We are planning to change our application form and case for support requirements to address the issue of the potential economic impact of research projects. All the research councils are making these changes, and EPSRC will implement them from 21 April 2009.
Summary of changes
The beneficiaries section of the application form will be replaced with two new sections:
- Impact summary – explaining who may benefit from the research, how they may benefit and what will be done to make sure they have the opportunity to benefit.
- Academic beneficiaries – explaining how the research will benefit other researchers in the field.
You will need to write a new impact plan of up to two pages in addition to the case for support. The plan expands on the information in the impact summary.
There will also be changes to our reviewer form and panel process to take account of the new information provided in applications.
Why
One of our goals is to make sure that the world-leading research we support has a positive impact across all areas of society. We aim to support researchers in exploiting potential benefits of their work, and must demonstrate these wide-ranging impacts as part of the ongoing case for sustained science and engineering funding.
What do we mean by 'economic impact'?
Economic impact covers a broad range of areas and benefits. The Research Councils description is:
“The demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to society and the economy. This accords with the royal charters of the councils and with HM Treasury guidance on the appraisal of economic impact. Impact embraces all the extremely diverse ways in which research-related knowledge and skills benefit individuals, organisations and nations by fostering global economic performance, and specifically the economic competitiveness of the UK; increasing the effectiveness of public services and policy; and enhancing quality of life, health and creative output.”
Our aim is not to change the type of research you do, but to encourage you to think about the potential impact of your research at the time of planning it. We're not expecting every proposal to have an obvious impact. It's quality of argument, realistic assessment of potential impacts and timescale (that could be from 5 to 50 years) that will be considered.
Quality of research remains the key criterion of funding but these changes will give applicants a further opportunity to demonstrate the importance of their work and to ask for resources to support impact and dissemination routes.
What you'll need to do
If you're preparing a proposal that you will be submitting after 21 April, you'll need to prepare an impact plan (up to two pages) and fill in the new sections of the application form that will be available through the research councils' joint electronic submission system (Je-S) from 21 April. We're publishing all the guidance now so that you can see the details of you will need to do.
More information
If you have any other questions, please contact Susan Morrell (01793 444462).