Challenges in Research Assessment:

A funder’s view

Challenges in Research Assessment:

A funder’s view (ish)

Wellcome Trust

Spend approximately £700 million on research per year on biomedicine & societal context

Wide range of funding schemes supporting people, places, teams, innovation

Funders’ challenge part 1: who & what to fund?

Person - track record; potential

Idea – fit with strategic focus? excellent? new thinking?

Environment/place

Team/collaborators

who & what to fund: toolkit

Challenge of authorship

Funders’ challenge part 2: did we make right decision?

Understanding ‘scientific’ progress & impact

Should we fund further?

Did it help to achieve organisation’s goals & strategy?

did we make right decision: toolkit

Markers of research progress & impact (qualitative & quantitative)

Measure of use & re-use

Use of proxies

Challenge of impact

Impact is defined as ‘any effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia’HEFCE 2014

Impact is defined as ‘any effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia’HEFCE 2014

Challenge of impact

do we measure what counts or count what we can measure?

o Building infrastructure to provide ‘evidence’ & insight

Automated ‘evidence’ gathering

System connectors

Standards & definitions

o Ability to consider wider range of research contributions & products: ‘beyond authorship’

o Research on research (‘science of science’)

Steps towards more greater insight …