ZMT - Leibniz Zentrum für Marine Tropenforschung

In an era characterized by rapid technological advancements and complex global challenges, assessing the societal impacts of research has never been more critical. Traditional research metrics focus predominantly on academic outputs like publications and citations. They often overlook the extensive positive impacts that scientific endeavours can have on society. By complementing emphasis towards societal impacts, we can ensure that research aligns more closely with the urgent needs and aspirations of communities, fostering innovation that contributes to public well-being.

Within the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) and as part of the Towards Transformations Working Group, the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) is leading a significant initiative focused on the societal impact assessment of research. This collaboration, involving over 30 institutions and 50 experts across Europe, aims to develop a comprehensive framework for assessing the societal impacts of research.

The framework will be designed to:

1. Enlarging and redefining research evaluation by shedding light on societal benefits driven by research.
2. Promote the integration of societal impact assessment in research agendas by providing diverse ways in which research can benefit society, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and offering clear and transparent criteria for designing research programs with societal impacts and evaluating societal impacts of research.
3. Support policy-making and funding decisions by providing valuable insights for more effective resource allocation and supporting research that addresses societal needs.

We will pilot this framework across diverse research fields and refine it based on feedback from peer review and expert consultations. Finally, we will disseminate the framework and encourage widespread adoption of the framework among research institutions, funding agencies, and policy-making bodies across Europe and beyond.

The CoARA - Societal Impact collaboration represents a significant step forward in ensuring that research aligns with societal needs and priorities. We aspire to enhance the accountability, transparency, and effectiveness of research investments through inclusive and collaborative efforts. We believe our initiative will drive meaningful changes in research cultures within the scientific community and beyond, fostering more impactful and socially relevant scientific programs.

Co-chairs:

Prof. Dr. Raimund Bleischwitz, Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT)

Prof. Dr. Teresa Sordé Martí, Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB)

Dr. Tommaso Ciarli, The United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT)

Laura Niemi, D.Sc, University of Turku

For more information: https://storymaps.com/stories/84448b18c0e84724a081dc542fe24124

Project partners:

1. Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB)
2. The United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT)
3. Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD)
4. Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft (ARL)
5. European Alliance for Social Sciences and Humanities (EASSH)
6. European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU)
7. Federation of Finnish Learned Societies (TSV)
8. Foundation for Polish Science (FNP)
9. Kaunas University of Technology
10. Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER)
11. Leibniz-Zentrum für Agrarlandschaftsforschung (ZALF)
12. Leiden University
13. Linnaeus University
14. Maastricht University
15. Marie Curie Alumni
16. Politechnika Krakowska
17. Research for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE)
18. Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences (FORS)
19. Tampere University : https://www.tuni.fi/en
20. The Research Institute on Sustainable Economic Growth at National Research Council (IRCRES-CNR)
21. Universidad de Murcia
22. Università degli Studi di Firenze
23. Universitat Rovira i Virgili
24. University of Barcelona
25. University of Groningen
26. University of Luxembourg
27. University of Oxford
28. University of Turku
29. University of Valencia
30. University of Zagreb
31. Uniwersytet Jagielloński
32. Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego
33. Young European Research Universities Network (YERUN)
34. Zurich University of Applied Science (ZHAW)
35. European Cooperation in Science and Technology (ENRESSH)
36. Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)