Our impact
We launched Real Impact to help our research communities see the impact of their work. Read more about our manifesto for change and how we demonstrate our commitment to impact through our research, products and our Real Impact Awards.
Real Impact
Research that has real world impact goes beyond citation counts and makes a difference. It’s about communities joining together to find solutions that result in positive change. We refer to impact as the provable effects of research in the real world. We appreciate it’s not always easy for academics and researchers to see the impact of their work. That’s why we’ve launched ‘Real Impact’ to aid the cause and call on research communities to come together and break down barriers.
Committed to creating real impact
Sustainable Development Goals
We publish research that challenges conventional thinking and delivers real impact in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Explore our content in these key areas.
Transparent, accessible products
We are committed to offering transparent, accessible products that ensures the right content goes to the right people, at the right time.
Supporting all forms of open research
We are passionate about supporting all forms of open research and aim to make research more discoverable and accessible to all.
Impact resources
What counts as impact?
The word impact is used in many ways across the national and international research sector. For Emerald, and for many key partners, impact is the provable effects of research in the real world.
Institutional Healthcheck Workbook
This workbook is designed to help institutions consider how ‘healthy’ they are in terms of supporting and generating impact, and identify how they can improve it.
Impact Literacy Workbook
This workbook is designed to help individuals think through some of the key aspects of impact and to help develop skills in impact planning.
Demonstrating the real impact of research
We believe our role is to help researchers tell their story in a more meaningful way. Read some examples of the true impact of research in the real world.
Real Impact is reducing environmental impacts in the tourism industry
The rise of travel during the last six decades has increased employment and boosted GDP, but the effect on the environment has been catastrophic.
Real Impact is helping disadvantaged groups access fresh, local food
Our global food system is broken and, without change, it will continue to negatively impact health, trade, the economy and the environment.
Real Impact is protecting children across the digital universe
As young people spend more unsupervised time online, their risk of encountering inappropriate content and cyberbullying has increased.
Real Impact is improving prospects for young girls in rural communities
In India, where men dominate, the promised land of gender equality is hard enough in cities, let alone rural areas.
Real Impact Advisory Board
Implemented in 2018, Emerald’s Impact Advisory Board was established to support the research community and help us play a key role in furthering the impact agenda. The Impact Advisory Board works to bring our communities together and break down the barriers to real-world change.
The Impact Advisory Board includes representatives from all areas of the research community, who contribute their understanding and perspectives to foster diverse and varying discussions on the impact debate.
Real impact blog
We believe everyone can make a real impact – read our blogs or join our conversations and help bring your research to life. Together we can make a difference.
Author: Dr Diann Rodgers-Healey In a year marked by the unprecedented global Covid-19 pandemic, the stark reality of its impact on women globally in…
5th January 2021
In the following interview, Professor Simon Hettrick, Deputy Director of the Software Sustainability Institute and Chair of the hidden REF…
14th December 2020
Recent messages from the Prime Minister of Mauritius, presented at the Qatar-based World Innovation Summit for Health, can be taken as an indication…
10th December 2020
Practically since the beginning of time, small and medium enterprises have been trying to find ways to do business more efficiently, striving to…
10th December 2020
With the advent of social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, qualitative research has become more accessible than ever before.…
10th December 2020
Gender inequality and discrimination is a global problem, regardless of work area and geographic location. Since 2017, we have carried out…
4th November 2020
In 2012, 19 institutions started the NOPOOR Project - Enhancing Knowledge for Renewed Policies against Poverty. This project was developed during 5.5…
4th November 2020
Gender equality in Latin American countries seems far behind other nations around the world. This matters because gender equality increases economic…
4th November 2020
Why your words could be shutting readers out – and what to do about it. Katie-Rose Comery from The Writer talks about accessible writing for all…
14th October 2020
Found in more and more workplaces, mental health first aiders are ordinary members of staff who have been trained to spot the signs of mental illness…
29th September 2020
We are proud to drive positive change. We aim to deliver real impact. We care about doing the right things to build a better, more sustainable future for all.
Related topics
Our stance
Whether it’s the future of research assessment, open access or finding new ways make research be more accessible & discoverable, we want to influence positive change.
Our commitment
Being a responsible business is at the heart of everything we do. We believe in taking responsibility and working collaboratively with our partners, communities and colleagues to make a positive impact on a local and global scale.