Research Impact – Research Council Discussion – Sept 2021 – Next Steps

Next Steps

  • It is time to roll out the ideas broadly within the Bentley community.
  • We have a vision, drawn from AACSB guidance, that we have developed over two years.
  • It recognizes two dimensions: (a) research quality, and (b) broader impact.
  • Traditionally, we (Bentley) have focused on the first, “research quality.”
  • This is a well-recognized dimension and there are well-accepted metrics for this dimension.
  • We (Bentley) do not yet have a clear understanding or metrics for the second dimension, “broader impact.”
  • With the work we have done over the last two years, now we have
  • We have realized that the dimensions are sufficiently broad
  • In other words, they allow room for operationalization by different departments and individual scholars.

 

Key Questions for Departments and Scholars 

  • For the kind of research I do (we do)
    • what determines research quality?
    • what are the metrics?
  • For the kind of research I do (we do)
    • what determines the broader impact of research?
    • who are my stakeholders beyond academia?
    • what is the evidence I can gather and show to demonstrate?
    • what are the metrics for demonstrating broader research impact?

 

Key Steps for the Institution 

  • How to recognize these dimensions as important and critical in response to AACSB guidance and trajectory
  • How to capture this (currently entrepreneurial) activity from scholars on Bentley campus
  • How to support and incentivize research at Bentley with greater recognition of broader impact
  • How to leverage research outcomes to promote the Bentley brand to stakeholders beyond academia
  • How to demonstrate the value of such broader impact to current and future students (key source of revenue)