This report is built as an exploratory study designed to understand how research impact is defined, measured, reported, and utilised by the research councils of the Nordic countries. The study aims to contribute to the broader discourse and to the knowledge base on research impact philosophy and measurement among the Nordic research councils.
Employing a qualitative methodological framework, nine semi-structured interviews with representatives from key Nordic research bodies, selected by the Nordic Heads of Research Councils Committee, were conducted during December 2023 and January-March 2024. These interviews were conducted virtually, transcribed, anonymised, and subjected to content analysis to extract definitions, measurements, methods, and utilisation strategies of research impact as well as respondents’ thoughts and attitudes toward them. An OpenAI GPT-4 language model, primed for the qualitative analysis and context, was employed as an assisting tool in the rudimentary content analysis of the anonymised transcriptions.
The study provides qualitative data that contribute to the understanding of research impact philosophies and approaches in the Nordic context, simultaneously informing planning, pratice and future scholarly inquiry.
