RAND Europe and partners conducted a study to understand the broader societal impacts of research conducted at Scottish higher education institutions, as represented by the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF) Impact Case Studies. The research examines the corpus of 746 impact case studies using a mixed-methods approach that involved topic modelling, geotagging, text searches, bibliometric analysis, infographics and deep dives. 

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Impacts of research from Scottish universities

Analysis of the REF 2021 Impact Case Studies

by Cagla Stevenson, Jonathan Grant, Martin Szomszor, Cecilia Ang, Devika Kapoor, Michelle Qu, Salil Gunashekar

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Executive Summary

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Research Questions

  1. What are Scotland's particular research impact strengths?
  2. How does research collaboration affect Scottish universities' research impacts?
  3. How are Scottish universities contributing to Scotland's National Performance Framework (NPF) outcomes?
  4. What contributions have SFC innovation investments made?

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a system for assessing the range and quality of academic research conducted at universities in the United Kingdom (UK). It is undertaken by the four UK higher education funding bodies: Research England, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) and the Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland (DfE). The SFC commissioned RAND Europe, together with Electric Data Solutions and Different Angles, to conduct a study to review the breadth and depth of Scottish higher education’s research impact beyond academia, as represented in the REF 2021 Impact Case Studies. The corpus of 746 case studies provides a rich resource for analysing the broader societal impacts of Scottish university research, reflecting Scottish higher education research's diversity and reach.

The study provides an in-depth examination of Scottish university Impact Case Studies using a bespoke, mixed-methods research approach that involved a range of quantitative and qualitative analyses such as topic modelling, geotagging, text searches, bibliometric analysis, infographics and deep dives. This report is intended for a range of stakeholders including those interested in higher education research, the REF and research assessment, and more generally to anyone interested in the impact of universities on society.

Key Findings

  • Scottish university research has made a significant societal contribution.
  • Scottish university research has had wide-ranging societal impacts, including in drug discovery and clinical trials, the marine environment, museums and cultural heritage.
  • Scottish universities' research impact pathways are unique and emphasise the complexity and multidisciplinarity of research impacts.
  • Research collaboration plays a significant role in Scottish universities delivering research impact.
  • Scottish universities' research contributes to Scotland’s National Performance Framework (NPF) outcomes, including local impacts around health, education, culture, international and environmental impacts, and links to multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Scottish universities have achieved diverse and significant impacts across their local areas, contributed to global impacts and multiple UN SDGs, and have contributed to environmental impacts, including advancing net-zero goals locally and internationally.
  • Scottish Government innovation investments impact key areas such as aquaculture, healthcare and construction.

Table of Contents

  • Chapter One

    What is this study about?

  • Chapter Two

    What are Scotland's particular research impact strengths?

  • Chapter Three

    How does research collaboration affect Scottish universities' research impact?

  • Chapter Four

    How are Scottish universities contributing to Scotland's NPF outcomes?

  • Chapter Five

    What contributions have SFC innovation investments made?

  • Chapter Six

    Concluding remarks

  • Annex A

    Further information to help interpret this report's results

  • Annex B

    Methodology

Research conducted by

This research was prepared for the Scottish Funding Council and conducted by RAND Europe.

This report is part of the RAND Corporation Research report series. RAND reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.

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