Engaging with research impact assessment for an environmental science case study.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Societal Impact Studies
• Research Policy

Background:

• Research impact assessment is integral to national and international evaluation systems.
• Current methods often prioritize easily quantifiable 'hard' impacts.
• There is a need to incorporate less easily attributable 'soft' impacts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an inclusive impact mapping approach.
• To address limitations in current research impact assessment methods.
• To demonstrate a novel framework for evaluating broader societal, environmental, economic, and cultural benefits.

Main Methods:

• Development of a novel 3-part impact mapping framework.
• Application of the framework to a case study of an environmental initiative.
• Analysis of inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes.

Main Results:

• The proposed 3-part approach effectively maps both 'hard' and 'soft' impacts.
• Demonstrated the utility of the inclusive method in a real-world environmental context.
• Highlighted the dominance of 'soft' impacts often overlooked by traditional assessments.

Conclusions:

• The 3-part impact mapping approach offers a more comprehensive assessment of research impact.
• This inclusive method better captures the full spectrum of research benefits beyond academia.
• The framework provides a valuable tool for research rating systems and initiative evaluation.