The Research Excellence Framework (REF) was the first exercise to assess the impact of research outside of academia. Impact was defined as \u2018an effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia\u2019.<\/p>\n
As part of the 2014 Research Excellence Framework exercise, UK higher education institutions (HEIs) submitted 6,975 impact case studies demonstrating the impact of their research on wider society.<\/p>\n
These case studies provide a unique and invaluable source of information on the impact of UK research. UK higher education (HE) research has wide and varied benefits on the economy, society, culture, policy, health, the environment and quality of life \u2014 both within the UK and overseas.<\/p>\n
Universities engage with a range of public, private and charitable organisations and local communities. Analysis found that these wider impacts and benefits often stem from multidisciplinary work.<\/p>\n
Publication patterns in research underpinning impact in REF2014<\/a>\u00a0describes patterns in research outputs submitted by UK higher education institutions to the 2014 Research Excellence Framework and to previous Research Assessment Exercises (RAEs).<\/p>\n The impact case study database<\/a> is a searchable tool that will make the impact case studies widely available and will enable analysis and automated text mining.<\/p>\n The licence arrangements relating to the use of this database can be accessed on the National Archive<\/a>.<\/p>\n An initial analysis of the REF impact case studies is captured in the report, The nature, scale and beneficiaries of research impact<\/a>.<\/p>\n The REF impact case studies were analysed by Digital Science, a division of Macmillan Science and Education, working in conjunction with its sister company Nature Publishing Group and the policy institute at King\u2019s College London. This analysis was co-funded by the UK Funding Bodies, Research Councils UK and Wellcome Trust.<\/p>\nThe REF impact case study database<\/h2>\n
Maps of impact case studies<\/h2>\n