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Research Assessment and Impact

This guide provides information about crafting impact statements and using metrics or other evidence to showcase research performance.

Introduction

This guide is designed to help researchers understand contemporary research assessment practices, including research impact narratives, benchmarking with a variety of metrics and developing your impact strategy. Work though the tabs on the left-hand side to find out more.

Higher education and research assessment

Academics may assess research performance:

  • to showcase research quality
  • in grant, job or promotion applications
  • to identify high quality journals and publishers
  • to assess a publishing strategy for research readership, citations and potential influence
  • to identify collaborators, workplaces and/or influential career paths to emulate.

While universities may assess research performance:

  • to comply with government requirements
  • to build reputation
  • to secure funding and/or partnerships
  • to facilitate recruitment of high-performing staff and students
  • in internal academic promotion or award/recognition rounds.

Australia's changing research assessment environment

Research assessment practices are changing within Australia. The Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA) was commissioned by the Office of the Chief Scientist to undertake a review of how research assessment affects research culture and the careers of Australian researchers across the research and innovation system. Download the 2023 report:

ACOLA has identified six pillars of modern research assessment to improve the practices in Australia moving forward:

ACOLA the pillars of modern research assessment. The outside circle contains leadership, transparency, integrity, equity and diversity, collegiality and collaboration.The inner circle contains valid, accurate information and reliable, consistent assessments.

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