Capturing the impacts of research : Saisir les impacts de la recherche : document de travail sur les implications

Today's world is made up of increasingly complex and interconnected relationships. Knowledge and understanding about people, their ideas and behaviour, are vital for social, cultural and economic prosperity and resilience. In recent decades, the increasing demand for this knowledge has steadily raised expectations by societies around the world about how research--whatever the academic discipline--could contribute to their well-being. National governments worldwide devote billions of dollars every year to research and are responsible for showing that publicly supported research and related activities lead to tangible short- and long-term benefits.