From research impact to research VALUE

I2S Research Fellow Dr Ruth O'Connor and I2S Knowledge Translation and Research Exchange Lead Dr Kirsty Jones led a multi-year research effort involving academic and professional staff from every College across the Australian National University to understand what 'research impact' really means. The findings: The globally popular focus on 'research impact' limits collaboration, innovation and public value delivery. A paradigm shift to creating 'research value' promotes collaboration, gives research room to breathe and delivers public benefits over time.

Read the full article here. Get the highlights here

It’s been a long and educational journey started during COVID when a group of us decided we wanted to learn how researchers and professional staff from across disciplines achieve “research impact.” 
We were fortunate to receive seed funding from ANU College of Asia & the Pacific & National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health to pursue this. We concluded that the very idea of impact as currently constructed is problematic. Why?

🟧 The markers of impact are often a poor match with what researchers and research users value.
🟧 Processes of research including teaching can have their own value, but we are output and outcome focussed.
🟧 We’re encouraged to compete rather than collaborate despite collaboration in many forms being critical to achieving positive change.
🟧 There is a focus on auditing what we do rather than learning how we can better contribute to the public good.

We describe a research value alternative that is more flexible, people-centred & focused on what is valuable about our work. Specifically: 
🟣 Move from standard impact definitions to co-defining research value. A research value approach invites researchers and partners to define what matters most in each specific context
🟣 Recognise the value of research processes and unpredictable outcomes. Acknowledging that value can develop across the whole lifecycle of inquiry rather than only at planned or measurable endpoints
🟣 Recognise the importance of research collaboration. A research value approach makes collaborative labour visible by recognising that value is often created through relationships — not just outputs.
🟣 Move from an audit culture to one of learning through evaluation. Rather than asking researchers simply to prove what they have achieved, a research value approach supports them to improve how they generate public benefit over time.

Many thanks to all the folk from ANU -past and present - who shared their experiences and perspectives about trying to make a positive difference through research 🙏 . Onward!
 

citation: Ruth O'Connor, Sejul Malde, A. Wendy Russell, Maya Haviland, Kate Bellchambers, Kirsty Jones, Ginny M. Sargent, Sara Bice (2026). From ‘research impact’ to ‘research value’: a new approach to support research for societal benefit. Research Evaluation, Volume 35, 2026, rvag002, https://doi.org/10.1093/reseval/rvag002