Co‐production of quality in the Applied Education Research Scheme

Abstract

This contribution looks at the ways in which research quality is defined and addressed in the Applied Education Research Scheme (AERS), particularly within the network on Schools and Social Capital, which is one of the four areas of work within the overall AERS scheme. AERS is a five‐year programme, funded jointly by the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council, with the combined aims of developing research capacity in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Scotland and supporting the achievement of Scotland's National Priorities in Education (NPEs). Research capacity building is a key objective, because of the relatively poor performance of education research in Scottish HEIs in the last RAE, and the NPEs encompass a range of social, political and economic targets for education, from raising attainment to building social inclusion. AERS falls squarely within the Frascati definition of applied research, and the funders have a strong interest in securing significant improvements in both schooling and research performance. The scheme offers an interesting site for consideration of the interaction of research steering and research quality. This contribution draws primarily on the author's experience as a member of one of the four AERS networks, that on Schools and Social Capital, and also on recent related research on knowledge transfer.1 It explores the principles that shape research in this network, with particular attention to the concern to promote and achieve quality in relation to both process and impact.