What is the impact of our work?
As an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) investment, we adopt the definition of impact used by ESRC and across UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) as a whole:
“Impact is the demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to society and the economy.”
This includes, for example, informing changes in government policy and public service practice that lead to better social and economic outcomes for people and communities. This impact can be at any geographic level, from the local, to the national and international.
In Scotland, our work is organised around core themes that address key societal challenges. These align with Scotland’s Programme for Government, and wider policy priorities, while remaining responsive to emerging issues.
We collaborate with a diverse range of stakeholders across government, local authorities and the third sector to shape relevant research and provide robust, data-driven evidence for decision-making. We maintain ongoing dialogue with our stakeholders through project advisory groups, bringing together representatives from government, charities, public bodies and the data community. We also host a range of engagement events and share our findings in accessible ways with different audiences.
What types of impact do we aim to have?
As part of ADR UK, we seek to maximise value from administrative data access, linking, and research across the ‘Five Ps’:
- Process: championing a lasting culture change towards closer working between academics and government to routinely share, link and use administrative data for research.
- Policy: influencing government or other public bodies to inform policies, strategies and standards, through understanding and insight gained from our research.
- Practice: influencing public sector and other professionals to change or maintain the way they deliver public services, informed by an understanding of ‘what works’ provided by our research.
- People: the tangible, real world improvements to the outcomes and quality of life of individuals and communities that may stem from the changes to policy and practice our research stimulates.
- Potential: our work creates both sustainable linked administrative datasets, and sustainable understanding of the data and what it can tell us. These can be accessed by other researchers in future, enabling them to create further impact on policy, practice and people.
The 'ADR UK and Impact' paper contains a fuller description of how we define, categorise and maximise our impact.
Explore the case studies below to see how our research is informing policy and practice.
