Research impact, a shared endeavour

The Business School’s first Research Impact Competition took place this year and the winners were announced and celebrated at the School’s Excellence Awards event on 12 November 2020.

The winner of the competition was Professor Robert MacCulloch with his research on the well-being economics, and the runner-up was Professor Christina Stringer with her research on migrant worker exploitation.

The judging panel comprised business people and policymakers and was chaired by the University’s Research Impact Manager Dr Faith Welch, who spoke highly of Professor MacCulloch’s large portfolio of research and the significant and global magnitude of its impact on all areas of society, influencing national and international policy reform.

The panel also saw solid evidence of policy reform directly linked to Professor Stringer’s research within New Zealand and pointed to its potential to expand the impact internationally.

Research impact is the direct or indirect effect that research has on society, business, culture, and public policy, beyond the contribution it has to the academic world. In this regard, impact from research is significant when practitioners or policymakers act upon insights generated through academic research.

Achieving high research impact is important for all stakeholders. For academic researchers, research impact allows engagement with real-life challenges thus expanding the skills base of academics and widens the discourse academics are a part of.

For practitioners and policymakers, it is an opportunity to benefit from knowledge generated by leading non-biased researchers. Further, disseminating this knowledge improves the returns on tax payers’ investment in research institutions.