Impact in International Affairs

How research data deliver non-academic impacts: A secondary analysis of UK Research Excellence Framework impact case studies

“…This is consistent with the finding of Bonaccorsi et al [ 9 ] that institutional agents (including university, government, NHS and the European Union) played an important role in demonstrating claims that research was causally related to impacts in REF2014 case studies (especially in the social sciences and humanities, which cited more agents per case study than STEM subjects). Louder et al [ 26 ] have argued that it is essential for such process-related impacts to be captured in case studies, and Gow and Redwood [ 27 ] contend that they should have an impact category of their own, namely “procedural impacts”.…”

“…While good data management, open data and streamlined access to data are necessary, further interventions are needed to maximize impact from research data. Extending the use of research data beyond the scope of academia requires not only traditional academic research skills, but also capabilities in public communication, entrepreneurship and boundary-crossing [ 27 ]. The findings show how impact can be facilitated through closer links between government, industry and researchers, capacity building and funding both for researchers to effectively use research data for developing impact and for potential beneficiaries to establish links with researchers and make research data available in usable formats.…”