This report was commissioned by the 'Towards a National Collection' programme, to better understand the ways in which open access shapes how the United Kingdom’s digital cultural heritage collections can be accessed and reused.

In early 2008 the AHRC created an Impact Task Force to provide evidence to Government and other interested parties such as Parliament, the Higher Education sector, industry, the press, and the taxpayer of the value of the research it funds and how it generates value for the UK taxpayer.

The UK Arts and Humanities Research Council provides funding for students undertaking Masters degrees and doctoral research in the arts and humanities. Approximately 40 per cent of their funding is spent in support of postgraduate research and training. In 2005/06 this amounted to just over 33 million. It is important for the AHRC to understand...

In recent years there has been mounting concern to understand the distribution, utility and influence of research findings in non-academic contexts. This concern originates in part from political imperatives to demonstrate public value, for research to move towards pragmatic considerations in wider public discourse, in cultural, industry and policy environments.