Measuring the Reputational Impact of International R&I Investments

International Research and Innovation (R&I) activities involve collaborations at national, organisational, and individual levels between the UK and other countries. The UK’s funding programmes, policies, and regulatory frameworks play a crucial role in supporting these international R&I collaborations. An aim of the international R&I investment by the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is to enhance the UK’s global reputation and influence. Reputation generated through international R&I amplifies the benefits by unlocking new opportunities and competitive advantages.

Despite the critical importance of reputation building, there remains a substantial gap in understanding, capturing, and measuring how international R&I activities influence the UK’s reputation. This lack of knowledge poses challenges in effectively identifying the reputational benefits derived from the UK’s investments in international R&I.

In light of this, the report, commissioned by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), aims to make an initial step to provide valuable insights into developing a conceptual framework on how international R&I activities and associated investments enhance the UK’s reputation, and to outline methods that can be adopted to effectively capture and measure the reputational impacts.

Download the executive summary and full report using the links on the right-hand side.