Valutazione dell’impatto della ricerca biomedica e sanitaria : revisione sistematica di letteratura

Abstract: Research impact evaluation is of growing interest to funders, policy makers and researchers, mainly to understand the value of investments and to increase accountability. Broadly speaking the term “research impact” refers to the contribution of research activities in the achievements of desired societal outcomes. To identify the most common categories of impact and their respective indicators, we systematically searched the relevant literature (PubMed, the Cochrane Library 1990-2009, and funding agency websites) and assessed the approaches proposed to evaluate research return. We included systematic reviews, theoretical and methodological papers, and empirical case-studies on how to evaluate research impact. Twenty-two reports belonging to four systematic reviews and 14 primary studies were identified. Several theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches (bibliometrics, econometrics, ad hoc case-studies) were identified. The “payback model” emerged as the most widely used. Five broad categories of impact were identified: a) knowledge advances, b) development of research capacity, c) informing decision-making, d) health improvements, e) broad socio-economic benefits. A set of indicators for each proposed category of impact is presented and briefly discussed.