Business schools produce valuable research with the potential to drive societal change; however, the true impact of this research is difficult to capture and communicate. This is because business schools have unique pathways to societal impact, while current evaluation practices are largely designed for disciplines with more linear impact trajectories.

The demand for business schools to evaluate their societal impact has grown more pronounced with accreditation requirements, such as AACSB’s Standard 9, which mandate that schools demonstrate societal impact outcomes consistent with their mission.

The framework is the culmination of a year-long project led by Dr Chelsea Phillips (ABDC Postdoctoral Researcher), Professor Tracy Taylor (Chair of the ABDC’s research network, RMIT University), Professor Karin Sanders (Chair of the ABDC’s Societal Impact Project, UNSW Business School) and Caroline Falshaw (ABDC Executive Officer).

The team adopted a triangulated approach, involving reviews of academic literature, of existing impact frameworks, and consultation with ABDC members and business researchers to develop a strategic tool for business schools that enables them to reflect all research activities that contribute to generating societal impact.

From this an innovative framework has been developed that is useful for business schools because it is pragmatic while also being novel to the body of literature. The framework captures the people and activities that collectively generate societal impact and reflects the academic system which underpins business school research.

The framework presents Australian business schools with a highly operational and strategic way to evaluate their societal impact, which can act as a tool to guide and encourage more research activities that lead to societal impact.