Research for impact: three keys for research implementation

Abstract

Impact is essential to research, policymaking and implementation. Yet impact is often misunderstood or poorly defined. For public policy scholars, concerns about impact exist largely on two planes. On one level scholars seek to understand the impacts of policy interventions. On a second level scholars aim for their public policy research to generate real-world impact. These two concerns – the “what” and the “how” of research – are often treated separately. In this article, we argue that it is worthwhile joining up these concerns about impact. This is possible, we suggest, through a combination of logic models and a novel rethink of the usual “pathway to research impact”. The article introduces two research co-design tools aimed at improving the likelihood of achieving research impact, while also improving understanding of those impacts: an integrated knowledge translation (IKT)-informed logic model and an implementation science (IS)-derived Pathway to Impact. We draw on a multi-year research co-creation project to develop the Infrastructure Engagement Excellence (IEE) Standards for Australia’s $250 billion infrastructure sector. This co-creation project illustrates the development of the logic model, Pathway to Impact and consequent research co-design process. Together, these tools can support policy scholars’ efforts to produce impactful research while also creating better understanding of policy and practice impacts, and how to achieve them. We conclude that genuine and robust research co-design requires researchers to commit not only to undertaking research with rigor, but also a willingness to dedicate thought and effort to the relationship between what research activities are carried out and how those processes can advance policy and practice outcomes and impact.

Keywords:

• Integrated knowledge translation
• community engagement
• infrastructure
• pathway to impact

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the staff at Melbourne Water for their time and support to develop the IEE standards.We thank the Major Partners of the ANU Institute for Infrastructure in Society: Lendlease, the Queensland Government, Transurban and the Victorian Government for their active participation in and continued support for this work. We also wish to thank all industry participants who took part in the co-design process. Kirsty O’Connell (Industry Director for the Next Generation Engagement Program) provided significant support to recruit industry participants and facilitate their involvement throughout the research. We also thank Assistant Professor Kei Nishiyama (Doshisha University, Tokyo) for his research assistance during the development of the Standards.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Australian National University under the 2018 Futures Scheme.