Higher Education Institutions’ Policies

Many HEIs do not have a standalone Research Impact Policy but do have a commitment to supporting and achieving impactful research, which is embedded in a wider Institutional Strategy, Institutional Research and Innovation Strategy or more specifically a school/faculty strategy.

The EARMA Impact Strategy Survey (2019-2020) found that of the HEI respondents, 27% had a standalone Research Impact Strategy while for 50%, commitment to Research Impact was embedded in a broader institutional strategy. These results are consistent with a 2021 Landscaping Survey carried out by ENLIGHT RISE of the 9 ENLIGHT Universities which found that just one of the partner universities had a standalone Research Impact Policy and four had embedded a commitment to research impact into a broader institutional strategy.

Certainly, the most comprehensive approach would be the adoption at HEIs of specific Research Impact Policy that underpins a strategic plan and is effected by an implementation plan that is adequately and appropriately resourced. However, this comprehensive approach is not a perquisite to achieving, recording and assessing impactful research but the support of institutional structures, polices and processes certainly is.

A number of resources are available for HEIs to self-assess their existing structure to determine how ‘healthy’ they are in terms of supporting and generating impact and this is a good first step in identifying way to improve.