Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to assess the contributions of graduate research to social innovation and change for learning and improved transdisciplinary practice. Universities, as centers of teaching and research, face high demand from society to address urgent social and environmental challenges. Faculty and students are keen to use their research to contribute to social innovation and sustainable development. As part of the effort to increase societal impact, research approaches are evolving to be more problem-oriented, engaged and transdisciplinary. Therefore, new approaches to research evaluation are also needed to learn whether and how research contributes to social innovation, and those lessons need to be applied by universities to train and support students to do impactful research and foster an impact culture.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses a theory-based evaluation method to assess the contributions of three completed doctoral research projects. Each study documents the project’s theory of change (ToC) and uses qualitative data (document review, surveys and interviews) to test the ToC. This paper uses a transdisciplinary research (TDR) quality assessment framework (QAF) to analyze each projects’ design and implementation. This paper then draws lessons from the individual case studies and a comparative analysis of the three cases on, namely, effective research design and implementation for social transformation; and training and support for impactful research.FindingsEach project aimed to influence government policy, organizational practice, other research and/or the students’ own professional development. All contributed to many of their intended outcomes, but with varying levels of accomplishment. Projects that were more transdisciplinary had more pronounced outcomes. Process contributions (e.g. capacity-building, relationship-building and empowerment) were as or more important than knowledge contributions. The key recommendations are for: researchers to design intentional research, with an explicit ToC; higher education institutions (HEI) to provide training and support for TDR theory and practice; and HEIs to give more attention to research evaluation.Originality/valueThis is the first application of both the outcome evaluation method and the TDR QAF to graduate student research projects, and one of very few such analyses of research projects. It offers a broader framework for conceptualizing and evaluating research contributions to social change processes. It is intended to stimulate new thinking about research aims, approaches and achievements.
Highlights
Contemporary societal challenges are complex, dynamic and urgent
We provide overviews of outcome evaluation case studies of three doctoral research projects to illustrate the method and generate lessons regarding how transdisciplinary research (TDR) can contribute to change processes
With increased focus on impact and the wider application of TDR approaches, there is a greater realization of the need to consider the societal impact (REF, 2011; Penfield et al, 2014; Sarewitz, 2016; Aguinis et al, 2014) and use a broader range of research evaluation tools
Summary
Contemporary societal challenges are complex, dynamic and urgent. As recognized by the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDG), effective and durable solutions will require broad partnerships between governments, the private sector, civil society and citizens, and must include higher education institutions (HEIs). There is increasing pressure on HEIs to deliver and demonstrate societal impact. University ranking systems, such as the UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF, 2011, 2021) and Times Higher Education (2020) impact rankings, include measures of the societal impact of research, and research funding agencies require explicit impact statements. Students have high expectations about their own contributions. They want to apply their learning and research to solve problems and contribute to positive changes (Willetts and Mitchell, 2016)
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