Higher education institutions are under increasing pressure to demonstrate the public value of their research. While the call for research projects to have a visible impact in society has intensified, many institutions continue to operate without the necessary infrastructure, strategy, or incentives to deliver research impacts on a societal scale.
Our Solution
Research Impacts Institutional Innovation (RI3) is a national initiative that will help institutions embed systemic, evidence-informed resources to integrate research impacts in society across every stage of the research lifecycle and ecosystem. From idea generation and funding to dissemination and community partnerships, RI3 is developing the Impact Atlas framework to guide institutions in prioritizing, contextualizing, and building lasting capacity for societal impact.
Beyond resource development, RI3 engages in scholarship focused on institutional system supports to scale their research impacts in society. Our review of the current landscape provides an opportunity to strengthen the field through more systematic, data-driven, and strategically applicable approaches to research impact, moving beyond conceptual and anecdotal studies toward scalable and long-term solutions. RI3 fills this gap by creating a practice-oriented knowledge base grounded in evidence, tested through real-world collaboration, and built for institutional action.
Our Approach
The ARIS RI3 program features an iterative process designed to produce relevant and actionable scholarship, inform impactful institutional models, and develop professional learning programs to prepare the next generation of leaders.
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Technical Report Published
This 2025 report, Mapping Institutional Pathways for Advancing Research Impacts, synthesizes insights from seven national reports to identify key challenges and opportunities in scaling publicly engaged research in higher education.
Contributors: Rebecca E. Heiser, Julie Risien, Laurie Van Egeren, Susan D. Renoe.
