Research Impact Framework Launch Summary and Survey

Take the survey

We are asking AAMRI members to complete a survey on their anticipated use of the AAMRI Research Impact Framework and what support may be required to implement the Framework at their organisation.

The AAMRI Research Impact Group will use the feedback from this survey to inform future events relating to the Framework, including webinars, and building the Community of Practice.

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Research Institutes Australia-wide collaborate to release the AAMRI Impact Report

As a sector, we have taken a crucial first step towards better communicating the value of our research to funders and the broader community, and even more importantly, improving our own ability to support research to ensure impact is achieved.

From discovery research to clinical trials, the large scope of medical research in Australia has made it difficult to standardise an approach to measuring its impact on health and the community. The AAMRI Research Impact Framework and Report was produced to fill this gap.

Research Impact is defined by the NHMRC as the verifiable outcomes that research makes to knowledge, health, the economy and/or society. Impact is the effect of the research after it has been adopted, adapted for use, or used to inform further research. There has been an absence of common impact language within the sector – until now.

This Project was an Australian first and involved a range of stakeholders from research institutes, funders, government, industry, and the community who have given their input to help develop the AAMRI Research Impact Framework.

All 57 members of the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI) were invited to participate in a series of Delphi surveys, which allowed consensus to be reached on just which indicators research institutes should use to assess impact. With 32 AAMRI member organisations taking part, participants indicated agreement or strong agreement (>80%) for the inclusion of 87 indicators in the Framework.

The indicators included in the Framework can be used at different stages on the impact pathway to demonstrate progress towards impact or having achieved impact, and organisations may use various methods to verify evidence of achieving these as relevant to them.

Not all the indicators included in the Framework may be applicable to every organisation or type of research, but this is a crucial first step towards creating a common understanding of the impacts of medical research.
This Project was made possible thanks to funding from Ian Potter Foundation and by the commitment of volunteers from various organisations who formed the core working group or participated in advisory committees.

Bringing so many diverse organisations together to reach a consensus on impact language has not been achieved before in Australia and is even rare on the world stage. It is because those involved understand the importance of impact measurement, not just for reporting to stakeholders but for advancing their research, that this collaboration was so successful.

 

About the Collaborators

This project was designed and guided by the AAMRI Research Impact Working Group. The group consists of six medical research institutes that are passionate about understanding the practices and indicators that support continual improvements in research translation and research impact across the medical research sector: Telethon Kids Institute, Children’s Medical Research Institute, Mater Research Institute, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. The project was made possible by funding provided by the Ian Potter Foundation.

 

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