In many countries, the state is a major funder of research, whether directly or indirectly, through state-like organisations known as parastatals. Research in geographical education is a beneficiary of such research funding, although seldom at the levels of biomedicine and applied science. Where the state funds research, it is entitled to ask for evidence of benefits from such investment. One of the consequences of this relationship in the last 15 years has been an increasing interest in systematically monitoring research productivity, and during this time, we have also seen the impacts of the revolution in information technology flow into research. The outcome has been the advent of sophisticated research management and modelling tools that are both a threat and an opportunity.