Knowledge is Not a Commodity - It's a Currency

"How do we define impact? How can one say whether the knowledge uncovered in a research study is important enough to change the course of history? The ESRC divides impact into Academic and Economic & Societal parts. The Academic impact 'is the demonstrable contribution that excellent social and economic research makes to scientific advances, across and within disciplines, including significant advances in understanding, method, theory and application'. Economic and societal impact, on the other hand, is the demonstrable contribution that excellent social and economic research makes to society and the economy, of benefit to individuals, organizations and nations. Yet both are often difficult to define ..."