Incentives for Impact: Relevance Regimes Through a Cross-National Perspective

Based on the findings of an international research project, the chapter reveals how an emphasis on relevance—generally discussed through the notion of an ‘impact agenda’—has not only become a central element of funding regimes but has also trickled down to influence political science more specifically. The introduction of incentives to deliver demonstrable evidence of non-academic impact leads the authors to develop the concept of ‘New Public Research’ which resonates with a broader shift from scholarly selected to state-directed notions of relevance. Strikingly, the chapter finds very little concern among academics about this shift.