However HEFCE deals with the responses to its recent REF Consultation, much of
them critical of its proposals on impact, the assessment of impact is clearly going to
be a major part of any future compact between academic researchers and their
paymasters. However, there remain important unanswered questions about what is
meant by impact and how it might be measured or even described in the field of
Education. The focus of this article is the assessment of impact in the light of the
forthcoming Research Excellence Framework (REF) although the importance of
demonstrating impact (and hence the issues raised in this article) is relevant in a
range of contexts
