As the world emerges from the COVID-19 lockdown many opportunities have arisen to rethink how and for whom our societies operate. In this post, Julia Black argues that social sciences can play a unique role in the post-COVID-19 recovery by forging new relationships with business and commerce and outlines how initiatives, such as the Aspect … Continued
Category: Impact
To achieve visible impacts Horizon Europe must connect to local innovation dynamics
The European Commission aims to use the new Framework Programme for research and innovation – Horizon Europe – to demonstrate to a greater extent than previously that public investments in research and innovation result in real benefits for society. Drawing on research from the Rathenau Instituut, Laurens Hessels, Sue-Yen Tjong Tjin Tai, Julia Jansen and … Continued
Organisational change is a challenge uniquely suited to the insights of social science
The organisational cultures of businesses and institutions of all kinds have massive implications for society, from day-to-day working conditions, to the impact organisations have on the environment and the economy. In this post, Andrew Day, presents evidence from a recent study into cultural change initiatives and argues that a social perspective of organisations as being, … Continued
Impact a-gender? Calling out the gendered nature of research impact and assessment
Discussions about research impact are often littered with particular language that serves to demonstrate how different forms of impact are valued, promoted and sustained. Drawing on evidence from qualitative datasets, comprising interviews with researchers and research impact evaluators, Jennifer Chubb and Gemma Derrick argue that the language of research impact and assessment is frequently structured … Continued
“Inundated, overloaded and bombarded” – Seven insights for communicating research to busy policymakers
Parliamentarians and their staff want to use evidence to support their decisions, but they can often feel ‘bombarded’ with the sheer amount of material that is sent their way. Drawing on the findings of a wide ranging study looking at the use of evidence by UK parliamentarians and their staff, Dr David Rose and Dr … Continued
Knowing that and knowing how – Applying expertise to complex problems
Expertise is often understood in disciplinary terms, as the mastery of knowledge within a particular field of study. In this repost, Gabriele Bammer argues for the particular nature of expertise in research integration and implementation and suggests how this form of expertise is key to addressing the complex challenges currently facing society. What is expertise … Continued
From the armchair to the field – Mapping the impact of academic philosophy
The abstract nature of philosophy, and sometimes philosophers themselves, has often contributed to the perception that the discipline has difficulty engaging with wider social issues and hence impact. Using evidence from REF2014 impact case studies, Diana Hicks and J. Britt Holbrook chart five ways in which philosophers have achieved impact and applied philosophical thinking to … Continued
Learning from Blue Ocean Strategy – How do concepts become reality?
The term impact ultimately signifies the process by which an abstract idea for good or ill becomes a practical reality. Whilst good ideas are often believed to find their own audience, Guillaume Carton argues that for research and ideas to achieve impact they require mobilization. Taking the example of a concept from management studies, Blue … Continued
Impact ‘agenda’ or impact ‘phantom’?
Responding to an emerging debate around the changing nature of the impact agenda in the UK, Richard Watermeyer, argues that the current moment presents a point of change; an opportunity to exorcise the ghosts of previous regimes of incentivising and assessing impact, and step towards a more meaningful social compact. Jude Fransman’s excellent piece in THE deliberating the consequences of plans by UKRI to abandon pathway-to-impact statements (PIS) as formal aspects of research funding applications, has pushed much of my … Continued
Four principles for practising and evaluating co-production – a view from sustainability research.
The co-production paradigm has become commonplace across many disciplines as a means of orchestrating the production of useful knowledge aligned to different social needs. Drawing on the expertise of 36 co-production practitioners in the field of sustainability research, Dr Albert Norström, Dr Chris Cvitanovic, Dr Marie F. Löf, Dr Simon West and Dr Carina Wyborn, present … Continued