Policy Frameworks for Research Impact
The increased attention and support for research impact is driven by a number of ‘external’ factors including national policy, funders’ requirements and research assessment.
Governments, funding agencies and research organisations all over the globe increasingly seek to maximise societal and economic returns on investment in research by shaping research policy and practice.
Despite this common goal the approaches are often different. In some cases, researchers are expected to outline their plan for impact and receive funding on the promise of impact success; in other cases, large retrospective assessment exercises are set up making researchers eligible for future funding.
Many government agencies and research organisations are starting to use research impact assessment as a practical tool for decision-making in scientific strategy, demonstrating accountability to research funders, or even to allocate research resources.
General Reflections
Unique, But Still Best Practice? The Research Excellence Framework (Ref) from an International Perspective. Gunnar Sivertsen. Palgrave Communications.
Go to webHow do organisations implement research impact assessment (RIA) principles and good practice? A narrative review and exploratory study of four international research funding and administrative organisations. Adam Kamenetzky, Saba Hinrichs-Krapels. Health Research Policy and Systems.
Go to webEuropean Framework
In the European Union, evaluations serve to create a crucial evidence base for the implementation of research and innovation programmes and are legally required for all framework programmes. Past programmes have been evaluated, the current programmes are being monitored and put forward the expectation that EU-funded research maximises impact.
European Countries
Toward an excellence-based research funding system: Evidence from Poland. Emmanuel Kulczycki, Marcin Korzen, Przemyslaw Korytkowski. Journal of Informetrics.
Worldwide
Research Assessment in Singaporean Higher Education. Lesley Vidovich. International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives.