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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 Awards
Our Real Impact Awards celebrate the commitment to impact by the research community across the globe.

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.
Can Aotearoa's (New Zealand's) Indigenous communities achieve sustainable health equity in the absence of widespread cultural reform?
Dr Amohia Boulton and Dr Tanya Allport, Whakauae Research for Māori Health and Development, New Zealand, discuss the alarming disparity between the…
24th June 2022
Building trust with Indigenous communities
Ashley Richard discusses the history of unethical and harmful research that has created barriers between researchers and many Indigenous communities…
21st June 2022
It’s the small things that matter: zine making as a creative approach within tertiary education
Dr Dianne Wepa discusses using a creative teaching approach to highlight strategies to address loneliness, particularly since a return to face-to-…
14th June 2022
'Coming out' – my disability disclosure dilemma
Throughout history, society has largely viewed disabilities as problems to be solved, rather than as accepted human variations. Find out more in this…
14th June 2022
Three questions organisations should answer before attempting to indigenise the boardroom
Answers given by business leaders to these to these three important questions may reveal the need for a complete overhaul of a company's practices
8th June 2022
Black doctorates matter & the science of healing the academy
As the atrocities of slavery and injustice victimised Black and Brown bodies in the name of science in academia, the healing of the academy should be…
1st June 2022
Reskilling etutors for quality facilitation in an open distance elearning environment: a South African experience
Social learning on connected platforms is the future of etutoring. Reskilling etutors is crucial to bridge the gap between educators and learners in…
1st June 2022
Invisibility of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Australians in boardrooms: A missed opportunity?
To move forward and to bloom with her true colours, Australian government needs to employ long-term, systematic, genuine and concerted efforts,…
31st May 2022
The whiteboard: ethnic diversity in corporate Australia
Should more stringent public, industry and governmental pressures be placed on Australian companies to compel them towards adopting a broader view of…
31st May 2022
Educational equity & anti-bullying in Northern Ontario, Canada
Robyn O'Loughlin asks whether or not educators can critically evaluate their experiences, attitudes and assumptions and how these may impact the…
30th May 2022
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.
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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.