HERAValue – Measuring the value and impact of Arts & Humanities Research

1. HERAValue – Measuring the value and impact of Arts & Humanities Research Paper presented to “Achieving Impact: Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities (SSH) in Horizon 2020” Paul Benneworth, CHEPS, the Netherlands.

2. Introduction • SSH Impact as a pressing policy/ political issue (focus on AHR as ‘extreme’ case) • Beyond technology transfer: models of research creating value • Three stories of AHRs public value • Towards better measures of public value. • Forthcoming in Arts & Humanities in Higher Education (with all refs).

3. HERAVALUE Project • Eur. 500k, 2½ yrproject in Humanities in Europeamn Research Area JRP. • Profr Magnus Gulbrandsen, Norway • The valuetocivic society • ProfrEllen Hazelkorn, Ireland • Governmentand policy-makers demands • Paul Benneworth, the Netherlands • Valuablehumanities research in universities

4. Part 1 ‘impact’: a pressing political issue for SSH

5. The self-evident problem of measuringvalorisation

6. Key research questions • How are research funding decisions and hence the evolving research environment being shaped by these simple models of research value? • What kinds of new models and explanations of ‘impact’ have emerged from within these disadvantaged disciplines and their stakeholders? And • How have the arguments and models mobilised by particular disciplinary groups to justify their own value been involved in transforming the wider understanding of research’s value?

7. Part 1 Fromtechnology transfer to public value

8. Firm productivity growth Acquisition Problem solving by academics Technology transfer to user “Value is”… accordingtotechnology transfer CONTEXT Market demand Firm absorptive capacity Technology transfer, Incubators/ science parks Academic consultancy policies/ careers Policy instruments for technology transfer e.g. innovation vouchers

9. Restoring the scalesto the flat heuristic “Research benefits all society” Macro benefits (GDP growth) “Research drives localdevelopment” Meso benefits (regional growth) Individual benefits (firm growth) “Research benefits private firms” Research createsusefulknowledge

10. Towards a basis for measuring impact • Looking for evidence across all scales (relatively easy) • Looking for activity highlighting transference up the scales (quite hard) • Developing proxy measures (very hard) • Allocating responsibility: what leads to ‘upscaling’ and impact (more work required).

11. Part 1 Three examples of a&H Research creating ‘impact’

12. NIOD & the Srebrenica Report • NIOD: Netherlands Institute for War Documentation • Created post-WWII for ‘psychic healing’ of scars of occupation • 1995 Bosnian War: DutchBat fail to prevent massacre of Muslims in safe haven • 1996 Kok Government orders NIOD Inquiry into events.

13. From scholarly inquiry to social knowledge • 2002 Report: failings in Kok government • Kok resigns: end of ‘paars’ era • Acceptance marks start of healing • Creates political discursive referent for modern Dutch overseas intervention

14. Arne Næss & deep green thinking • Post-war reconstruction – maximising economic output, environmental costs. • 1972 Club of Rome report “Limits to Growth” • Næss – Norwegian philosopher who criticised ‘shallow green’ thinking • Rethinking environmental relationships to solve environmental problems

15. The rise of Deep Green politics • Næss’ texts influential in rise of Green parties • Provided an outlet for voters to express concern with price of progress • Big political movement: • “Green Parties in the European Union currently account for 45 out of 754 seats in the European Parliament and 189 out of 7,100 seats in EU member states’ lower houses” (Benneworth, 2014) • Created a language to better express voters’ interests/ needs

16. Philip Pettit & Spanish republicanism • Pettit: drawing on analytic theory of the mind to develop political philosophy • Using concepts in one philosophical area to solve problems in others. • Applying philosophy of mind to moral/ political philosophy questions. • Leading scholar: wrote Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy’s 2003 entry for Republicanism.

17. Achieving change in society • Zapatero read Republicanism in opposition, decided to use for reforms. • 2004: invited Pettit to speak and later report back on reform programme • Key changes included same-sex marriage, transsexual rights, anti-discrimination laws & encouraging mutual support. • 2008: Spain hit by economic crisis.

18. Part IV Towardsbettermeasures of SSH Impact

19. Understanding landscape dynamics • SSH research achievesvalue in societalconversations • Societalconversationsinvolveconceptsflowing, evolving, deforming, dying out. • Value producedbyunself-conscioususe of thoseconcepts & belief systems • Needto focus measurement systems on understanding ‘social life of humanitiesconcepts’ and look howpublicsuse it.

20. Interscalarvalueprocesses Macro benefits (Collective goods) “How networks institutions? Meso benefits (Club goods) Where is HR in collectivegoods? Individual benefits (Private goods) How do users absorb research? ?

21. Towardsaninterscalar research agenda • How do users engagewith SSH research? • Where does SSH research feature in societalnetworks? • Whathappensto SSH knowledgeswhennetworksbecomeinstitutions? • What indicators can we findtodescribeandcapture these processes?