| Country | Definition of Research Impact | Highlighted Methodologies | Noted Challenges | Unique Approaches |
| Norway | Comprehensive, covering immediate and longer term societal and policy impacts. | Integration of impact early in funding proposal evaluations. | Balancing immediate results with long-term impacts. | Comprehensive evaluations of research fields every ten years. |
| Sweden | Varied across agencies, generally includes societal progression towards goals like sustainable development. | Mix of qualitative and quantitative methods. Storytelling. | Directly linking research to societal changes. | Diverse methodologies reflecting agency mandates. |
| Finland | Broad, includes academic, societal, economic, and policy influences. | Qualitative and quantitative assessments. Self- assessment by applicants vs third-party reviews. | Ensuring data quality and comprehensiveness of reporting. | Comprehensive strategy blending various methods. |
| Denmark | Varied across agencies. Work in progress vs. established definition. | Impact reports database and dashboard for analysis. Theories of change. | Measuring societal impacts. Aligning long-term goals with short-term measurements. | Integration of Theories of Change. Systematic three year follow-up after project end date. |
| Iceland | Emphasises societal, economic, and policy influences. | Progress and final reports from funded projects. External third-party impact assessments. | Resource constraints. Lack of systematic processing and analysis. | Pragmatic stance due to resource consciousness. |
| Faroe Islands | Expected impacts in project proposals, evaluated by external experts. | Annual and final reports. Outreach activities. | Resource constraints. Lack of systematic standardisation of measurements. | Emphasis on potential outcomes and communication of success stories. |
