Science of Science

RAND Europe has developed innovative methods to advise policymakers about investing in scientific and social science research. These methods include:

  • interpreting bibliometric data
  • understanding the ‘paybacks’ of research to society
  • creating case studies, and
  • assessing returns on investment.

Our research focuses on the humanities, biomedical research, higher education and many other fields.

Featured Research

  • Man arranging wooden blocks with hand-drawn yellow lightbulbs, photo by Gaj Rudolf/Adobe Stock

    What is the future of UK research and assessment?

    Although technology, policy, and the international environment are changing the UK research landscape, and many researchers expect to produce more diverse forms of outputs in the future, they also think journal articles and conference contributions will remain the dominant form of output.

Selected Research

  • Impact of a water drop, photo by Davide Restivo/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

    Helping UK Water Industry Research assess its research impact

    16 Mar 2020

    Researchers conducted a series of interviews with UKWIR member organisations and developed recommendations to help the members better understand how to measure research impact in the water sector, and how to create a framework for measuring impact.

  • Pregnant woman visiting doctor for checkup, photo by Halfpoint/Adobe Stock

    Understanding the UK's pregnancy research needs and priorities

    14 Jan 2020

    A review of the research needs and expenditure on pregnancy in the UK found that £51 million is invested in pregnancy research each year. By contrast, the NHS spends £5.8 billion on pregnancy-related care each year and in 2018/19 litigation claims totalled £2.5 billion.

  • clockwork evaluation wheel

    Designing an evaluation framework for the NHMRC

    17 Jun 2019

    The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Australia, have established a new grant program meant to emphasize fairness, reduce burden, and boost innovation and creativity in research funding processes. Researchers developed an evaluation framework and set of metrics to monitor the performance of the program.

  • Businessman and businesswoman discussing hanging paperwork in office

    Developing tools to assess research evidence for policymakers and practitioners

    01 Mar 2019

    Researchers developed recommendations for the College of Policing and the Education Endowment Foundation on how to assess evidence from research studies and make evidence-informed recommendations for practitioners and policymakers.

  • Group of people providing input

    Enabling public contributions to health research

    15 Feb 2019

    Patient and public involvement (PPI) in health research can take place at different levels and across stages of a research cycle. Despite challenges, the growing focus on and increased commitment to PPI over the past decade has revealed some key enabling mechanisms and rewards.

  • Organising for excellence

    15 Feb 2019

    An exploration and review of international evidence around best practices in organisational design for research funding bodies has helped to inform the design of the umbrella organisation UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The research also contributed to decisions around governance structures and strategy.

  • Bright idea concept with light bulb

    How to translate research and drive innovation

    13 Dec 2018

    To ensure the continued excellence of the UK’s research and innovation (R&I) base, the existence and continuity of funding is key. Additionally, numerous interacting conditions are needed to translate research and stimulate innovation, but there is no ‘magic formula’ for these conditions to be implemented.

  • Innovation concept with augmented reality

    Measuring the distribution of benefits of research and innovation

    13 Dec 2018

    Economic analyses offer a compelling case for the benefits that research and innovation (R&I) can deliver, but R&I also offers numerous benefits that are either not easily monetised or not well understood. These include benefits to culture, public engagement, social cohesion and the environment.