Research group Programme

Research within the research group is based on three research lines:

1. How is impact achieved in different research contexts? This is an organisational question.

Impact is primarily about connections: connecting applied research with education, the professional field, science and society. This can be done by training (future) professionals or by collaborating with organisations/businesses/institutions. The demand for relevant applied research is ultimately a demand for connection with (future) professional practice and society, and with social issues more specifically. How will this connection work? What kinds of connections are there? What are the success and failure factors for making an impact in this regard? How will research questions and results be selected and formulated within these connections?

Research within this line of research will result in an ‘impact inventory’ that lists (all) possible avenues for impact of applied research.

2. How can the added value of the impact be demonstrated in different research contexts? This is an evaluative question.

Impact raises the question of whether the efforts made have had an effect: has a demonstrable change taken place? Have the efforts resulted in professionalisation, innovation and a demonstrable contribution to solving social issues? This is the demand for the effect to be ‘demonstrated’ in qualitative and quantitative terms; it is the call to work on a system for impact measurement. Research is aimed at designing a framework that identifies and describes impact in a systematic and structured manner.

Research within this research line will result in an impact model for applied practice-based research.

3. How can the visibility of the impact’s added value be increased? This is a question of dissemination and communication.

Evaluation of and reflection on applied research can help to increase the visibility of this research and the accompanying results. There is currently a widely held view that the results of applied research do not always get enough attention. This lack of visibility and findability hinders both cooperation and knowledge sharing among applied researchers, and the interaction between applied research and the professional field. The relevant questions here are: what do you intend to make visible, and for whom? Which call to action should be linked to this? How will greater visibility affect the further development and implementation of applied research?

Research within this research line will result in design guidelines for increasing the visibility of impact achieved through applied research.

Studies that are specifically focused on applied research cannot ignore the more fundamental questions about what this research is, how it relates to other ‘types’ of research and what place it occupies in the knowledge network. Although definitions exist, this issue remains relevant due to recurring discussions about topics such as ‘the unique character’ of applied research, the emphasis on its ‘own merits’ and the identity of research at higher professional education (HBO) level, which has yet to be fully defined. It is a discussion that revolves around concepts like valorisation, utilisation and impact, terms like ‘fundamental’ and ‘applied’, topics such as demand-driven research and knowledge circulation, and the question of whether innovation processes are linear, circular or networked. The research group will carry out research and publish articles on these issues in relation to the three research lines described above.