Impact monitoring and evaluation

The Strategic Research Council (SRC) is responsible for monitoring and evaluating the impact of the research it has funded. The monitoring and assessment covers both ongoing and completed programmes and projects. The aim is to monitor, evaluate and make visible the scientific and societal impact sought, achieved and potentially achieved in the future through SRC funding. This also contributes to producing information that can support the development of the strategic research funding instrument.

The first evaluations were carried out at the 2020–2021 programme level after the end of the programme, also using external experts. As of the end of 2023, there will no longer be separate programme evaluations, and, with the exception of self-evaluation, impact will be monitored and evaluated across programme boundaries.

The principles of programme evaluation are available in full in the SRC's funding principles.

Two SRC-programmes were completed in 2023:

Adaptation and Resilience for Sustainable Growth (ADAPT, 2018–2023)
Keys to Sustainable Growth (GROWTH, 2018–2023)

Read the summary of the results and effects of these programmes (in Finnish):

STN-ohjelmat ADAPT ja GROWTH (2018–2023): Yhteenveto loppuraporttien ja kyselyaineistojen pohjalta

For basic information on these programmes, see ‘Completed programmes’ on the page Programmes and projects.

The survey data collected for the summary have been anonymised and delivered to the Finnish Social Science Data Archive (FSD) for possible further use. The impact stories of the projects and programme directors have been stored in the Research Council of Finland’s public image and media bank with the authors’ permission. Other summary material can be requested from the RCF Registrar’s Office.

An evaluation of four SRC programmes was carried out between 2022 and 2023, coordinated by the Division of Strategic Research:

Equality in Society, EQUA (2015–2021)
A Climate-Neutral and Resource-Scarce Finland, PIHI (2015–2021)
Disruptive Technologies and Changing Institutions, TECH (2015–2021)
Changing Society and Active Citizenship, CITIZEN (2017–2021).

Explore the evaluation reports:

For basic information on these programmes, see ‘Completed programmes’ on the page Programmes and projects.

How the evaluation was implemented

The evaluation of the EQUA, PIHI, TECH and CITIZEN programmes was carried out by four programme-specific expert panels, which included foreign and Finnish experts from the thematic areas of the programmes.

Evaluation by expert panels

Each of the four expert panels was tasked with assessing the implementation, results and impact of the programme against the following criteria:

promoting high-quality, multidisciplinary research on the problems and needs in the programme’s domain
creating concrete steps towards tackling those problems and needs in Finnish society
strengthening research and stakeholder communities in the programme’s domain.

Based on their findings, the panels also drew lessons and suggestions for the future development of SRC programmes.

Evaluation material

The Division of Strategic Research provided each of the expert panels with comprehensive documentation on the background, results and outcomes of the programme being evaluated. The evaluation material also included the results of two surveys, one addressed to project representatives and the other to the main interaction partners of the projects. In addition, each panel interviewed key players in the programme. Summaries of the material for each programme evaluation have been published as appendices to the evaluation reports.

The survey data collected for the evaluation have been anonymised and delivered to the Finnish Social Science Data Archive (FSD) for possible further use. The impact stories of the projects and programme directors have been stored in the Research Council of Finland’s public image and media bank with the authors’ permission. Other evaluation material can be requested from the RCF Registrar’s Office.

The first programme evaluation coordinated by the Division of Strategic Research was the evaluation of the four programmes that ran in 2016–2019. The four programmes were:

Urbanising Society (URBAN)
Health, Welfare and Lifestyles (HEALTH)
Skilled Employees – Successful Labour Market (WORK)
Security in a Networked World (SECURITY).

How the evaluation was implemented

The SRC programmes HEALTH, SECURITY, URBAN and WORK were evaluated in three stages during 2020–2021.

Self-assessment

The aim of the first stage of the programme evaluation was to form a shared understanding between the programme’s actors of the activities. The self-assessment was carried out as programme-specific discussions, resulting in an analysis of the activities of each programme. The discussions addressed all objectives of the programme evaluation. The memorandums from the discussions served as material for the next stage of the evaluation.

Evaluation of societal impact

At the second stage, the aim was to understand the societal dimension of SRC programmes. The assessment of societal impact was approached in the IOOI (Input-Output-Outcome-Impact) impact chain framework. Attention was paid to a wide range of impact chains, in particular to the interaction within stakeholder networks and changes in them. The societal impact was assessed by an external evaluator, Gaia-Consulting Oy.

Evaluation of scientific activities

The third stage of the programme evaluation assessed the multidisciplinary nature of the programmes, their scientific quality and the links between research and societal impact. The evaluation utilised a wide range of material. The assessment was carried out by an external panel of experts.

News and blog posts about impact evaluation of strategic research:

Programme evaluation: strategic research has strengthened interdisciplinary research and co-creation capabilities, 25 Sep 2023
Four SRC programmes have reached halfway point – how have the projects progressed?, Katri Huutoniemi and Otto Auranen 5 Jan 2023
Strategic research: What does it do? Kyösti Husso and Jyrki Hakapää 1 Oct 2021
Evaluation report: multidisciplinary strategic research supports society as a whole, 14 Jun 2021
Evaluation finds strategic research funding has brought added value to research and society, 28 Jan 2021
Towards a comprehensive evaluation of research and interaction, Kyösti Husso 9 Apr 2020
Understanding the impact of strategic research, Jyrki Hakapää 22 Aug 2019

Inquiries

strateginentutkimus(at)aka.fi

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Impact monitoring and evaluation

Programmes completed in 2023

Programmes completed in 2021