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Assessing (for) impact: future assessment of the societal impact of research

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  • Steven Hill

    (Higher Education Funding Council for England, Bristol, UK)

Abstract

National research assessments play a role in providing accountability—to funders, government and civil society—for the activities of largely autonomous research systems. Increasingly, an element of such assessments is the assessment of societal impact. In this article, I review the development of impact assessment, with a focus on the UK’s Research Excellence Framework and consider implications and challenges for the future. Notwithstanding these challenges, I further argue that the assessment of societal impact needs to become a more central aspect of research evaluation. This article is published as part of a collection on the future of research assessment.

Suggested Citation

  • Steven Hill, 2016. "Assessing (for) impact: future assessment of the societal impact of research," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 2(1), pages 1-7, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:2:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1057_palcomms.2016.73
    DOI: 10.1057/palcomms.2016.73
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. J. Britt Holbrook, 2017. "The future of the impact agenda depends on the revaluation of academic freedom," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(1), pages 1-9, December.
    2. A. Gaunand & L. Colinet & P.-B. Joly & M. Matt, 2022. "Counting what really counts? Assessing the political impact of science," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 699-721, June.
    3. Owen, Richard & Pansera, Mario & Macnaghten, Phil & Randles, Sally, 2021. "Organisational institutionalisation of responsible innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1).
    4. Helka Kalliomäki & Sampo Ruoppila & Jenni Airaksinen, 2021. "It takes two to tango: Examining productive interactions in urban research collaboration [Generating Research Questions through Problematization]," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 30(4), pages 529-539.
    5. Molly Morgan Jones & Catriona Manville & Joanna Chataway, 2022. "Learning from the UK’s research impact assessment exercise: a case study of a retrospective impact assessment exercise and questions for the future," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 722-746, June.
    6. Melinda Craike & Bojana Klepac & Amy Mowle & Therese Riley, 2023. "Theory of systems change: An initial, middle-range theory of public health research impact," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 32(3), pages 603-621.
    7. Ferreira, Paula & Rocha, Ana & Araujo, Madalena & Afonso, Joao L. & Antunes, Carlos Henggeler & Lopes, Marta A.R. & Osório, Gerardo J. & Catalão, João P.S. & Lopes, João Peças, 2023. "Assessing the societal impact of smart grids: Outcomes of a collaborative research project," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    8. Rousseau, Sandra & Catalano, Giuseppe & Daraio, Cinzia, 2021. "Can we estimate a monetary value of scientific publications?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1).
    9. Ana Sofia Brandão & José M. R. C. A. Santos, 2024. "Sustainability from Policy to Practice: Assessing the Impact of European Research and Innovation Frameworks on Circular Bioeconomy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-25, March.
    10. Dotti, Nicola Francesco & Walczyk, Julia, 2022. "What is the societal impact of university research? A policy-oriented review to map approaches, identify monitoring methods and success factors," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    11. Cinzia Daraio, 2017. "A framework for the Assessment of Research and its impacts," DIAG Technical Reports 2017-04, Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, Universita' degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza".
    12. Bella Reichard & Mark S Reed & Jenn Chubb & Ged Hall & Lucy Jowett & Alisha Peart & Andrea Whittle, 2020. "Writing impact case studies: a comparative study of high-scoring and low-scoring case studies from REF2014," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 6(1), pages 1-17, December.
    13. Alis Oancea, 2019. "Research governance and the future(s) of research assessment," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-12, December.
    14. Ohid Yaqub & Dmitry Malkov & Josh Siepel, 2023. "How unpredictable is research impact? Evidence from the UK’s Research Excellence Framework," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 32(2), pages 273-285.

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