Abstract:Impact is essential to research, policymaking and implementation. Yet impact is often misunderstood or poorly defined. For public policy scholars, concerns about impact exist largely on two planes. On one level scholars seek to understand the impacts of policy interventions. On a second level scholars aim for their public policy research to generate real-world impact. These two concernsthe "what" and the "how" of researchare often treated separately. In this article, we argue that it is worthwhile joining up t… Show more
“…Alternatively, large corporations might use single researchers as an extension of their employees. To this extent, this study contributes to the already-developing literature on impactful research [12], [44].…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 81%
“…This is certainly one of the most significant outcomes of prioritizing communication. If nothing else, this change will mean implementing new mechanisms and making investments in training to support the transition of activities from "what" to "how" [44]. This final proposition affects the area of anchored institution management.…”
Section: A Challenges For An Anchored Legitimacy and Managerial Impli...mentioning
Higher education institutions (HEIs) often serve as the social glue of a community. They are place-bound institutions with strong regional ties that typically play a crucial role in shaping the socioeconomic development of local ecosystems. Although their role as anchor institutions-large institutions that impact community life and economies over generations-is clear, there are few studies on how these universities actually evolve. How do their structures change over time? And what, if any, are their strategies for maintaining their status as an anchor institution? This research presents a longitudinal case study spanning a seven-year period in the life of the University of Turin (UniTo), a large generalist university in Northern Italy. During this period, UniTo successfully transitioned from an ivory tower into an entrepreneurial university and a civically engaged institution embedded in its local region. Our analysis identifies the main challenges in evolving from one model to the other, along with the strategies used by UniTo to both face these challenges and maintain its status as an anchor institution. Our findings show that, in the HEI sector, an institution's organizational structures need to be dynamic. Structured, top-down relationships, such as those between the institution and the municipality, need to work in tandem with spontaneous, bottom-up one-to-one relationships. Overall, what emerges from this research is a new concept of legitimacy, called anchored legitimacy, that is built on both spontaneity and structuralism and persists over decades and centuries.
“…Alternatively, large corporations might use single researchers as an extension of their employees. To this extent, this study contributes to the already-developing literature on impactful research [12], [44].…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 81%
“…This is certainly one of the most significant outcomes of prioritizing communication. If nothing else, this change will mean implementing new mechanisms and making investments in training to support the transition of activities from "what" to "how" [44]. This final proposition affects the area of anchored institution management.…”
Section: A Challenges For An Anchored Legitimacy and Managerial Impli...mentioning
Higher education institutions (HEIs) often serve as the social glue of a community. They are place-bound institutions with strong regional ties that typically play a crucial role in shaping the socioeconomic development of local ecosystems. Although their role as anchor institutions-large institutions that impact community life and economies over generations-is clear, there are few studies on how these universities actually evolve. How do their structures change over time? And what, if any, are their strategies for maintaining their status as an anchor institution? This research presents a longitudinal case study spanning a seven-year period in the life of the University of Turin (UniTo), a large generalist university in Northern Italy. During this period, UniTo successfully transitioned from an ivory tower into an entrepreneurial university and a civically engaged institution embedded in its local region. Our analysis identifies the main challenges in evolving from one model to the other, along with the strategies used by UniTo to both face these challenges and maintain its status as an anchor institution. Our findings show that, in the HEI sector, an institution's organizational structures need to be dynamic. Structured, top-down relationships, such as those between the institution and the municipality, need to work in tandem with spontaneous, bottom-up one-to-one relationships. Overall, what emerges from this research is a new concept of legitimacy, called anchored legitimacy, that is built on both spontaneity and structuralism and persists over decades and centuries.
“…As a method, participatory research has existed since the 1940s and can be characterised generally by the focus on research impact on policy as well as a participatory and reflective approach to research. Researchers active in co-research describe the complexity and messiness of engaging organisations and managing interactions with stakeholders and influential actors (Whitzman 2017;Jones and Bice 2021). Partnerships created through combined funding arrangements and commitments linked to administration priorities may involve compromises in terms of agendas as well as the interpretation and use of evidence.…”
Section: Co-research On Urban Policy Matters (Participatory Action Re...mentioning
Impact-what does it mean and how do we know what "counts"? We all want to do work that has an impact, and this is true of all sectors, whether that be government, public, private, not-forprofit, university, education, or community stakeholders. However, understandings of what it means in practice, what it takes to achieve, and how it can be tracked and calculated remain largely unclear and contested. While the rhetoric of "impact" and the "impact agenda" has become popular in the last decade or so, our practice and research appear to be lagging. In this introductory paper to the special issue on Impact into practice: Demonstrating applied public administration and policy improvement we outline how systems thinking approach can aid understanding of research and education impact on government practice. A systems approach reveals where reliance exists, where responsibility falls, and where new and deepened relationships are needed. While more needs to be done by all parties to acknowledge the collective nature of impact and the necessary reliance on one another, we argue that redistribution of responsibility is needed, including the government's significant role. Without collective recognition of reliance, responsibility, and relationships in the system of impact, our respective endeavors can only be expected to go so far. By thinking about impact as a system, we can end the "blame game" between university and government sectors, and encourage action within and across sectors, in the pursuit of better outcomes for citizens and society.
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