March 2021
This month reports summarises four articles that in/directly relate to the impact of universities. The first article represents a literature review over how to evaluate research impact of environmental science (Louder et al, 2020). The second paper studied the research impact evaluation discourses present within the REF 2014 impact case studies (Wróblewska 2021). The third study is by Meyer & Land (2005) and investigates the ideas of ‘threshold concepts’ and their consequences for teaching and learning. The last paper investigates the role of proximity for university-industry collaborations (Alpaydin & Fitjar 2020).
1. They found a great variety of different approaches how to evaluate research impact, showcasing that “how you define impact determines how you measure it.” (p. 263). The promote an understanding that awareness of the differences and epistemological clarity helps capturing the impact of conceptual, co-production of knowledge, relationship building and identification of appropriate indicators for these categories. Traditional indicators such as citations or journal reputation were deemed as insufficient to indicate the causality of research impact.
2. The discourse analysis included the detailed study of a sub-selection of REF 2014 impact case studies (n = 78), and interviews with their authors (n = 25). She identified four different discrete stages of how the discourse around research impact introduced a new form of governmentality. First, it established a problematization around the notion of impact itself positioning it as a purpose for research. Thereafter, there was an establishment of university infrastructure to meet the creation and evaluation of impact claims. Such structural changes then created a new genre of writing impact case studies and finally in their totality have establishment a new form of ‘subjectivation’ in what it means to be an academic. Thereby, the emergent cultural regime around research impact is changing an entire discourse.
3. ‘Threshold concepts’ are defined as ideas that open up new discourses spaces for the learner. Thereby the learner makes new connections hitherto not done, and this process can be exhilarating, useful but also troublesome as it may necessitate self-revaluation. Further troubling are two aspects, firstly plain mimicry can generate the perception of understanding without any of the gained sophistication in understanding. Secondly, the acquisition of threshold concept can imply a hierarchical/objectivist understanding, which not necessarily has to be the case. Taking these epistemological and ontological challenges serious, represents an appreciation of the limitations of threshold concepts as an idea in and of itself.
4. They surveyed 1201 businesses in Norway in regard to their University-Industry Collaboration (UIC). Their results indicated that the majority of interactions was geographically bounded to local and regional universities. However, the importance of proximity differs depending of the nature of the UIC. “Compared to competence enhancement UICs, cognitive and institutional proximity matter more for knowledge exploration collaborations, while geographical proximity is less significant. Social proximity is perceived as more important by firms engaging in knowledge exploitation interactions. For advice-seeking interactions, organizational proximity is less important.” (p. 2).
1. Louder, E., Wyborn, C., & Bednarek, A. (2021). A synthesis of the frameworks available to guide evaluations of research impact at the interface of environmental science, policy and practice. Environmental Science & Policy, 116, 258-265.
2. Wróblewska, N. (2021). Research impact evaluation and academic discourse. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 8(1), 1-12.
3. Meyer, J. H., & Land, R. (2005). Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (2): Epistemological considerations and a conceptual framework for teaching and learning. Higher education, 49(3), 373-388.
4. Alpaydın, U. A. R., & Fitjar, R. D. (2020). Proximity across the distant worlds of university–industry collaborations. Papers in Regional Science.
