ImpactLens: Using AI and Data to Communicate Research Impact Effectively

Although the impact science has on society is a dimension that has been receiving increasing attention in recent years, surprisingly little work has been done on developing software tools that track it systematically by integrating information from different data sources and trying to capture all of its dimensions explicitly (e.g. impact on the economy, health and wellbeing, public understanding, the environment etc).In this paper, we present the prototypical ImpactLens system, which aims to leverage modern-day data-driven and AI technologies to extract ‘impact stories’ from rich, yet diverse data sources. We argue that the development of such tools can significantly enhance the ability of research communities to communicate the value of their work to society, while also providing opportunities to benefit researcher development, strategic research planning, and better exploitation of research results.