Defining Research Impact

Intro

Defining Research Impact outlines the importance of rethinking the impact of research beyond the walls of academia. This course is designed to give researchers the skills and knowledge they need to enhance the reach and application of their research in terms of tangible and measurable societal benefit. 

This course is currently in development and scheduled to open for enrolment in August 2026. 

Contact us for pre-enrolment or notification of publication.

What You’ll Learn

This course provides researchers with a practical toolkit which they can use to maximise their chances for impact within one or more sectors and industries. Learners will explore the importance of communicating wider research impact in terms of funding opportunities, observe examples of different impact types across sectors, and learn how to align with their institution’s long-term impact goals.

3. Aligning with Your Institution’s Long-Term Goals

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

✓ Define research impact and its value in terms of societal benefit and funding opportunities.

✓ Differentiate between impact types across sectors: instrumental, conceptual, and capacity-building.

✓ Evaluate how open research practices can enhance the reach and application of their research.

✓ Identify and articulate their institution’s long-term goals and strategies relevant to research impact.

Who It’s For

This course is designed for researchers with either published research or working research projects. The course is relevant for researchers across all career stages who seek to develop their skills in communicating the wider societal value of their research. The courses are also relevant to research offices or institutional research support stakeholders tasked with communicating the wider value of their institution’s research output.

Get Prepared

No prior knowledge of research impact strategies is needed to complete this course. The course is fully self-paced and can be followed at learners’ own pace. The course includes several opportunities for in-course practice through case study evaluation and personal reflection activities. These activities can be completed on a mobile device, tablet, or laptop.

Course Expert(s)

Dr. Andrea Chiarelli

Dr. Chiarelli is the Associate Director at Research Consulting, where he specialises in open research, scholarly communication and research integrity, having delivered over 150 projects for major organisations. He further serves on Dryad’s Board of Directors and DOAJ’s Strategy Advisory Board. Dr. Chiarelli has worked with most stakeholder groups in higher education and research, including universities, membership organisations, funders, publishers and vendors. He holds an Engineering PhD, an MBA and is a Chartered Manager.

Dr. Emily Choynowski

Dr Emily Choynowski is the Chief Academic Officer at Knowledge E, overseeing the Research Development and Dissemination division. She also serves as Director of Operations for the Forum for Open Research in MENA. In addition, as an independent scholar, Emily regularly publishes in leading journals, presents at conferences, and serves as Editorial Board Member for a Scopus-indexed journal, a university press, and an academic book series. Emily also sits on the Boards of various international scholarly associations and societies working to advance research development and promote equitable research practices.

Programme

Generating Research Impact is a three-course programme that guides researchers through the process of preparing, monitoring and communicating their research in terms of tangible and measurable societal benefit beyond the walls of academia.

From evaluating bibliometric indicators and applying ethical visibility strategies to communicating how research can affect everyday life, the programme provides a comprehensive roadmap to support researchers in moving beyond academic outputs to documenting the real-world impact of their research.

Generating Research Impact includes the following courses:

1. Maximising Your Research Visibility

2. Defining Research Impact

3. Preparing for Research Impact