Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - RMZ

Principal Investigator: Stephan Gauch

Many governments are showing a political commitment to research impact in their respective environments by investing in research evaluation initiatives at different scales. Often the initiatives are characterised by pragmatism, with little attention to underlying value judgements. This creates an urgent need for comparative work with a strong theoretical and empirical basis to study the effects of national evaluation initiatives around impact and societal value. The project will address this need through a multi-country and multi-method study of research evaluation initiatives in Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom, Poland and South Africa. Bringing together an international and interdisciplinary team, the project seeks to (1) produce a comprehensive cross-national and cross-disciplinary overview of research systems with regard to scientific and societal value;  (2) investigate what is considered worthwhile research within and between countries; (3) compare the effects of different research evaluation initiatives around impact on research practice in different countries; (4) develop an integrated conceptual framework of scientific and societal value to improve science policy and science practice; and (5) advance stakeholders' understanding of the effects of research impact assessment for better future evaluation.

Joint project with:

Kate Williams, The University of Melbourne (Co-Lead)

Marta Wróblewska, SWPS University

Nelius Boshoff, Stellenbosch University

supported by