Abstract Universities of Applied Sciences (UASs) of the Netherlands, like many publicly funded institutions, wish to make their impact on society visible. Policy of the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences (NAUAS) indicates that the NAUAS wish to make impact in specific themes. This article explores the overarching question of how the evaluation of the research impact of UAS research can be conducted within the themes of the NAUAS, in a meaningful way. To do so, this article will closely examine and explore how Dutch UAS researchers view their work within the initial 10 themes, the impact they wish to create in those themes, and the output created during this process using data gathered from a national questionnaire and focus groups. We will reflect on these results against the backdrop of the specific UAS policy aims around impacts, doorwerking (effect or influence), and the broader impact literature.
Coombs et al. (Thu,) studied this question.