The Impact of UKRI Research Councils Funded Research on Policy: An Explorative Analysis

This study explores how research funded by the seven UKRI Research Councils from 2012 to 2022 has influenced policy development. It investigates 1) the extent of funded research cited in policies, 2) the benefiting organisations, 3) the policy topics most influenced, and 4) whether highly cited academic papers have a greater policy impact. Publications from the Web of Science associated with each council were cross-referenced against the Overton policy database to identify research cited in policies. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) demonstrated the highest policy impact, with 39.6% of its funded publications cited in policies. In contrast, research funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) had the lowest policy citation rate of 0.8%. Government policies were the most frequent beneficiaries of funded research, comprising 51.7% of all cited publications across councils. Analysis of policy topics revealed alignments with each council's disciplinary focus; strikingly, documents cited in policies tended to be highly cited in their academic field, with a significant portion ranking in the top 10% field citation percentile, suggesting policymakers may preferentially rely on highly cited research. These results provide initial insights into the interplay between funded research and policy outcomes. Quantifying citations in policy is valuable, but this alone may inadequately capture societal impact across all disciplines. Further investigation is needed to deepen the understanding of evidence-based policymaking and measures of societal benefit from research.