IMPAKT's research focus is on issues related to industrial transformation, with a particular emphasis on knowledge and technological change, including education, R&D, innovation and entrepreneurship. The role of universities as knowledge creators, collaboration partners, producers of graduates, and breeding grounds for potential entrepreneurs constitutes a specific sub-area of research.

The members of IMPAKT apply a variety of research methods, spanning from action research and diverse qualitative methods to quantitative methods applied on register and survey data. Research disciplines include organization and management studies, innovation studies, and entrepreneurial economics.

IMPAKT aims to engage with policy and business communities through carrying out research and user-oriented analyses that can:

·       generate new knowledge, which can inform policy decisions or inspire behavioral changes in public as well as private organizations; and

·       provide knowledge on the effect and wider societal impacts of policies and behavioral changes.

·       The last point includes evaluations and broader impact assessments of the effects of specific policy initiatives and investments in education, research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

IMPAKT started out as a sub-branch of the IKE research group, but has developed to include members from other related research areas.