Table 1 Categories of objectives identified for research impact assessment frameworks (RIAFs)

Accountability (top-down)

Provides information that could be utilised to provide accountability for research impact at an aggregated national, state or sector level for government, funding bodies or community stakeholders

Transparency/Accountability (bottom-up)

1. Provides transparency to the research activity, outputs and outcome steps along the pathway to impact 2. Provides information that could be utilised to provide accountability for research at smaller units of aggregation, e.g. research projects, research programs, individual institutes

Advocacy

Provides a demonstration of capability for relevant stakeholders

Steering

Capacity to align the research agenda towards a specific target, e.g. improving the diagnosis, treatment and care of people with dementia

Value for money

The outcomes enable broader comparison through standardisation into Quality-Adjusted Life Years, Disability-Adjusted Life Years, other comparable health outcomes, monetised benefits, employment or similar

Management/Learning and Feedback/Allocation

Capacity for the information produced by the RIAF to inform subsequent strategic management decisions within or between research organisations, potentially including fund allocation

Prospective orientation

1. Capacity for a framework to be implemented prospectively 2. Compels prior determination of the potential final impact and the pathway to this goal 3. Incorporates process metrics that allow for prior scrutiny of the anticipated steps towards impact

Speed of translation

1. Compels prior determination of the potential final impact and the pathway to this goal 2. Contains process metrics that enable individual actors (researchers, teams) to be accountable for steps on the pathway towards final impact 3. Includes a logic model component that necessitates ‘use’ for an outcome to be acknowledged