From Results to Impact: The European Commission Presents 10 Pathways to Research Valorisation

The European Commission has published a new Practical Guidance for the Valorisation of Multidisciplinary Research and Innovation Results. The document was developed as part of a study focusing on the valorisation of results from multidisciplinary research and from the Social Sciences and Humanities under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe. It will be particularly useful for researchers, project teams, research organisations and organisations supporting the transfer of research results into practice that are looking for concrete ways to increase the uptake and impact of research results.

The main practical value of the guidance lies in 10 specific pathways to the valorisation of results, including human-centred technology solutions, social innovation ventures, digital community platforms, capacity building, policymaking, and the use of results in culture and public discourse. The guidance also includes two decision trees. The first helps identify an appropriate way to use a result based on its type, for example whether it is data, a methodology or a prototype. The second starts from the intended societal or economic impact and helps identify suitable partners and next steps.

Each pathway to results valorisation is complemented by practical scenarios, project examples and recommended actions at both research team and institutional level. The guidance can therefore support not only the use of results that have already been generated, but also the planning of their future impact, the identification of suitable users and partners, and the development of a project strategy. The document is based on an analysis of 100 Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects, 40 in-depth interviews, and testing involving 60 experts.