Impact Stakeholders

The scientific community consists of other researchers in your field or other relevant fields of science that may be interested in your research. Also, various research organisations and students are part of the scientific community.

When other researchers read a publication, debate about your findings and refer to your article, scientific impact happens naturally. Nowadays, even in peer-reviewed scientific evaluation, evaluators increasingly want to see some indication of future application and impact possibilities even if the research is considered basic research, and the larger benefits may take place a decade later. This also reflects the current thinking of universities contributing to the society and economy. Researchers are asked to present numbers to show the potential returns on the taxpayers' investment.

Partly as a result of the above, research has become increasingly interdisciplinary, and to reach maximum scientific impact, a researcher usually collaborates with not only researchers in their field or topic, but also researchers from other fields. For example, engineers can develop tools for communication, but to understand how humans naturally interact or how we uptake technology needs an understanding of psychology and behavioral and cognitive science.

Other researchers may develop the concept, solution or theory further or in different directions, in which case the impact is wider. They can guide your research in new directions and help you maximise impact by opening up new research topics or even new fields that in turn enable new openings and ideas.

An example of such new scientific fields could be learning technology or human-computer interaction. Neither would be possible without in-depth knowledge of both human behaviour and technology.

Policy and decision-makers and operational authorities comprise of ministries, municipalities, regions, authorities, special interest groups and standardisation & regulation bodies.

As the Covid-19 crisis in 2020 clearly demonstrated, politicians and other decision-makers need research-based evidence for decision-making. It is important to recognize the relevant entities or organizations that can benefit from your results, or the other way around; who you need in order to fulfil your research agenda.

Policy and decision-makers and operational authorities include institutions such as legislators (members of the parliament) and ministry officials who carry out the preparation work; municipalities and cities who have their own priorities and strategies; operational level such as the police force or social services sector, hospital districts; and special interest groups such as different kind of lobbyists for industry sectors or patient groups.

Regulation and standardisations bodies are important, especially in the field of technology and medicine, and keeping them in the loop is important for the future impact of your research. They can also provide valuable access to infrastructure, databases etc.

Policy and decision-makers may be more inclined to use scientific knowledge when they are a part of your research early on. Think about their role and how to engage them already in the project planning phase.

Turning research into policies, and maybe even actions in the end, requires that policymakers:

• Know about your research
• Understand the problem
• Are given concrete solutions or alternatives to address the problem at hand and finally that they
• Have the will and power to act.

They can either help you to reach real impact by using your research results in the actual decision-making process, but they can also decide where research funding is allocated.

Industry means companies and other possible organizations whose interest in the research is a product development and who may end up exploiting your results commercially.

Collaborating with companies is not a new phenomenon in research. Many companies are based on scientific breakthroughs and even founded by researchers, or based on patents or licenses originating from research results. Companies need science-based solutions to develop their products and services. In fields like technology and medicine, companies are also interested in making use of the infrastructure provided by the scientific community and universities, such as state-of-the-art equipment and laboratories, or access to databases or testbeds.

Many companies are based on scientific breakthroughs and even founded by researchers, or based on patents or licenses originating from research results.

In some fields, collaboration and contact with companies come naturally, and in some more work may be needed. Today, companies are also looking for expertise and knowledge on how to develop their leadership or working culture, or how to be societally responsible in a more and more digitalised world. These are some of the questions where social sciences and humanities can play a major role.

But collaboration is not just about companies benefiting from research. Researchers get to test their ideas in practice and pilot their solutions when collaborating with companies. There are many ways to collaborate with companies ranging from industry participation in advisory groups to industry-funded internships, joint projects, customer-financed projects etc.

How to co-operate?

To collaborate with companies, you can utilize existing contacts, or create new ones. To do that, you can participate in different matchmaking events, be active in online services that are designed to bring together industry representatives and researchers, and make sure your online profile is up to date in different expert databases or social media so interested companies can find you.

Universities also have services that can help you map out potential collaborators and create contacts. They are a good place to start if you are unsure who the right partners might be. In addition to matchmaking, the University of Oulu's Innovation Centre also helps researchers to commercialize their results, offers training in IPR issues, helps in the development of business ideas, and offers expert services related to inventions, patenting, licencing etc.