Improving agricultural research impact is an important goal for the European Union (EU). The EU Framework 7 project Impresa studied the process of research impact across Europe, and this article selects and discusses results drawn from the 11 Eastern EU Member States. The major methods used were a survey of the levels and trends of research expenditures by the public and private sectors, case studies identifying impact pathways of individual science-based innovations, and quantitative analyses of the relationship between research investments and their final impacts. The conclusions drawn are that, despite the potentially high payback from public investments in agricultural science, insufficient resources are being invested by the post-2004 EU accession countries, and improvements in innovation capacity and networking should enhance the efficiency of research impact.