Broader Impact of Research in Society 2016

The survey gathered information on the effects, impact, and interaction of research outside the academic community. The impact was surveyed on the following four fields: ecology, evolutionary biology and ecophysiology; history; materials science and technology; and medical engineering and health technologies. The survey was related to Academy of Finland Report on the State of Scientific Research in Finland. The respondents were first asked about the societal context of their research, including the principal site and objective of the research as well as funding of the research. The researchers' pathways to impact were studied by asking the respondents about the ways their work was conveyed beyond the academia. Interaction with different stakeholders and organisations was studied. In addition, the roles of these stakeholders in research were investigated. The respondents were asked about things that could hinder the attribution of impact to their research and where the potential impacts of their research could be seen (public institutions and services, economy and economic renewal, health and wellbeing, the environment and natural resources, or human capacities and culture). The background variables included the respondent's years of experience in research after obtaining a doctor's degree, field of study, and role in academia.