Case Studies

The NSI case studies sketch some of the most prominent and recent examples of science policies around the world that explicitly target the societal impact of research, including assessment frameworks and funding policies. With these case studies we aim to present a variety of instruments together with the specific contexts and debates of their evolution.

1. The Research Excellence Framework (United Kingdom)

Succeeding the periodic British Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) from 1986-2008, the Research Excellence Framework (REF) represents a modified evaluation mechanism for British university research. These evaluations are quasi-mandatory for British universities if they want to receive considerable shares of their basic funding. REF requires from selected university research units to craft impact case studies (ICSs) that show how their research unfolds impact on society.

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2. The Engagement and Impact Assessment 2018 (Australia)

The Australian Engagement and Impact Assessment (EI) is a national framework aiming to measure beneficial interaction between researchers and research end-users as well as the impact of Australian research beyond academia. It was established as part of the National Science and Innovation Agenda (NISA) launched in 2015 and took place for the first time in 2018. It is planned to be repeated regularly every six years.

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3. The NWO Impact Outlook Approach (The Netherlands)

The Impact Outlook Approach is part of the NWO’s ambition to implement knowledge utilisation as a priority in their research agenda and funding strategy. By contrast to the NWO’s other impact approaches, it targets excellent curiosity-driven research. Researchers applying for funding through the Open Competition NWO-Science, NWO-SSH and Research Infrastructure have to state if they are looking for scientific and/or societal impact and explain their choice as a funding criterion.

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4. The Strategy Evaluation Protocol (The Netherlands)

The Strategy Evaluation Protocol (SEP) describes the aims and methods used in order to assess research at Dutch universities as well as at NWO and KNAW institutes every six years. The evaluation is based on three criteria: quality of research; social relevance of research; viability of the research group. The 2021-2027 protocol has been renamed the Strategy Evaluation Protocol to emphasise that research is evaluated in the context of a research unit’s self-defined goals and strategy.

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