Real Impact is far more than citations. It’s about making a difference. It’s communities joining together to find ways to make changes. Impact is the provable effects of research in the real world.
We appreciate it’s not always easy for academics and researchers to see the impact of their work. That’s why we’ve launched ‘Real Impact’ to aid the cause and call on research communities to come together and break down barriers.
So, join our conversations, have your say in our blogs, read our toolkits, and download our resources to help bring your research to life. Together we can make a difference.
Real Impact Manifesto
We are committed to supporting meaningful, real world impact.
Emerald will now lead the publishing charge towards meaningful impact.
For over 50 years, research impact has sat at the heart of Emerald’s business. Emerald’s core ethos is making a difference through research, and we are proud of our heritage supporting the communication of research for policy and practice.
With a sector increasingly full of pressure and expectation, we recognise the challenges faced by colleagues in connecting research to impact. We also recognise that traditional markers of influence, such as citations, are not sufficient to tell the story of impact. Emerald feels strongly that we have a key role and responsibility in not only supporting the impact agenda, but also in challenging outdated approaches to measuring effects.
Emerald will now lead the publishing charge towards meaningful impact. We will continue to work with our global author network to publish research which makes a difference and invest further in the research community to support real world change.
Emerald commits to:
- Support the community of practice to overcome barriers to impact, working in partnership with key agencies to strengthen connections between research and society.
- Challenge simplistic and outdated approaches to impact, shifting beyond metrics and celebrating impact of all shapes and sizes.
- Drive impact literacy in the research sector – including within Emerald itself – championing knowledge and skills development and developing new tools and innovative approaches.
Join us in making a difference.
Vicky Williams
CEO, Emerald Publishing
On behalf of the Directors
Impact Case Studies
- Read our collection of stories, outlining impact achieved in the real world
We are committed to supporting meaningful, real world impact.
Real Impact is valuable insight that improves efficiency
A long-standing relationship between Royal FloraHolland and Rotterdam School of Management has led to a new era in smart markets. By improving the decision making process through valuable insight and Big Data analytics, the auction cooperative has been able to optimise profitability and efficiency in any auction day.
Read ArticleRecent News & Blogs
- Uncover news and views from across the globe and add your voice to the impact debate
We’re on a journey to embrace equality, diversity and inclusivity, both within our organisation and in the real world. In 2015, we started our journey to gender equality, with the introduction of the diversity programme, STRIDE, a Steering Committee, with an initial focus on gender diversity. This initiative demonstrated the importance of diversity to an …
Read ArticleListening is just as important as informing in crisis communication
Harald Hornmoen and Klas BackholmTo listen to social media users and respond to their worries or emerging rumors should be a central part of professionals’ crisis communication strategies. This is one of the results in our upcoming book Social Media Use in Crisis and Risk Communication, in which we discuss current practices and future directions for professional crisis communicators. …
Read ArticleReflections on the role of the academic in fostering critical debate in society: from “Scholar” to “Expert”?
Alex De RuyterA common phrase once applied to those serious on embarking on a “scholarly” career was “publish or perish”. In other words, all that mattered to foster a successful academic career was to get articles (typically “double-blind” refereed peer-reviewed) accepted into so-called “leading/international journals”. Now it appears that this is no longer enough. The ever-present pressure …
Read ArticleResources
- Explore and download our range of resources to support your pursuit of impact
Do journal rankings still matter when it comes to assessing real impact?
Following the recent impact factor results, we asked Dr Julie Bayley, Director of Research Impact Development at the University of Lincoln: “Do journal rankings still matter when it comes to assessing real impact?” We’ve split the interview into 8 bite-sized videos. Click on the links below to hear Julie’s thoughts.
Download