This paper presents a method for Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) to account for the impact of research. The 36 UAS in The Netherlands aim to contribute to global challenges and pressing social issues through practice-based research. Given this aim UAS have a strong responsibility to account for the impact of their research and to show that the public research money is well spent. This paper shows that none of the existing methods for assessing the impact of research are suitable for the research conducted at Dutch UAS. It offers an alternative approach based on narratives supported by empirical evidence.
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Research conducted by Universities of Applied Sciences (UASs) is frequently driven by professional practice where researchers are challenged with finding solutions to real-life problems. These real-life solutions are significantly enhanced by the participation of stakeholders. Through this inclusion and the resulting interactions, activities, and knowledge transfer, between the stakeholder and research(ers), impacts occur at a micro level. Micro impacts are the normal impacts that occur during the research process through interactions between researchers and stakeholders, that facilitate an unexpected and unplanned effect, be it positive or negative (Lykke et al. 2023, Mapping Research Activities and Societal Impact by Taxonomy of Indicators: Uniformity and Diversity across Academic Fields, Journal of Documentation, 79: 1049–70). Contribution analysis has been recognized as a viable method for evaluating micro impacts. One recognized contribution analysis framework is Kok and Schuit’s (2012, Contribution Mapping: A Method for Mapping the Contribution of Research to Enhance Its Impact, Health Research Policy and Systems, 10: 21) Contribution Mapping. It is also one of the frameworks acknowledged as conforming to several of the recommendations for evaluating UAS research impact. However, to do justice to the nature of Practice Oriented research, a new framework is needed. The purpose of this article is to test how Contribution Mapping works in real-life to answer the question: What can we learn from Contribution Mapping as an impact evaluation tool for a future UAS specific research impact evaluation framework? This article will examine the specificity of UAS research, the relevance of Contribution Mapping for evaluating UAS research, and the theoretical and practical implications of Contribution Mapping. Through inductive analysis conducted on information gleaned from interviews and focus groups, observations, challenges, and limitations are identified, and modifications suggested to take into consideration for a new framework.
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The research group Teaching, Learning & Technology investigates the didactic use of technology in learning processes. In doing so, it looks at themes such as flexibilisation, personalised learning, activating didactics and the effects of the use of technology in educational practice, particularly in higher vocational education. What had not been investigated so far was whether previously conducted research had a demonstrable impact on educational practice. This study is the first phase in providing insight into the impact of research carried out by the Teaching, Learning & Technology (TLT) research group of Inholland University of Applied Sciences. It looks at research carried out between 2010 and 2021. The objective is to describe how impact factors that can be influenced in previous research have been shaped. On the basis of this description, it may be possible to make recommendations to the research group with which the impact of the research it conducts in relation to these factors can be increased. The research question is: How do stakeholders describe the impact of research carried out by the research group Teaching, Learning & Technology in relation to the impact factors that can be influenced with regard to the research, the dissemination and the user value (experienced)? In order to answer this research question, we used a convergent mixed methods design, in which a new conceptual model served as the basis for the analysis of data from the field research. Three types of data were collected, namely a qualitative document analysis (N=31), a survey (N=6) and semi-structured interviews with survey participants (N=4). The study revealed that stakeholders mainly point to the researcher as the primary source of impact. Impact begins and ends with the researcher, especially in the extent to which he or she makes an effort to make the research relevant and in line with questions from the educational practice. We have listed a number of recommendations with regard to the way in which impact can be achieved in future research. These recommendations are mainly aimed at the way in which researchers of the research group can pay attention in a structured way to the design of the collaboration and to the concrete visualisation of expectations and intended impact at an early stage.
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Introduction: In March 2014, the New South Wales (NSW) Government (Australia) announced the NSW Integrated Care Strategy. In response, a family-centred, population-based, integrated care initiative for vulnerable families and their children in Sydney, Australia was developed. The initiative was called Healthy Homes and Neighbourhoods. A realist translational social epidemiology programme of research and collaborative design is at the foundation of its evaluation. Theory and Method: The UK Medical Research Council (MRC) Framework for evaluating complex health interventions was adapted. This has four components, namely 1) development, 2) feasibility/piloting, 3) evaluation and 4) implementation. We adapted the Framework to include: critical realist, theory driven, and continuous improvement approaches. The modified Framework underpins this research and evaluation protocol for Healthy Homes and Neighbourhoods. Discussion: The NSW Health Monitoring and Evaluation Framework did not make provisions for assessment of the programme layers of context, or the effect of programme mechanism at each level. We therefore developed a multilevel approach that uses mixed-method research to examine not only outcomes, but also what is working for whom and why.
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In this article, we describe a study on the impact of an ethics program aimed at strengthening the ethical agency of 15 social workers of three welfare organizations. The goal of the study was to make an inventory of the impact of the program, and to evaluate the relevance of this impact with the help of several stakeholders. The most significant change (MSC) approach was used as a research strategy, though some changes to the approach were made with a view to our research goal. We explain the MSC approach and how we used it in our study design. Further, we describe the research process, answering the question whether our adaptation of the MSC was helpful to inventory the impact of our ethics program and the evaluation of its relevance. The implications of MSC's focus on "most significant" changes and the need for a thorough feedback of the results of the evaluation process in the participating organizations are discussed.
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This paper uses discourse theory to obtain a broader understanding of how research impact of sustainable tourism research develops in the environmental policy domain. Discourse theory shifts emphasis from the substance of science versus policy to the use of science in policy processes and explains the political dimensions of policymaking. We first review a well-documented science-policy gap in sustainable tourism research on climate change to develop an alternative conceptualisation of research impact. Then, using a case study approach, we investigate this framework by evaluating the impact of a PhD thesis about aviation’s global CO 2 emissions on the Dutch aviation policy process. The case study shows research impact is entwined with various other elements, and embedded in a specific governance context. Research influenced contrasting science-policy interactions and contributed to conflicting policy actions and reactions. The impact of research in this case was manifested through the formation and interplay of multiple knowledge objects that were both embraced and marginalised. In settings like this, research is used to legitimise pre-existing policy positions rather than to develop new policies. We discuss the implications of narrow conceptions of research impact. The paper highlights the need for advanced policy analysis in sustainable tourism research.
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IMPACT Europe is een evaluatie-Toolkit die professionals werkzaam op het gebied van het voorkomen en tegengaan van extremisme (hier Counter Violent Evaluation, afgekort CVE genoemd) ondersteunt bij de evaluatie van hun interventies. De tool is ontwikkeld in samenwerking met het Hogeschool Utrecht-lectoraat Kennisanalyse Sociale Veiligheid en is volledig toegankelijk via bijgaande link. Het doel van de IMPACT Europe Toolkit is om professionals te helpen in het ontwerpen en uitvoeren van evaluaties van CVE-interventies. Op dit moment zijn robuuste en rigoureuze evaluaties nog niet de norm in het CVE-veld, terwijl deze evaluaties juist zouden kunnen bijdragen aan het verbeteren van interventies. Daarnaast helpt deze Toolkit professionals bij het ontwikkelen van programma’s die makkelijker te evalueren zijn en waarbij het waarschijnlijker is dat gewenste resultaten worden behaald. De Toolkit bestaat uit drie onderdelen: 1. Evaluation Guide (Evaluatie Gids): dit onderdeel ondersteunt het ontwerpen en uitvoeren van een evaluatie van een CVE-interventie. 2. Interventions Database (Interventie Database): dit onderdeel geeft voorbeelden van bestaande interventies in het CVE-veld. 3. Lessons Learned (Geleerde Lessen): dit onderdeel geeft voorbeelden van CVE-interventies die geëvalueerd zijn en de lessen die uit deze evaluaties getrokken kunnen worden. Onder aan de voorpagina staat vermeld:'This project has received funding from the European Union's Seventh framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 312235' en 'Copyright IMPACT Europe Consortium'.
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Active participation of stakeholders in health research practice is important to generate societal impact of outcomes, as innovations will more likely be implemented and disseminated in clinical practice. To foster a co-creative process, numerous frameworks and tools are available. As they originate from different professions, it is not evident that health researchers are aware of these tools, or able to select and use them in a meaningful way. This article describes the bottom-up development process of a compass and presents the final outcome. This Co-creation Impact Compass combines a well-known business model with tools from design thinking that promote active participation by all relevant stakeholders. It aims to support healthcare researchers to select helpful and valid co-creation tools for the right purpose and at the right moment. Using the Co-creation Impact Compass might increase the researchers’ understanding of the value of co-creation, and it provides help to engage stakeholders in all phases of a research project.
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Aim: To evaluate healthcare professionals' performance and treatment fidelity in the Cardiac Care Bridge (CCB) nurse-coordinated transitional care intervention in older cardiac patients to understand and interpret the study results. Design: A mixed-methods process evaluation based on the Medical Research Council Process Evaluation framework. Methods: Quantitative data on intervention key elements were collected from 153 logbooks of all intervention patients. Qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 19 CCB professionals (cardiac nurses, community nurses and primary care physical therapists), from June 2017 until October 2018. Qualitative data-analysis is based on thematic analysis and integrated with quantitative key element outcomes. The analysis was blinded to trial outcomes. Fidelity was defined as the level of intervention adherence. Results: The overall intervention fidelity was 67%, ranging from severely low fidelity in the consultation of in-hospital geriatric teams (17%) to maximum fidelity in the comprehensive geriatric assessment (100%). Main themes of influence in the intervention performance that emerged from the interviews are interdisciplinary collaboration, organizational preconditions, confidence in the programme, time management and patient characteristics. In addition to practical issues, the patient's frailty status and limited motivation were barriers to the intervention. Conclusion: Although involved healthcare professionals expressed their confidence in the intervention, the fidelity rate was suboptimal. This could have influenced the non-significant effect of the CCB intervention on the primary composite outcome of readmission and mortality 6 months after randomization. Feasibility of intervention key elements should be reconsidered in relation to experienced barriers and the population. Impact: In addition to insight in effectiveness, insight in intervention fidelity and performance is necessary to understand the mechanism of impact. This study demonstrates that the suboptimal fidelity was subject to a complex interplay of organizational, professionals' and patients' issues. The results support intervention redesign and inform future development of transitional care interventions in older cardiac patients.
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Background: Community learning is one approach to promote research competencies and to involve nurses and nursing students in research. This study examines the impact of community learning according to participants-both those inside and outside the community-in a joint nursing research project at a hospital. Method: A qualitative design was se-lected using a participatory approach. Data were col-lected through semistructured interviews, reflections, conversations, and patient input during 2 academic years. Results: Thematic analysis showed 11 themes, which were organized into three clusters: realization, transformation, and influencing factors. Participants perceived changes in practice and described how their perspectives have changed on care, education, and research. Reconsiderations led to some new or revised strategies, and influencing factors were associated with the contemporary context, degree of in-volvement, and design/facilitation. Conclusion: The impact of community learning emerged and extended beyond community boundaries, and the indicated influencing factors must be taken into account.
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