Economic Impact Evaluation of ESDS

ESDS generates value for money

An economic evaluation of the Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS) reveals that for every pound currently invested in data and infrastructure, the service returns £5.40 in net economic value to users and other stakeholders. This compares favourably with the return on investment previously demonstrated for the British Library and for UK academic libraries in general.

The report, commissioned by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and prepared by external consultants, aimed to not only evaluate the economic benefits and impact of ESDS, but also to further develop impact evaluation methods that can provide the research council with robust and consistent estimates for all its investments in data service infrastructure.

The newly announced UK Data Service will draw on these strengths, as ESDS will be a key partner in the integrated service, providing users with a unified point of access to an increasingly extensive collection of research data including census data.

Full news story:

http://www.esds.ac.uk/news/newsdetail.asp?id=3291

ESRC link to full report:

http://www.esrc.ac.uk/impacts-and-findings/impact-assessment/economic-impact-evaluation.aspx

Invitation to tender: Economic impact evaluation of ESDS

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is seeking to commission an exploratory evaluation study to assess the economic impact and benefits of its main research data infrastructure, the Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS). This study is also intended to further develop the ESRC's approach to economic impact evaluation.

The purpose of the evaluation will be to identify and assess economic impact by:

• applying economic valuation techniques where appropriate to derive a quantitative estimate of the economic benefits of ESDS data and services
• presenting the results of the economic assessment within the context of a broader qualitative analysis of the benefits of the ESDS
• conducting case studies of the impact generated by research based on ESDS data
• reflecting on the results and identifying best practice and lessons for:
               o maximising the benefits from research data infrastructure investments and
               o developing approaches for future economic impact evaluations

Further details and a copy of the full specification are available from Jonathan Smith at the Research Councils UK Shared Services Centre Ltd.: Jonathan.Smith@ssc.rcuk.ac.uk, 01235 446394

Reference PS110004
Submission deadline is Tuesday 14 June 2011 at 11.00am