Stifled by impact

Peter Taylor-Gooby’s admission that his research has had minimal social impact is refreshing (“Professor turns to novel writing as his research ‘had no impact’”, News, 1 September). I wonder if one of the reasons why today’s social scientists have had such limited positive impact on society is because of the stultifying and deradicalising demands of research assessment exercises. If Taylor-Gooby (among others) had not been so distracted, might we have had the benefit of his “imaginative” thinking long before now?

Robert M. Page
Birmingham

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