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. 2024 Mar 15:14:04050.
doi: 10.7189/jogh.14.04050.

Establishing research impact assessment in Iran: The first report from a non-high-income country

Bahareh Yazdizadeh  1   2 , Ayat Ahmadi  1 , Farid Najafi  3 , Kazem Mohammad  4 , Mohammad Fariden  5 , Davood Khalili  6 , Mahdi Mahdavi  7 , Elaheh Rahimpour  8 , Abolghasem Jouyban  8 , Roya Kelishadi  9 , Mohammad Reza Monazzam  10 , Monir Baradaran Eftekhari  11 , Katayoun Falahat  11 , Sima Nikooee  1 , Reza Majdzadeh  12   2
Affiliations

Establishing research impact assessment in Iran: The first report from a non-high-income country

Bahareh Yazdizadeh et al. J Glob Health. .

Abstract

Background: This study presents the first report on research impact assessment (RIA) in non-high-income countries, undertaken as a pilot initiative in 2021. Within it, we aimed to explore the feasibility of employing the 'payback' model for evaluating the impact of health research and enhancing the accountability of universities. We focussed on three key impact domains: 'production of decision support documents and knowledge-based products,' 'implementation of research results,' and 'health and economic impact.'

Methods: We adopted a case study approach to assess the impact of 5334 health research projects conducted by researchers from 18 universities from 2018 to 2020. Researchers were required to submit evidence related to at least one of the specified impact domains; six scientific committees verified and scored claimed impacts at the national level.

Results: Only 25% of the assessed projects achieved impact in at least one domain, with the production of decision support documents and knowledge products being the most reported impact. Notably, economic impact was verified in only three projects, indicating room for improvement in this area. Technology research exhibited the highest acceptance rate of claimed impact, suggesting a positive correlation between technology-focused projects and impactful outcomes.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates the feasibility of employing a case study approach and the 'payback' model to evaluate the impact of health research, even within the constraints of a moderately equipped research infrastructure. These findings underscore the potential of integrating RIA into the governance of health research in Iran and other non-high-income countries, as well as the importance of using RIA to assess the accountability of health research systems, guide the allocation of research funding, and advocate for the advancement of health research. The study sets a precedent for future assessments in similar contexts and contributes to the ongoing global dialogue on the societal impact of health research.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure of interest: The authors completed the ICMJE Disclosure of Interest Form (available upon request from the corresponding author) and disclose no relevant interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Members and tasks of steering committee and subcommittees.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic graphic of the relation between domains of payback logic model and RIA model in Iran.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Scatter plot of the number of submitted projects per the number of the university’s publications in 2019 against the university’s impact score.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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