• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Vaikuttavuussaatio

Vaikuttavuussaatio

Vaikuttavuussäätiö vahvistaa ja tukee huippututkimuksen vaikuttavuutta ja elinkeinoelämän yhteyksiä.

  • FI
  • EN
  • Front page
  • Funding
    • Open calls
    • Previous calls
    • Projects funded
    • Grant application system
  • Foundation
    • About
    • Annual reports
    • Blog
    • Assessment of Impact
  • Publications
  • Contact

What is research impact?

2.5.2023 by vaikuttavuussaatio

What is research impact?

In my role as CEO for the Finnish Research Impact Foundation, I have often been asked, how do we at the Foundation define and measure impact. It’s a perfectly logical question to ask, but the answer is far from simple and straightforward. Briefly, impact is about pursuing and achieving desired and substantiated change – but that really only provides the basis for more detailed discussion.

FRIF’s mission is to promote the impact of high-level academic research in Finland by supporting research collaboration with business and industry. The fundamental underlying premise is that research can significantly benefit society and that companies have a key role to play in delivering these benefits.

FRIF’s first funding call for research-driven joint projects with industry partners was announced in spring 2020, and the first two-year projects got off the ground by the autumn of the same year. But how to demonstrate or measure the impact of these projects when it was all just getting started?

At the time that we were developing our first funding programme, the thinking was that we should target our funding to areas where it had the greatest potential to deliver the greatest impact. Because cooperation has benefits for both researchers and the business company, and by the same token for academia, industry and society more widely, we decided to focus our attention on supporting that cooperation. FRIF funding was thus to fill a critical gap in the research funding system and to facilitate collaborations in areas that promised significant potential.

This was the basis on which we introduced the Tandem Industry Academia funding scheme, in which interaction and cooperation between industry and academic research is folded into the funding structure. By the end of 2022, FRIF has invested 7 million euros in grants to support a total of 36 such joint projects.

Impact also features prominently in the Parliamentary RDI Working Group’s final report in preparation of the Act on Research and Development Funding – as does the strengthening of RDI cooperation in general. Indeed, impact is listed among one of the ten key principles for the development of the Finnish RDI system. The working group observes insightfully that the impact of public R&D funding must be weighed both from the perspective of complex impact paths and in the light of the benefits achieved from short- and long-term cooperation between different stakeholders. In addition, the working group’s plan stresses that the methods needed for impact assessment should be develop integrally with the broader policy measures and funding instruments.

It is important then to take onboard the criteria of impact when new funding areas and opportunities are being discussed: Where is there untapped potential? How can impact be maximized? How should the benefits of funding to different stakeholders and its long-term impacts be measured and assessed?

Time will tell what kind of outcomes and long-term impacts will emerge from the projects supported by the Finnish Research Impact Foundation. With this in mind the Foundation has moved to hire a new Research Impact Officer: Outi Vanharanta offers some of her views on FRIF’s recent impact survey in this annual report. We have also interviewed key personnel involved in projects that received FRIF funding 2022 in order to canvass their views on the subject of research impact.

  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn

Filed Under: Annual Report 2022

Footer

Vaikuttavuussäätiö

Eteläranta 10 (PL 5), 00130 Helsinki
+358 40 767 1631
petro (at) vaikuttavuussaatio.fi

Laskutustiedot →

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Privacy Policy →

Copyright © 2023 Vaikuttavuussäätiö

By accepting cookies, you make your service experience as smooth as possible. Some cookies are used for statistical purposes and others are related to services provided by third parties. By selecting ACCEPT, you agree to the use of cookies. Read moreSettings REJECTACCEPT
Cookiesettings

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Analytics" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional1 yearThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Necessary" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to store the user consent for cookies in the category "Others".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to store the user consent for cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy1 yearThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin to store whether or not the user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
CookieDurationDescription
bcookie2 yearsLinkedIn sets this cookie from LinkedIn share buttons and ad tags to recognize browser ID.
bscookie2 yearsLinkedIn sets this cookie to store performed actions on the website.
langsessionLinkedIn sets this cookie to remember a user's language setting.
lidc1 dayLinkedIn sets the lidc cookie to facilitate data center selection.
UserMatchHistory1 monthLinkedIn sets this cookie for LinkedIn Ads ID syncing.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_ga_MEFLNRCR5S2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics.
_gat_UA-160708278-11 minuteA variation of the _gat cookie set by Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager to allow website owners to track visitor behaviour and measure site performance. The pattern element in the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to.
_gcl_au3 monthsProvided by Google Tag Manager to experiment advertisement efficiency of websites using their services.
_gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
CONSENT2 yearsYouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
_fbp3 monthsThis cookie is set by Facebook to display advertisements when either on Facebook or on a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising, after visiting the website.
fr3 monthsFacebook sets this cookie to show relevant advertisements to users by tracking user behaviour across the web, on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysA cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSCsessionYSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devicesneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt-remote-device-idneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
AnalyticsSyncHistory1 monthNo description
li_gc2 yearsNo description
Save & Accept