scholarly journals Engaging with research impact assessment for an environmental science case study

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirstie A. Fryirs ◽  
Gary J. Brierley ◽  
Thom Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Research Impact ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Rating Systems ◽  
Research Impact Assessment ◽  
Impact Pathway ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Impact assessment is embedded in many national and international research rating systems. Most applications use the Research Impact Pathway to track inputs, activities, outputs and outcomes of an invention or initiative to assess impact beyond scholarly contributions to an academic research field (i.e., benefits to environment, society, economy and culture). Existing approaches emphasise easy to attribute ‘hard’ impacts, and fail to include a range of ‘soft’ impacts that are less easy to attribute, yet are often a dominant part of the impact mix. Here, we develop an inclusive 3-part impact mapping approach. We demonstrate its application using an environmental initiative.

The Impact Agenda

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Smith ◽  
Justyna Bandola-Gill ◽  
Nasar Meer ◽  
Ellen Stewart ◽  
Richard Watermeyer
Keyword(s):  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Research Impact ◽  
Empirical Examination ◽  
Societal Benefit ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Research Impact Assessment ◽  
Academic Practices ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

As international interest in promoting and assessing the impact of research grows, this book examines the ensuing controversies, consequences and challenges. It places a particular emphasis on learning from experiences in the UK, since this is the country at the forefront of a range of new approaches to incentivising, monitoring and rewarding research impact achievements. The book aims to understand the origins and rationale for these changes and to critically assess their consequences for academic practice. Combining a review of existing literature with a range of new qualitative data (from interviews, focus groups and documentary analysis), The Impact Agenda is unique in providing a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary empirical examination of the ways in which various forms of research impact assessment are shaping academic practices. Although the primary focus of the book is on the UK, the book also considers the different approaches that other countries with an interest in research impact are taking (notably Australia, Canada and the Netherlands). While noting the benefits that the increasing emphasis on outward facing work is bringing, the book draws attention to a wide range of challenges and controversies associated with research impact assessment and, in particular, with the UK’s chosen approach. It concludes by using the insights in the book to propose an alternative, more theoretically robust approach to incentivising and rewarding efforts to undertake and use academic research for societal benefit.

scholarly journals Author Correction: Engaging with research impact assessment for an environmental science case study

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirstie A. Fryirs ◽  
Gary J. Brierley ◽  
Thom Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Research Impact ◽  
Research Impact Assessment

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Introduction: critical reflections on research impact

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Katherine E. Smith ◽  
Justyna Bandola-Gill ◽  
Nasar Meer ◽  
Ellen Stewart ◽  
Richard Watermeyer
Keyword(s):  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Research Impact ◽  
Research Impact Assessment ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Critical Reflections

This chapter briefly explains what we mean by ‘the impact agenda’ and what the UK approach to research impact assessment involves. This chapter also makes the case for why an empirical investigation of the recent changes associated with research impact assessment is required and provides key definitions and an overview of the rest of the book.

scholarly journals Understanding and evaluating the impact of integrated problem-oriented research programmes: Concepts and considerations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian M Belcher ◽  
Karl Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Research Impact ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Research Quality ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Systems Transformation ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Researchers and research organizations are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that their work contributes to positive change and helps solve pressing societal challenges. There is a simultaneous trend towards more engaged transdisciplinary research that is complexity-aware and appreciates that change happens through systems transformation, not only through technological innovation. Appropriate evaluation approaches are needed to evidence research impact and generate learning for continual improvement. This is challenging in any research field, but especially for research that crosses disciplinary boundaries and intervenes in complex systems. Moreover, evaluation challenges at the project scale are compounded at the programme scale. The Forest, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA) research programme serves as an example of this evolution in research approach and the resulting evaluation challenges. FTA research is responding to the demand for greater impact with more engaged research following multiple pathways. However, research impact assessment in the CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) was developed in a technology-centric context where counterfactual approaches of causal inference (experimental and quasi-experimental) predominate. Relying solely on such approaches is inappropriate for evaluating research contributions that target policy and institutional change and systems transformation. Instead, we propose a multifaceted, multi-scale, theory-based evaluation approach. This includes nested project- and programme-scale theories of change (ToCs); research quality assessment; theory-based outcome evaluations to empirically test ToCs and assess policy, institutional, and practice influence; experimental and quasi-experimental impact of FTA-informed ‘large n’ innovations; ex ante impact assessment to estimate potential impacts at scale; and logically and plausibly linking programme-level outcomes to secondary data on development and conservation status.

A Study on Methodologies for Research Impact Assessment: Responses of the UK Research Councils to the Warry Report

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 393-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Luiz de Campos
Keyword(s):  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Research Funding ◽  
Research Impact ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Impact Studies ◽  
Research Impact Assessment ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Research Councils ◽  
The Impact

The experience of the UK Research Councils in assessing the impacts of their research funding is discussed, including a report on the findings of research which reviewed the impact studies implemented by the Research Councils. The response of the Councils to the challenge of demonstrating the impacts of their funding and the main methodologies used are presented and the implications of both for the Research Councils and policy makers elsewhere are outlined.

scholarly journals Evaluating cancer research impact: lessons and examples from existing reviews on approaches to research impact assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine R. Hanna ◽  
Kathleen A. Boyd ◽  
Robert J. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Research ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Impact Evaluation ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Research Impact ◽  
Review Articles ◽  
Research Impact Assessment ◽  
Literature Reviews ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Performing cancer research relies on substantial financial investment, and contributions in time and effort from patients. It is therefore important that this research has real life impacts which are properly evaluated. The optimal approach to cancer research impact evaluation is not clear. The aim of this study was to undertake a systematic review of review articles that describe approaches to impact assessment, and to identify examples of cancer research impact evaluation within these reviews. Methods In total, 11 publication databases and the grey literature were searched to identify review articles addressing the topic of approaches to research impact assessment. Information was extracted on methods for data collection and analysis, impact categories and frameworks used for the purposes of evaluation. Empirical examples of impact assessments of cancer research were identified from these literature reviews. Approaches used in these examples were appraised, with a reflection on which methods would be suited to cancer research  impact evaluation going forward. Results In total, 40 literature reviews were identified. Important methods to collect and analyse data for impact assessments were surveys, interviews and documentary analysis. Key categories of impact spanning the reviews were summarised, and a list of frameworks commonly used for impact assessment was generated. The Payback Framework was most often described. Fourteen examples of impact evaluation for cancer research were identified. They ranged from those assessing the impact of a national, charity-funded portfolio of cancer research to the clinical practice impact of a single trial. A set of recommendations for approaching cancer research impact assessment was generated. Conclusions Impact evaluation can demonstrate if and why conducting cancer research  is worthwhile. Using a mixed methods, multi-category assessment organised within a framework, will provide a robust evaluation, but the ability to perform this type of assessment may be constrained by time and resources. Whichever approach is used, easily measured, but inappropriate metrics should be avoided. Going forward, dissemination of the results of cancer research impact assessments will allow the cancer research community to learn how to conduct these evaluations.

Enhancing Role and Impact of Librarians in Research Output through Internet Tools: A Case Study Based on Google Scholar Profiles of Engineering Colleges in and around Madurai

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (S1) ◽  
pp. 72-74
Author(s):  
M. Muthumani ◽  
K. Chinnasamy
Keyword(s):  
Research Output ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Research Impact ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Academic Institution ◽  
Google Scholar ◽  
Research Network ◽  
User Profiles ◽  
The Impact

A librarian in an academic institution plays a potentially very crucial role in the research output of the institution. Digital literacy of the librarian will be of immense help for the researchers and the institution with the ever increasing availability of internet and mobile tools. The wealth of information contained in the publicly accessible Google Scholar profiles is one such useful tool. A case study is carried out by analysing the profiles of research faculty in 12 (twelve) engineering colleges located in Madurai district. The user profiles having verified email IDs with the domain names of these institutions form part of this study. It has been demonstrated that the librarians can play an enhanced role in research output and its impact by effectively using such readily available information in a myriad ways. With the citation indicators viz. citations, h-index and i10-index for different researchers in the institution, the librarian can help the researcher and the institution compare the productivity and impact of research work. The librarian will be able to find out the publications with higher research impact and make informed decisions on subscriptions etc. Such bench marking will also help the institution to attract research talent; to identify and reward impactful works; and to publicize achievements. By creating a tag cloud of research areas in an engineering college derived through Google Scholar profiles it is illustrated how librarian can plan the library resources to be made available to the users. (S)he can further probe the above labels and find out the highly acclaimed journals in the field, post latest developments in the research field, help the users connect with the other leading researchers in the field etc. Similarly, a study of co-authors of a researcher in one of the colleges in Madurai reveals that the collaborative research network extends beyond district / state borders and comprises institutions of countries such as Australia, China and Korea. Having known this, a librarian can understand the research network – physical and virtual – and facilitate further collaboration. The readily available Google Scholar user profiles of researchers of an academic institution give a good deal of information that covers many of the impact indicators used in frameworks such as Becker Medical Library Model for Research Impact. Such possibilities are elaborated using a case study of the profiles of researchers in twelve Madurai based Engineering Colleges.

Missiological research: Making impact or missing the mark?

2021 ◽  
pp. 009182962110021
Author(s):  
Hae-Won Kim
Keyword(s):  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Research Impact ◽  
Societal Impact ◽  
Conceptual Frameworks ◽  
Research To Practice ◽  
Research Knowledge ◽  
Academic Impact ◽  
Research Impact Assessment ◽  
Key Concepts

This article explores ways of conceptualizing research impact and its assessment in the context of missiological research. Can it be assumed that there is a link between missiological research knowledge and research impact on mission practice and practitioners? First, the author defines and discusses some key concepts – research impact, impact assessment, academic impact and societal impact – as well as conceptual frameworks of and approaches to research impact assessment. The author then begins to conceptualize a framework for linking research to practice in missiological research which can be further developed into a framework for research impact assessment.

scholarly journals ‘I’m not being paid for this conversation’: Uncovering the challenges of artist–academic collaborations in the neoliberal institution

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-333
Author(s):  
Alena Pfoser ◽  
Sara de Jong
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
The Political ◽  
Institutional Pressures ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Collective Response ◽  
And Shifts ◽  
The Impact

Artist–academic collaborations are fuelled by increasing institutional pressures to show the impact of academic research. This article departs from the celebratory accounts of collaborative work and pragmatic toolkits for successful partnerships, which are dominant in existing scholarship, arguing for the need to critically interrogate the structural conditions under which collaborations take place. Based on a reflexive case study of a project developed in the context of Tate Exchange, one of the UK’s highest-profile platforms for knowledge exchange, we reveal three sets of (unequal) pressures, which mark artist–academic collaborations in the contemporary neoliberal academy: asymmetric funding and remuneration structures; uneven pressures of audit cultures; acceleration and temporal asymmetries. Innovations at the level of individual projects or partners can only mitigate the negative effects to a limited extent. Instead this article offers a systemic critique of the political economy of artist–academic collaborations and shifts the research agenda to developing a collective response.

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