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IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
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RAND

 

Assessing the impact of arts and humanities research at the University of Cambridge

By: Ruth Levitt, Claire Celia, Stephanie Diepeveen, Siobhan Ni Chonaill, Lila Rabinovich, Jan Tiessen

http://rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR816/

or

http://rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/2010/RAND_TR816.pdf

[full-text, 124 pages]

and

Summary

http://rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/2010/RAND_TR816.sum.pdf

[full-text, 9 pages]

 

This project for the University of Cambridge and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) assesses the impacts of arts and humanities research at the University of Cambridge. Evidence from interviews, a survey of research staff and detailed case studies indicates that these disciplines already have a broad range of impacts. Many of these can be observed and described, while others are harder to define. This existing level of impact by the arts and humanities merits wider recognition, though continued efforts by the University and the AHRC remain worthwhile to ensure that it is maintained and, where possible, increased.

 

The study used and adapted the “Payback Framework”, which other universities can use to assess arts and humanities research impact. Benefits of research include:

 

•Academic impacts: knowledge creation that increases understanding, challenges existing understanding or establishes new research trends; also the creation of resources for further research.

•Policy impacts: research that informs new or revised policies (local, national or international), such as school curricula or professional guidelines, or that influences policy makers to make informed decisions.

•Impacts on practice: changes in professional behaviour such as shifts in legal interpretation and judgements, informed by research.

Wider societal and economic impacts: public knowledge creation, preservation of heritage including objects, buildings and languages at risk, leisure and entertainment such as editions of literary works, theatrical productions; economic impacts such income from fees and grants, revenues from publications and exhibitions; and by training productive individuals whose activities are commercially competitive.

 

CONTENTS

Preface........................................................................................................................ iii

Contents.......................................................................................................................v

List of figures............................................................................................................. vii

List of tables ................................................................................................................ix

Executive summary......................................................................................................xi

1.1 Methods of assessing the impact of arts and humanities research .......................xi

1.2 Main messages................................................................................................ xiii

1.3 Shared responsibilities and next steps................................................................xv

Acknowledgements...................................................................................................xvii

CHAPTER 1 Introduction and context .................................................................1

1.1 This project....................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Research impact ................................................................................................ 1

1.3 Knowledge transfer............................................................................................ 2

1.4 Approaches to impact assessment....................................................................... 3

CHAPTER 2 What are the impacts of arts and humanities research?.....................5

2.1 Introduction...................................................................................................... 5

2.2 Impact through teaching ................................................................................... 6

2.3 Academic impact............................................................................................... 7

2.4 Impact on policy ............................................................................................. 12

2.5 Impact on practice........................................................................................... 16

2.6 Impact on public knowledge creation .............................................................. 19

2.7 Impact on the preservation of heritage............................................................. 23

2.8 Impact on leisure and entertainment ............................................................... 25

2.9 Direct economic impact .................................................................................. 27

2.10 Economic impact on the wider society............................................................. 29

2.11 Cross-cutting findings ..................................................................................... 30

CHAPTER 3 Approach and methodology ...........................................................35

3.1 Adapting the Payback Framework for the arts and humanities......................... 35

3.2 Four sources of evidence used to assess the impacts of arts and humanities

research ........................................................................................................... 47

3.3 Conclusions..................................................................................................... 51

CHAPTER 4 Impacts in detail: cases ................................................................... 53

4.1 Introduction.................................................................................................... 53

4.2 The Goethe biography..................................................................................... 54

4.3 Scriptorium: Medieval and Early Modern Manuscripts Online........................ 61

4.4 The history of the Third Reich ........................................................................ 69

4.5 The law on children’s evidence ........................................................................ 75

4.6 Summary......................................................................................................... 81

CHAPTER 5 Shared responsibilities and next steps............................................. 83

REFERENCES ....................................................................................................... 85

Reference list.............................................................................................................. 85

APPENDICES ....................................................................................................... 89

Appendix A List of interviewees ................................................................................. 90

Appendix B Interview protocol for University of Cambridge interviewees.................. 93

Appendix C Interview protocol for external interviews............................................... 95

Appendix D Survey questions .................................................................................... 96

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Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
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