Creating an impact goal by defining your value proposition.
“An impact goal is a focused and reasonable statement about the long-term change you wish to see from your research,” says Research Impact Facilitator Catherine McElhone.
An impact goal should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound). Be realistic about the impacts that might occur, and consider how long it will take to achieve your impact goal - this may be by the end of your research project, or in 20 years’ time.
An impact goal is a focused and reasonable statement about the long-term change you wish to see from your research
Catherine says creating a project canvas using the template is one of the best ways you can plan for impact.
“Make your goals explicit by using a project canvas to break down your plan for impact. Going through this process is extremely valuable for making your long-term goals explicit and sharing that with collaborators."
Impact planning
When starting your research planning, consider the following:
- What is the challenge, issue, opportunity, or gap in knowledge that your research addresses?
- What is the magnitude of this issue? For example, how many people are affected, who is affected, where is it felt? What is the extent of change you are looking to make?
- How do you know there is need for this research? Think about policy documents, behaviours, trends, media reports, testimonials, etc.
- Imagine a future state where you have successfully delivered a research project addressing the previously described challenge, opportunity or gap in knowledge. What has been achieved?
- Again in a future state, what would your stakeholders say about how they have benefited?
Catherine recommends looking at the UK Research Excellence Framework Impact Cases Studies and the types of metrics used before you start thinking about your own work and how you might use those types of metrics.
“Doing this work and making your impact goal and planning explicit means you can have conversations more easily and utilise the different networks and people available in the UTS community to connect you and open doors."
Watch Fundamentals of Research Impact: Planning for Impact
Access the training - Fundamentals of Research Impact Module 2: Planning for Impact