Further developments in the use of an impact survey

Abstract

Purpose

Following the partial privatisation of Dstl's parent organisation, a major change in the structure and philosophy of the LIS has been carried through and, although many of its services appear unchanged to its clients, a great deal of resources have been invested to change the content, delivery and technology behind them. This paper aims to describe the use of an impact survey to identify the effect of these changes from the clients' viewpoint.

Design/methodology/approach

The author's IMPACT survey, which produces baseline figures for the impact of library and information services (LIS) offerings to a research organisation, has been reported on earlier. It surveys the authors of the research papers generated by the organisation to identify the impact that identified services had on their ability to produce the final intellectual product.

Findings

The results demonstrate to the organisation and its management that the investment strategy has produced a step‐change in service delivery.

Originality/value

The IMPACT survey, though limited to those organisations where a tangible intellectual product is the main output, provides a demonstrable valuation of offered services.

Citation

Thornton, S. (2005), "Further developments in the use of an impact survey", Performance Measurement and Metrics, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 108-114. https://doi.org/10.1108/14678040510700377