New ASIS&T Research Impact Award

ASIS&T is proud to announce a new award for 2024 focusing on the tremendous impact of Information Science. We are grateful to Rutgers University School of Communication and Information for agreeing to fund the award for five years, and to Stephann Makri, Heather O'Brien, and Ian Ruthven for conceiving of and proposing the award.

Purpose of the Award

This award will make more visible the dimensions of the societal contribution of Information Science and provide role models and examples for new scholars wishing to translate research into practical benefits for others. An award for outstanding research impact will shape and nourish Information Science as a discipline by encouraging future research that has important impact. This, in turn, will support researchers’ career development, as impact is highly valued by academic institutions and governments when assessing research contributions and research quality.

We use the term “impact” to refer to the application of research to a community that can benefit from the findings and the outcomes of that application. We realize that other terms such as knowledge exchange, knowledge mobilization, and translational research are used synonymously. What is intended with this award is ultimately the channeling through which findings of research have an impact on broad communities (which can be transdisciplinary). There should be a demonstrable positive change and understanding of the research which may lead to a transition from enquiry into practice. Existing awards (especially the Award of Merit and Research in Information Science Award) touch on practice, but only as part of a portfolio of activities.

The award will be offered to individuals or teams who have translated Information Science research into outcomes with demonstrated societal impact. The nomination will include a description of the research, the nature of its impact, and evidence on the scale and significance of the impact.