Project ERIS: Evaluating RSE Impact and Scope

This project will aim to address the lack of evidence around RSE impact through developing a replicable methodology that RSE teams can use to measure the impact of their activities.

RSEs are increasingly essential to research, but the absence of formal measurement impedes impact quantification at institutional and national levels. Most institutions have systems that track outputs such as papers and grants, but fail to capture the outcomes of many RSE activities. These systems drive website profiles and institutional reports, giving an incomplete picture of RSE impact and hindering RSE leaders’ advocacy for their groups. The lack of recognition makes it more difficult for individual RSEs to gain promotion, change jobs, and be identified as a technical expert, impeding their careers.

The project will explore the diverse contributions of RSEs, identify currently neglected activities, and propose new ways to measure them. By bringing together teams with different structures and operating models, the project will also explore how these factors affect communicated impact.

ERIS will benefit individual RSEs by recognising all their contributions; leaders, by allowing them to advocate for their teams with concrete evidence; and the whole community, by providing a resource to those influencing funders and national policy.