Impact Analysis of Applications to the Oxford Martin School

This project consisted of a detailed textual analysis (topic modelling and thematic analysis) of the successful applications and subsequent reports connected with the five open funding calls of the School since 2008, as well as of all the relevant call documentation.

Across the 34 projects funded, a total of 80 documents were analysed line-by-line. The findings encompass the following:

  • The definition of impact and domains of impact evidenced in the documents analysed, with particular emphasis on the following key areas: academic impacts; policy impacts; public, health and cultural impacts; economic and commercial impacts; and practice-based impacts.
  • The approached to enabling and demonstrating impacts that had been planned and/or implemented over the past decade, including the relationships between impact and attitudes toward risk and quality.

The report concluded with recommendation for future evaluation and monitoring.