Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A health-economics study is cited in NICE guidance and informs new prescribing protocols.
- Is an instance
Climate research informs a parliamentary committee report that shapes emissions legislation.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
Listing a policy mention from Overton without verifying the document's policy significance.
- Not an instance
Claiming legislative influence on the basis of a single committee submission with no documented adoption.
Editorial commentary
Policy impact includes citation of research in policy documents (white papers, legislative debates, regulatory rulings), formal advisory roles (parliamentary committees, expert panels), uptake of research findings in policy choices, and direct co-design of policy with researchers. Evidence sources include policy document analysis (Overton, Altmetric policy mentions), parliamentary records, expert-witness testimony lists, and case-study tracing. Policy impact often relies on long-term researcher-policymaker relationships rather than discrete papers.
References
- Overton (overton.io). Newson R et al. 'Does citation in policy documents indicate research impact?' Health Research Policy and Systems 2018.
Also known as
Public policy impact · Policy influence
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
vocab-term="Policy impact"
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"description": "The contribution that research makes to the formulation, content or implementation of public policy at local, national or international levels.",
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"sameAs": [
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