We often find that even projects with very clear and important impact can struggle to define their impact goals. Maybe this is because researchers don’t see it as impact but part of their research. Or maybe they’re not entirely sure what impact is, and think about pathways instead.
Understanding how to set impact goals can make life as a researcher easier and help you to make improvements to the world outside of academia. It is also an important part of bid writing! It might seem like a daunting task, but a few questions can help you to build your impact goals.
- What research outcome, insight or evidence are you hoping to achieve?
- What will this help to inform?
- What is the potential benefit or change and who will be affected?
To help you to answer these questions, it can be useful to ask:
- Who are the potential stakeholders?
Think of everyone that might be involved – you might find some unexpected impacts. - What are the connections between these groups and your research?
How do your interests overlap? How might you be able to reach this group? Would they benefit, or possibly perceive a negative impact? - What are their needs or problems? How might you be able to help them?
If you are aiming to change something for the better, you’ll need to identify what about the existing situation needs to improve. - How likely is this, and how significant will it be?
Do you have the resources, network and expertise to achieve this impact? Can you develop these? How much of a difference could you make, and how could you maximise this? - So what?
This last question can help you to dig to the heart of your impact. Ask yourself this question as you work through your plans for research and pathways to impact, and you’ll finally reach your impact.
- Your research has informed a new policy – so what? What will change as a result of this policy?
- You achieved record attendance at your exhibition – so what? What has changed for the attendees or other stakeholders as a result of this attendance?
- You’ve created a new product within your field – so what? Has this saved costs, improved efficiency, or met a need that was lacking a solution, for example?
When considering impact goals, it can also be helpful to think more broadly. What made you decide to pursue your research? Was there a particular problem that you want to solve overall? How can your current project contribute to this broader goal?
Once you know what you want to achieve, you can start planning how to get there. Check out our resources on planning and incorporating impact for guidance!
Research and Innovation 