7 - Societal Impact

Summary

Introduction

Societal impact is a broad term that describes the impact of research outside academia, defined as ‘an effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia’ in the UK REF (Research Excellence Framework) 2014 (UKRI, 2022). This definition includes cultural, economic, educational, environmental, health, political, social and technological impacts and has been adapted by funding agencies and research institutions. An important element in the understanding of societal impact is change: how does research bring changes to human and social behaviour, professional practices, public policies, health and environmental conditions, welfare and wellbeing and our understanding of cultures, societies and nature.

The original Logic Model Development Guide was published by the Kellogg Foundation (2004) for tracing the policy influences on development and planning and it has been adapted to conceptualise the societal impact of research. The logic model (also known as ‘linear model’) describes the pathway progressing from inputs and research activities, to research outputs (e.g. publications), outcomes and impacts (Penfield et al., 2014). It is a useful visualisation for researchers to envision societal impacts, including the five stages (Figure 7.1):

In reality, however, impact pathways are usually not linear and are dependent on many factors. Based on an analysis of impact case studies collected in 16 European countries, Muhonen, Benneworth and Olmos- Peñuela (2020) developed a typology of 12 impact pathways in four major categories, indicating that impacts can be planned (e.g. anticipation of anniversaries) but can also be accidental (e.g. the development of vaccines for a new disease):

• 1 Dissemination includes the interactive dissemination pathway, where key stakeholders become aware of research findings disseminated through publications, social media, mass media and so on.

• 2 Cocreation includes the collaboration pathway, the public engagement pathway, the expertise pathway and the mobility pathway. These pathways involve working with key stakeholders in creating societal impacts.

• 3 Reacting to societal change includes the ‘anticipating anniversaries pathway’, the ‘seize the day’ pathway, the social innovation pathway and the commercialisation pathway. These pathways illustrate the ways by which research responds to anticipated and unanticipated events, as well as business opportunities.

• 4 Driving societal change includes the ‘research engagement as a key to impact’ pathway, the knowledge ‘creeps’ into society pathway and the building ‘new epistemic communities’ pathway. These pathways show the diffusion of knowledge with both tangible and intangible impacts.