Can you prove the impact of your research?
Providing evidence of
research impact is a challenge, but to do it well requires focus, a
proportionate approach and a strong base of professional relationships.
research impact is a challenge, but to do it well requires focus, a
proportionate approach and a strong base of professional relationships.
For those involved with the development of REF2014 impact case studies,
one of the most common challenges was how to show evidence of research
impact effectively. Many had participated in engagement and knowledge
exchange activities, but it seemed that very few had captured or
documented their activities, or kept evidence of their impact.
At events with REF impact officers across the country, the challenge
of gathering and collecting evidence came up time and again. We went
through the retrospective capture of evidence, but we also knew that we
had to start thinking about how to capture evidence of impact more
broadly, not least so that we would be more prepared for a future REF
exercise.
Now, over two years since institutions submitted their REF returns,
we feel that we should have learnt lessons. We should, as a sector, have
the expertise to demonstrate the impact of our research. But it’s not
that simple – it’s still an issue with which colleagues wrestle.
What to collect
The most common question I’ve faced is ‘What should I collect?’ Theonly answer I have to this is, ‘it depends what you want to know or
show’.
This, I think, goes to the heart of why it can be particularly
challenging for universities to provide guidance on gathering evidence
of impact – there aren’t simple answers that can be widely used. What
can be gathered will depend on the project, the hoped-for impact, the
relationship with relevant groups and communities, and the time and
money available.
When I’ve tried to provide support for evidencing impact, my approach
has been to create frameworks of questions for researchers and
academics to consider, to help them identify what is most useful.
When to collect
When to gather evidence is also challenging. We might hope, ideally,to collate evidence throughout the life of a project, but often its
impact, and so the evidence that something has changed, is not available
until many years later.
So pursuing the evidence is a commitment. It means keeping track of
developments, and maintaining the relationships that may be required to
access the evidence. Of course, not all of an individual’s or group’s
research will lead to impact. In which case how should they identify
what has the most potential? What should be the focus for any follow-up?
For how long should we keep following up with partners in the hope of
impact?
Research relationships
The questions of what to gather and when are tied to therelationships with those the research affects or influences. Impact
relies on someone else taking the research produced in our universities
and doing something with it.
This means that institutions don’t own any change or benefit that
might follow. Private companies operate in a competitive environment and
can be reluctant to share information, especially if there isn’t a
clear purpose or reason for the institution holding the information.
Often, policy documents don’t properly reference the academics or the
papers that have informed the content of the policy. So tracing the
link from research to policy can be challenging. How much should we push
for proper attribution or evidence from policy partners? Or should we
be satisfied knowing that our research is impactful and influential,
even if we can’t then demonstrate it well to others?
Personally, I also think that we should focus on high-quality
engagement, based on high-quality research. Collecting good evidence and
evaluating it to see what we have achieved is important. But it
shouldn’t limit or direct how we engage and to what standard.
In particular, we don’t want to end up with the tail wagging the dog,
where we only engage where we think we can get good evidence.
How we can support impact
So how do we, as institutions, as people who support academics andresearchers to have impact, tackle these challenges? The principles for
me are:
- Proportionality
Capture what can be captured, and accept that this may not be the full story. - Relationships
Be clear about what you might need for collaborators and partners early
on, and if you would like a testimonial from them, be prepared to offer
something back. - Focus
There is little value in capturing absolutely everything possible around
an activity. Researchers and academics knowing what they want to
achieve and what they hope the outcomes will be should clarify what
evidence could be collected.
The event will provide a platform for some of us who were involved in
the REF2014, and who work in this area, to share their experience of
capturing evidence of research impact across all subjects and
disciplines.
After the workshop, the plan is to create guidance for the sector,
which will explore how best to evidence impact, not just for REF, but
beyond. By bringing a range of people together to explore this issue,
hopefully we can all get closer answering the evidence challenge. We
encourage people to participate in these discussions, and invite
comments on this post and at the event.
Elizabeth Garcha is the Knowledge Exchange and Impact Manager in the
Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Sheffield, and is the
ARMA Special Interest Group co-champion with Julie Bayley. The views
expressed in this post are, however, personal and do not reflect those
of the University of Sheffield.
Can you prove the impact of your research? | HEFCE blog - Linkis.com
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