The university support services that help demonstrate research impact

In the past few decades, demonstrating research impact has become increasingly important – not only for accountability and funding reasons, but also for institutions to show their communities how their research impacts society. Traditionally, this responsibility has fallen on the researchers themselves, who self-assess and communicate their impact. However, institutions are now recognising – or being pushed to recognise – their role in supporting researchers amid growing pressure to evaluate and provide evidence of research impact.

In some countries, institutional support services are already on the rise. For example, in the UK, national assessment structures, such as the Research Excellence Framework, emphasise impact. In other contexts, such as France – where our institution is based – there is still room for improvement in building and advancing these services. 

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Based on our continuing efforts and experiences, here are some key institutional services that help researchers and the whole community to improve and demonstrate research impact, through tailored tools and resources. 

Library services

Although researchers often use accounts on platforms such as Google Scholar and ResearchGate to track their citations and academic impact, libraries also have been important to track impact through bibliometrics and citations, and share research articles in institutional repositories. 

However, their role has been changing with the rising emphasis on research impact. This means going beyond the traditional approach. Consider using your university’s library service to: 

• promote the visibility of research and researchers through data visualisation tools 
• adopt open research policies and access training on open-access practices through workshops and visual guides 
• showcase not just traditional research outputs (eg, journal articles) but also non-traditional ones such as policy briefs, public engagement activities, codes and datasets
• collaborate with fellow researchers to assist them in finding and accessing necessary resources and guidance
• engage with other researchers and participate in research projects aimed at improving library functions and services. 

Knowledge exchange and transfer services

Knowledge exchange and transfer services act as a bridge between researchers and diverse communities, maximising social impact through increased engagement. These services can provide support for researchers who might not feel confident engaging directly with external stakeholders. Some activities of these services include:

• establishing long-term partnerships and networks with policymakers, businesses, associations and communities
• sharing research-driven insights and briefings with stakeholders 
• helping researchers align their work with policies that aim to tackle societal challenges by leveraging long-term relations with policymakers and stakeholders
• training researchers to develop their skills for participatory research practices to engage effectively with communities
• facilitating stakeholder feedback to improve the impact of research activities and outcomes.

Research impact officers

Research impact officers often help researchers to write impact statements and analyse the overall research impact of the universities through different frameworks depending on the institutions’ needs. For example, we have formed a Research Impact Observatory, where we:

• work closely with researchers to identify their needs so that we can develop our services accordingly (such as organising workshops on topics they see relevant)
• assist researchers in drafting ex-ante impact statements for funding applications
• make impact of research visible through interviews, document analysis and visualisation tools adopting qualitative approaches
• develop frameworks and tools to assess impact and guide researchers in writing their impact narratives
• create ethical guidelines to encourage reflexivity regarding societal impact and socio-political dimensions of that impact.

Science communicators

When we talk about “impact”, one of the first things that comes to mind is the dissemination of publications and research results. Researchers often share their work on social media, with platforms like Twitter (now X) being a popular choice. Recently, Bluesky has been gaining traction among academics for disseminating research. However, if communicating research isn’t your strong asset, sharing  online comes with risks – especially for those working on sensitive topics that may expose them to harassment. 

In such cases, communication experts with experience in reporting on science can help you navigate these issues. A science communicator can provide support by:

• collaborating with researchers to disseminate their work in a more clear, concise and context-sensitive manner
• engaging audiences through visuals, interactive content and gamification to make research accessible
• addressing sensitive topics by employing strategies such as anticipating potential reactions and misconceptions, and responding to audience questions – even provocative ones – with evidence-based science and research findings
• sharing not just the research results but also the research processes to inform their audiences about how the science was conducted and promote trust in science.

Institutional support services such as these can reduce the burden on researchers and create a more collaborative community, one that aligns research with societal needs and advances societal impact. While budget constraints and insufficient training pose challenges to developing and expanding these services, their long-term benefits are invaluable to both academic and non-academic communities.

Tugce Ataci is research impact officer at Université Paris-Est Créteil.

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