Building the concept of research impact literacy- FREE access to article until Dec 31st

Bayley, J.E and Phipps, D. (2019) Building the concept of  research impact literacy, Evidence & Policy, vol 15, no 4, 597–606,  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1332/174426417X15034894876108

 

Research impact is being recognized as crucial in academia and is being incorporated into its processes. Now it is more important than ever to understand how to assess impact. In Julie Bayley and David Phipps’ paper, Building the concept of research impact literacy, they tackle and reflect on this subject.  Drawing from extensive experience supporting impact (UK) and knowledge mobilization (Canada), the authors discuss ‘impact literacy’ as a central concept to impact practice and as a method to support the emerging practice of impact at an individual and institutional level.

This article presents a description of the elements involved in research impact:

  • the ‘how’, the practices that create impact
  • the ‘what, the identification, assessment, evidencing and articulation of impact endpoints
  • the ‘who’, successful integration of the above by practitioners of research impact

Impact literacy is identified as the intersection of these elements. Bayley and Phipps dive deeper into the understanding of impact and its associated processes. Knowing how impact ‘works’ is central for guiding research impact processes and supports the people that are involved in it. Opportunities to improve impact literacy are also presented in this article.

As an early holiday present, Evidence and Policy has made this article available for FREE until December 31, 2020. Check out this article while you can, it is a quick and easy read with some compelling and thoughtful insights. Once you are done reading this article, you can learn more from the recent Extending the Concept of Research Impact Literacy paper published on Emerald Open Research.

Happy reading!