Abstract

Setting the scene: The growing importance of impact
Impact assessment is a practice that is growing in relevance worldwide. More and more organisations are analyzing their impacts with the objective of getting evidence, understanding and demonstrating the value of their contributions, in particular, contributions to society. In fact, impact is becoming a high priority in the Higher Education landscape both at the EU and global levels. The Pact for Research and Innovation in Europe recognises “value creation and societal and economic impact” as a major principle for EU research and innovation; impact is a key element of the evaluation of Horizon Europe project proposals, as relevant as the excellence and implementation criteria; and the EU granting authority may carry out impact evaluations of the funded actions. Worldwide, research councils are increasingly asking applicants to go further than promising impact for new project initiatives, by planning activities involving stakeholders and providing evidence of impact.

ENLIGHT: an impact-driven European University
In the EARMA conference, authors aim to share, get participants’ views and debate on the comprehensive approach the ENLIGHT University Alliance is adopting to establish itself as an impact-driven European University.

ENLIGHT is one of the 24 European Universities selected under the 2020 Erasmus+ Pilot Call. It is a Europe-wide Alliance composed of 9 public research-intensive universities committed to raise their potential to transform themselves and the Higher Education and Research landscape, as well as to become key actors enabling equitable quality of life and sustainability.
On the one hand, in relation to the R&I dimension, ENLIGHT has launched a series of initiatives aimed to promote a common impact-driven research agenda. After a first landscaping exercise, it has conducted a wide research impact literacy survey assessing 1) how the impact of research beyond the purely academic is being addressed by the 9
ENLIGHT universities and 2) the understanding and importance of research impact for various cohorts (i.e. impact literacy). In parallel, it has developed a repository of international best practices on research impact, is identifying ENLIGHT impact ambassadors, designing impact-training sessions and an impact annual award.
On the other hand, in relation to the education dimension, ENLIGHT is developing a methodological framework and toolkit for impact assessment. In order to test and showcase this methodological approach, ENLIGHT is using a series of pilot cases which are considered to be the most relevant and representative of the Alliance’s impact on the
transformation of Higher Education.

More concretely, during the fifteen-minute discussion tables, we would like to exchange views on the barriers and opportunities to implement common impact-driven research agendas in our European Universities. Administrative and funding bottlenecks, as well as lack of impact literacy could be some of the identified barriers; whilst challenge and mission-driven research, societal engagement and Horizon Europe support could be seen as drivers for common research agendas oriented towards impact. Participants would also be invited to discuss actions to tackle these barriers and maximise the potential offered by the identified opportunities.