User:Robin Day/Temp/Research statement.doc

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The distinctive contribution of Metro research

Research undertaken within the tertiary education environment – including that undertaken by the metropolitan Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (Metros) and universities – represents a continuum that covers:

• discovery or (blue sky) research – addressing questions where the outcome is not knownnovel and ground-breaking inquiry designed to explore subjects which jave not previously been identified or addressed and where the potential outcomes, imnplications and impact are not yet identified;
• developmental, problem-based or applied research – activities aimed at answering questions or problems where the fundamentals are understood, and an application is developed because of its foreseen utility;
• creative work and design – undertaken on a systematic basis to enhance knowledge, culture and society and to use this knowledge to devise new applications; and
• evidence-based professional practice – addressing knowledge and practice issues within a profession that lead to innovations in practice.

Metro research is high quality research that has a bias towards solving problems that are relevant and applicable to the industries, enterprises and professions we work with. Our problem-based approach is unique in that we engage directly with small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in a way that isby:

• Responsive to their needsresponding directly to industry needs (as voiced by enterprises large and small) rather than being driven by an internal programme of research, and supporting seamless approaches that transfer knowledge and integrate the workplace with the expertise of staff and students of an institution
• Flexible, working directly on the issues and problems encountered and supporting seamless approaches that transfer knowledge and integrate the workplace with the expertise of staff and students of an institution
• Willing to work directly with an enterprise no matter how small
• Collaborative in building critical mass and depth of expertise nationally, within a regionally and internationally.
• Working in a cCost effective in manner by building community and -enterprise culture, productivity and sustainability.

The transfer of new knowledge and technology to our communities of interest is a hallmark of Metro research and measures of impact can be readily used to determine quality.

Potential Impact Measures

One significant measure of the quality of research is the usefulness of that research in terms of its impact/ability to make a difference and how far it is disseminated. Impact measures will vary for different forms of research activity. The following table attempts to provide some measures of impact for the different forms of research activity recognised.

Research Type	Possible Measures of impact
Basic Fundamental Research Strategic research	* Number of programmes theories are taught in/number of students enrolled in those programmes Number of citations by other researchers of original work Number of follow on research projects spinning out of the initial research Number of books/articles published/sold
Applied Research	* Number of businesses spun out of an incubator Number of patents awarded Number of projects picked up by industry and put into practice Number of units manufactured/sold Royalties paid on intellectual property Number of times research has resulted in changes to professional practice and/or policy Number of books/articles published/sold
Scholarship	* Number of programmes theories are taught in/number of students enrolled in those programmes Number of citations by other researchers of original work Number of books/articles published/sold Number of times research has resulted in changes to professional practice and/or policy Renewal of cultural practices measured through increased activity in relation to scholarship endeavour
Creative work	* Number of performances of a play/dance/performance Number of people visiting an art exhibition and/or number of times exhibition picked up/toured Number of books/performances/publications sold Renewal of cultural practices measured through increased activity in relation to creative work Changes to policy and/or community practices Royalties paid on intellectual property Number of citations by other researchers of original work
Consultancy Professional practice	* Hits on peer reviewed website Number of times research has resulted in changes to professional practice and/or policy Number of other professions/organisations adopting practices Endorsement as best practice through benchmarking or similar activities

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