Guest Editorial
Research assessment: The impact of impact

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REF and research impact

To meet the REF criteria, the impact must have occurred outside of academia and influence areas such as, the economy, society, quality of life, culture and health care. To illustrate these impacts, universities have had to produce impact case studies; they also have to show how they support the development of impact from their institutions’ research activities.

Research impact accounts for 20% of the total REF profile. When you consider that the results of the exercise enable the allocation of

Nursing and research impact

For nursing research, impact could relate to improved health or welfare outcomes, enhanced professional standards, ethics, guidelines or training, improved quality, accessibility or efficiency of a public service, or changes in professional practice or the development of a new incontinence product.

It is not unreasonable to think that identifying research impact for the nursing profession should be easy; after all we are an applied discipline and it should be possible to trace how the findings

The political need for universities to show impact

In most countries universities rely on public funding for their teaching and research activities. This reliance is lessening with the advent of student fees, and a greater emphasis on philanthropy, industrial funding of research and other income diversification measures. Nonetheless, universities have to prove their value to society and the economy. This is the philosophical basis for the assessment of research impact. It is also indicative of the trend in recent years for vice chancellors and

Be prepared

There are a number of things that nurses should do to prepare for future assessments of research impact. These include: knowing the definition of impact and the types of evidence required to show it; educate end users such as clinicians, companies and health services on impact, why we need their involvement, what that involvement entails; involve patients, carers, and health service managers in research teams so that they can advise on how the study can achieve impact; develop mechanisms for

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Editor's note: Professor McKenna is Chair of UK Government's Research Excellence Framework Panel for Nursing, Allied Health Professions, Pharmacy and Dentistry.

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