What Really Motivates Researchers to Make Real-World Impact?

Duration: 57 mins
Publication Date: May 2025

About the session

A recent survey of more than 1,000 social and behavioral scientists reveals to what extent researchers are motivated to make their work impactful outside of academia and how the leadership at their institutions incentivize and reward (or not) that kind of effort. In a highly interactive presentation, we will reveal the responses to this survey, polling audience members and comparing audience expectations with the survey responses from researchers. A discussion amongst panelists and audience members that follows will address:

How researchers feel about making impact on society and what they think their peers feel

How publisher metrics may or may not reflect the aims of researchers and where this use and its motivations might be misaligned

The role that others in the scholarly ecosystem play in motivating researchers to make impact

What technologies exist to support publishers who want to enable the creation of impactful research

Collection

Annual Meeting (2025)

Speakers

Associate Dean for Academic Engagement and Editorial Director, Carnegie Mellon University Press/Carnegie Mellon University Libraries

Dr. Nicky Agate is Associate Dean for Academic Engagement and Principal Librarian at Carnegie Mellon University Libraries, where she also serves as Editorial Director of CMU Press. Nicky’s research focuses on creating more equitable systems for scholarly evaluation, transforming academic culture through values-based decision-making, and fostering sustainable, ethical approaches to academic publishing. Nicky is currently spearheading the Project on Open and Evolving Metaliteracies (POEM), an IMLS-funded initiative curating and publishing OER for AI literacy in higher education. She is also a co-PI on the HuMetricsHSS project and on the Hewlett and Mellon-funded Values-Enacted Leadership Institute, which facilitates values-based approaches to academic evaluation and leadership. Before joining CMU in 2023, Nicky held leadership positions at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Columbia University Libraries, and the Modern Language Association. She has a PhD in French Literature from New York University and an MFA in Literary Translation from the University of Iowa.
Product Manager, Overton

Taylor leads Overton’s product strategy for Overton’s flagship products, Index and Engage. She acts as a bridge between users and developers; learning how best to deliver user centred products that help bridge the gap between academia and policymaking. Prior to Overton she worked in the conference industry before making her way into tech start ups, where she discovered her passion for building great products.
Product Marketing Director, Silverchair

Samantha leads Silverchair's product marketing strategy for The Silverchair Platform, ScholarOne Manuscripts + Conferences, and Sensus Impact. She is responsible for collaborating cross-functionally, as well as with external clients and partners to ensure the broadest reach and understanding for Silverchair's product suite. She has worked in the publishing industry for over a decade, including at Wiley and Morressier.
AVP Corporate Communications, Sage

Camille Gamboa is Associate Vice President of Corporate Communications at Sage where she manages a program to support a healthy future for social and behavioral science. In this capacity, she convenes representatives from across the trans-Atlantic to collaborate and share best practices. Camille is also a regular blogger for the Charleston Hub where she writes about the intersection of research, publishing, and academic librarianship. She has a Master of Arts in communication from Pepperdine University and a certificate for women and leadership from Antioch University. She lives in the DC area with her husband and two daughters.