Rowan Williams has expressed concern over the narrow definition of the word “impact”, as applied to higher education institutions in order to measure their success.

In an article published in Times Higher Education last week, the former Archbishop of Canterbury and current Master of Magdalene College, argued that “most of the metrics currently used to measure ‘impact’ are at best clumsy, and at worst counter-productive.” He said that academics were “constrained by box-ticking”.

Lord Williams noted that the success of a university tends to be measured by its public impact, but worried that the definition of ‘impact’ is too frequently limited to commercial significance.

In outlining a broader definition of “impact”, Williams highlighted the importance of universities in training individuals who would be capable of taking on a leading role in society, who could think critically and not be “slaves” to media that attempted to manipulate their emotions.

He pointed to the heritage of universities, reminding us that they were created to forge social leaders: “[I]t is essential to equip citizens who can confidently take part in the discernment and management of public life, whether simply as voters, or as activists or leaders of various sorts”.