Activity – Initiatives and endeavours undertaken using the resources of a Research Infrastructure or work performed by Research Infrastructure staff.

Activity indicator - Indicators that capture the scale and nature of a Research Infrastructure’s activities; a measure that should form part of internal reporting.

Economic impact - Monetary and fiscal effects induced in the regional, national and international production and entrepreneurial system; it includes effects in the domains of technological development and innovation

Human resource impact – Effects on the development of scientific, technical and non-scientific personnel, as well as changes in the level of new competences and skills in wider society.

Impact – Intended and unintended long-term effects of activities using the resources of a Research Infrastructure or work performed by Research Infrastructure staff.

Impact assessment – Systematic, evidence-based evaluation of effects caused by an intervention, such as funding the construction or extension of a Research Infrastructure.

Impact framework – A conceptual reference tool to help structure thinking about impact and shepherd audiences toward adopting shared language, terms and meanings.

Impact indicator - An indicator that reflects the extent and nature of generated effects in the economy and wider society; with few exceptions, impact indicators are estimations.

Impact pathway – A simplified causal chain of events (‘productive interactions’) that connects a Research Infrastructure’s activities to identifiable effects on the economy and wider society.

Key performance indicator (KPI) - Project-management tools used to monitor the performance vis-à-vis objectives, and to ensure the efficient use of resources.

Monitoring – Tracking the progress and keeping a systematic overview of the scope and quality of activities and outcomes over a certain period of time.

Outcome – Longer-term effects that stem from the stakeholder uptake of or interaction with Research Infrastructure outputs.

Outcome indicator - Indicators that document the result of the first productive interactions; collecting data by reaching out to involved stakeholders, e.g. via a survey, interview, external reporting or other data-gathering means.

Output – Immediate direct effects and products attributable to an activity performed on a Research Infrastructure or by Research Infrastructure staff.

Policy impact – Effects and changes in the area of regulations, standards, institutions and science diplomacy, among other policy-related domains.

Productive interaction – Exchange and engagement between research facilities, researchers and stakeholders which results in new or different ways of doing things.

Research Infrastructure (RI) - Facilities that provide resources and services for research communities to conduct research and foster innovation; RIs can be used beyond research, e.g. for education or public services, and they may be single-sited, distributed, or virtual.

Social impact – Refers to the effects on society; the well-being of individuals and communities, and how well societal challenges like climate change, sustainability, inclusion, and science literacy are addressed.

Socio-economic impact – Effects on or changes to society and the economy that Research Infrastructures generate beyond contributions to academic knowledge.

Stakeholder – An individual or community of individuals interested in, or concerned about, an issue; Research Infrastructure stakeholders, among others, comprise facility managers, staff, various governing bodies, scientific and non-scientific users, industry and private-sector providers, research and higher-education institutions, specialised agencies and institutions like hospitals and vocational schools, policy makers and funders.

Qualitative indicator – Narrated information based on meanings, perceptions and representations of people about a specific outcome or effect collected through, for example, case studies, surveys and in-depth interviews.

Quantitative indicator - Measure of quantities or amount (number, index, percentage or ratio) based on available monitoring data.