Research Impact & Intelligence Services

Data-driven support for Virginia Tech’s global distinction goals

The Research Impact & Intelligence Team offers customized support to individual scholars, researchers, administrators, units, departments, and colleges. We collect, process, and analyze research, policy, patent, and extramural funding data and deliver insights to support research growth and impact. We collaborate with The Office of Research and Innovation, Innovation & Partnerships, the Office of Analytics & Institutional Effectiveness, and others.

Research Intelligence involves collecting, extracting, and analysis of information on global research and innovation with the aim supporting strategic decision making and demonstrating impact at the individual, team, institute, and institutional levels. Activities include:

Program & Proposal Intelligence (ad hoc to Office of Research)
Research gap analysis
Funding analysis, current and retrospective
Market intelligence
Discovery of potential collaborators
Data-driven recruitment intelligence
Visualizing science

Many definitions exist. Broadly speaking, research impact is the demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to society and the economy. Research impact reports seek to demonstrate the positive influence of a scholar’s or institution’s work. Research impact outcomes are often measured by scholarly output, citations, patents, policy citations in addition to qualitative information about the impact of research on society. While research intelligence is used to strategize for the future impact, research impact describes what has happened in the past.

Activities include:

Workshops on boosting researcher impact, selecting high-impact journals, managing digital identities for maximum impact, finding strategic collaborators, and responsible use of metrics
Collecting and visualizing research data for departmental, institutional, or college-level reporting