We’re examining the cultural impact of the ‘impact agenda’
UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Grant ES/V004123/1 (2021-2024) awarded to Kate Williams & Jonathan Grant
A comparative study of impact cultures in the field of Artificial Intelligence in the UK, US and Australia
The ‘impact agenda’ describes the emergence of a strong discourse around university research that is expected to produce benefits for society, beyond academia. But how is this discourse around ‘impact’ actually reshaping academic cultures? Has it changed how researchers do their work, and the types of knowledge that get produced? It’s only by examining cultures of impact that we can know how the impact agenda is reshaping academia and changing behaviour in ways we may not expect. It’s time to examine the cultural impact of impact, so we can help create responsible, fair, and equitable research cultures.
The aim of the project is to elucidate discourses around research value are shaping academic cultures. To do this, we’ve narrowed the focus to one multi-impactful research field - Artificial Intelligence (AI). We’re looking at impact cultures in the field by:
Spending time at AI research institutes in each country to see impact cultures at work.
Interviewing AI scientists about the research cultures they are embedded in.
Examining what is written about impact in narratives provided by universities to research assessments.
Three impact cases in AI research
Using a sociological lens, this study will compare the cultures around impact in the field of Artificial Intelligence across three different countries. Looking at one field of research across the US, the UK and Australia allows investigation of the consequences of discourses around ‘research impact’. To that end, with the support of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), King’s College London and the University of Melbourne, we’ve assembled a research team to lead an international comparative study.
Meet our leadership
Dr Kate Williams was awarded the 2021-2024 ESRC grant as Principal Investigator of the ‘Impact of Impact’ project, with a funding allocation of £668,000 ($1.26 million AUD). As Senior Lecturer of Public Policy at the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne and Research Fellow at King’s College London, she studies the intersection of public policy, sociology and research policy, with a focus on cultures of evaluation and emerging methods of research impact assessment. Kate is supported by co-investigators Dr Jonathan Grant, of Different Angles UK, and Alexandra Pollitt (administrative PI), of King’s College London.
Get involved
We’re always looking to grow our network, so if you’ve been involved in impact at the university level (or know someone who has), we’d love to hear from you.
