The many ways of academic researchers : How is science made useful?

• In assessing the performance of academic research, there is a growing interest in combining excellence with impact criteria. A frequently encountered belief is that impact should be understood in terms of new firms and patents. Others argue that academic R&D generates impacts that greatly exceed such commercialization efforts by academic researchers. The tension between these two beliefs reveals a risk that the criteria for assessing the impact of academic R&D, including criteria for allocating performance-based funding, may neglect vital aspects of how science is made useful. With insights gained from a comprehensive analysis of a wellreputed academic body, Chalmers Energy Initiative, we address this risk with the aim of contributing to the eventual design of an evidence-based science policy with appropriate evaluation routines.

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