Policy engagement covers the whole range of ways that researchers can influence policy processes and outcomes while policy impact refers to the actual changes that are achieved through policy engagement efforts. Evaluating policy engagement and impact can be challenging.
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Reach and significance are key concepts for articulating different dimensions of research impacts:
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Impact reach can be defined as the number, extent or diversity of individuals, groups or organisations that benefit from research.
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The significance of an impact can be defined as the magnitude, or intensity of the effect of research on individuals, groups, organisations, processes, policies, or other changes.
Policy sprints are focused, time-bound, collaborative methods for developing options that address immediate needs. They draw from design thinking, agile project management, and rapid prototyping to create a flexible environment for exploring policy challenges with various stakeholders, including policy teams, agency staff, and researchers.
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The journey to arrive at substantial policy changes is often long, complex, and full of roadblocks. Isolating the impact of specific research studies or policy engagement interventions within the policy-making process can be particularly challenging due to the many potential contributing factors and variables involved. Research is just one of many elements that shape public policy.
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For example, the impact element of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) in the UK is centred on requiring academics to show how their research has influenced society beyond academia. The retrospective and narrative approach used for making the case that impact has taken place makes this a major focus for evidencing policy impact within the UK context.
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High-quality impact case studies, like those evaluated by Reichard et al. (2020) from REF2014, serve as models. These case studies show how researchers can convincingly demonstrate significant and wide-ranging policy impacts, providing detailed evidence of their influence on policy decisions.
Interview with Steven Hill
The following video features an interview with Steven Hill, Director of Research at Research England. He has deep expertise and experience in research funding and assessment, including significant involvement in the Research Excellence Framework (REF). Hill discusses the importance of evaluating the effects of research on policy and the role that policy impact evidence plays in the REF.