David Phipps is chair of the CERCA International Research Impact Assessment Advisory Board which, according to the post, guided the development of the glossary.
The new document aims to provide a common theoretical foundation for CERCA centres to craft narratives within their research impact strategies.
The glossary outlines the most commonly used terminologies by professionals in research impact assessment, acknowledging that these may vary across countries and practices. It merges the terminology commonly used in Anglo-Saxon countries (such as the UK, Canada, and Australia) with that of continental Europe (primarily but not exclusively in the Netherlands) and, specifically for the CERCA context, the European Commission.
The project, led by David Phipps, Chair of the Research Impact Assessment Advisory Board (RIAAB), was enriched with substantial input, particularly from Dr Paula Adam, Director of the Research Lab at Agència de Qualitat i Avaluació Sanitàries de Catalunya (AQuAS) (Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia). Additionally, it has been complemented by an in-depth training exercise by Julie Bayley, Director of Research Impact and Culture at the Northeastern University, London.
The idea of assessing research impact has gained traction in evaluations across leading research systems (such as the UK’s REF) and has been central to the last two European framework programmes. The Science Law of the Government of Catalonia includes a political commitment to define a comprehensive research impact strategy. To this end, CERCA has been working with its centres to build capacity in this area. On 14 November, the event “The Impact of Impact” will take place at the PRBB, focusing on integrating impact into researchers’ daily work. The event will feature contributions from David Phipps, Paula Adam, Esther de Smet, and David Budtz-Pedersen, Professor of Science Communication and Impact Studies at Aalborg University.