policy engagement skill
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Guest speaker sessions on research communication and impact topics selected by the community
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Quarterly in person skills slam sessions – includes teaching on a key topic identified by the community, a panel session on that topic, and networking lunch. We ran one back in June last year and had 150 researchers from across the world join us in Barnsley!
Take a tour!
See exactly what's in store with our 90 second tour (we're poets and we didn't know it!)
Join the crew and become an impact machine!
Access to our 3 flagship courses from a CPD Certification Service supplier (that's us!)
Available to you 24/7 during your time in the community, and you can access as many times as you like.
Here's what Nifty learners think:
Quickest funding sign off in 20 years!
After doing the course with Nifty, I used a simple drawing rather than a lengthy powerpoint to persuade my senior leaders to fund a new project. I got the quickest sign off on funding in my 20 years of working here!
I'm a proficient communicator now!
I absolutely loved learning with Nifty! Course was so well designed, and the concepts truly helped me develop the skill of visual communication. The lessons were engaging, and the activities were fun and challenging. Highly recommend!
Built genuine connections
Learning with Nifty has been transformative. Really smooth learning experience. Genuine sharing of ideas, thoughts and connections.
Build meangingful connections with researchers on the same journey as you
Whether in person or online, you'll have lots of opportunities to share war stories, learn from one another and collaborate
Fortnightly office hours (1 hour, online)
Get live feedback on your work from Director Laura and your peers, and ask all the questions you need on your research journey.
Monthly online deep dives (2 hours - online)
Explore skills from storytelling to stakeholder mapping for policy engagement together online. Ask questions, practice your skills, and connect with other researchers in our networking groups.
Quarterly Skills Slam sessions (3 hours + lunch in Barnsley)
Learn more about a community chosen topic through a bespoke Nifty Fox led training session, hear from an expert panel and network face to face with researchers from across the country! Not only that, you get a yummy lunch and free merch too!
Free resources and templates to help you tell your research story
From our ReStory Rocket Framework to our visual comms database, we've got all the tools you need to become a master communicator!
Not only will you get exclusive access, you'll be able to request, test and iterate on any new teaching resources Nifty Fox creates.
First cohort pricing
We want to co-create the perfect community WITH researchers FOR researchers. That's why we are offering £100 discount for our first crew aboard, to build along with us!
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Join now
£150.00
Regular price £250 + VAT after the first cohort (March-May '25)
Meet your instructor
Say hi to Laura - trained social researcher, award-winning visual storyteller and trainer, and Director of Nifty Fox
I founded Nifty Fox Creative in 2017 - an award-winning research communications agency - after working in the university sector for ten years.
I got so frustrated by the fact that as academics we have all these great, world-changing ideas that fall on deaf ears simply because we don't communicate them clearly!
Through Nifty, I've worked with over 50 universities internationally, 2000+ researchers and public sector organisations like the NHS, UK Government, the UN and international parliaments to help them tell their stories visually so audiences listen.
We've won Best Visual Communications Agency UK 2024 and UK Enterprise Award for Social Impact 2024 for our work and training for research impact.
Nifty regularly supports the NIHR and NHS on their public engagement in research initiatives, and I teach at universities around the world on knowledge mobilisation and public engagement for research impact.
Hope you feel like I can be the Yoda to your Luke Skywalker and guide you on your journey :).
I look forward to meeting you.
I got so frustrated by the fact that as academics we have all these great, world-changing ideas that fall on deaf ears simply because we don't communicate them clearly!
Through Nifty, I've worked with over 50 universities internationally, 2000+ researchers and public sector organisations like the NHS, UK Government, the UN and international parliaments to help them tell their stories visually so audiences listen.
We've won Best Visual Communications Agency UK 2024 and UK Enterprise Award for Social Impact 2024 for our work and training for research impact.
Nifty regularly supports the NIHR and NHS on their public engagement in research initiatives, and I teach at universities around the world on knowledge mobilisation and public engagement for research impact.
Hope you feel like I can be the Yoda to your Luke Skywalker and guide you on your journey :).
I look forward to meeting you.
FAQs
The lowdown on all tings Nifty Academy
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How much is it?
We charge for community access every 3 months. Our first cohort starting on 3rd March 2025 is £150 + VAT. Cohorts starting from June 2025 will be £250 + VAT. The reason for this difference is that our first cohort is a pilot so we can iron out any snags and make it the best possible space it can be!
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I'm super busy, how much time do I have to commit to this?
Per month, you have the option to attend a one hour office hour and an up to two hours deep dive session online. You'll also have the opportunity to chat within the community and access all our e-courses. We recommend allowing for an hour a week, and putting half a day aside every quarter to attend our in person skills slam session in Barnsley. Everything is optional - so dip in and out as works for you.
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It sounds super useful, but I'm not a researcher! Can I still join?
Yes! If you support researchers, work with researchers, train researchers or work for universities or organisations that deal with research, then the Nifty Academy is for you.
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I want to block book for my institution - how do I do that?
First up - great to have you aboard. Secondly, email [email protected] and let us know how many student places you need and we'll arrange a purchase order number with you and send across an invoice. We'll provide login codes for your students so they can hop right on in.
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When does the first cohort start?
Our first onboarding call is March 7th at 12 noon UK time. We'll be taking students in right up until that time :). The next cohort will begin at the end of May.
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I might not be able to make all the live virtual sessions - are there replays?
Yes indeed! We get you are busy, so we have a resources section of our community where all session replays and resources are stored.
Not long until blast off!
Secure your spot and join a crew of likeminded researchers making 2025 their most impactful year ever.
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Still have questions?
Email [email protected].