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The Research Councils are seeking input from stakeholders for two new studies to inform their activities aimed at increasing the economic impact of their investments.
The first is a survey of organisations that benefit of Research Council funded activities. This will establish the extent to which the Research Councils are meeting the needs of their user communities. It is being conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and will involve telephone interviews with Research Council users. These will take place between 17 May and 15 June and will last a maximum of 20 minutes. The Research Councils would like to encourage their user communities to contribute to the survey if approached by PwC. All the information provided will be treated in the strictest confidence and no organisation will be identified from the research. All responses will be analysed together and provided to the Research Councils in an aggregate form only.
The second activity is a baseline assessment of the economic impact of the Research Councils – in this context interpreted broadly to include economic, social and cultural impacts. This will involve a detailed investigation into a number of case study areas to identify, and where possible quantify, the evidence of impact. The assessment will require significant input from user organisations, which are often best placed to provide such evidence. The project will be undertaken by PA Consulting and SQW.
These studies form part of RCUK’s strategy to increase the economic impact of the Research Councils. Its report, published in January 2007, describes how the Research Councils will work with research users, public funders and other organisations to ensure that UK can make best use of its world-class research base in addressing the challenges posed by globalisation.