Understand what impact is, why it's important in your science, and how to achieve and maximise it.
The Making Sense of Impact module helps you understand how impact is defined in the RS&I context.
iPEN's training in this module has focused on regularly delivering our free webinar to all CRI staff, where we provide a brief background on the concept, and basic pointers on what you need to be thinking about and the questions you should ask to help you identify YOUR impact.
​

Takeaway points

  • Impact has no strict definition, and is better understood as describing the things we think are important and where we want to see change (usually positive).
  • Impacts reflect what we value and think is important in a particular context.
  • The potential impact from your research (what is valued and important) is best identified in conversation with the stakeholders of your research. These may be other researchers, iwi, local community, industry or other sector representatives. Talk with them early and often, and proactively involve them in the process to identify what these desirable changes (impacts) are.
  • Thinking about different types and categories of impact will also help you understand your potential impact.  These can be found by checking relevant strategic documents. These include strategic plans or Statements of Corporate Intent of the organisations or sector you're working in, and also documents such as Treasury's Living Standards Framework, or even the Sustainable Development Goals.
If you'd like to attend the next webinar, register your interest via our contact page. ​​

Key resources

In our webinar we share a number of important and useful resources that we encourage all CRI staff to review, to help them think about and understand impact in our context.
MBIE's position paper on the impact of research is the No. 1 resource we encourage you to read. 
​This details MBIE's definition of impact and describes how they would like to see the adoption of the results chain framework as a key tool to demonstrate the 'line of sight' to impact from research. 
While it has some limitations as a comprehensive resource, it's a good starting point to understand what MBIE means when talking about science impact.
MBIE's definition of Impact
“A change to the economy, society or environment, beyond contribution to knowledge and skills in research organisations.”
The Health Research Council is one of the other main funders of research in New Zealand, and has also developed a definition and guidelines of what impact means in this context. 
Although the health context is slightly different to CRIs, the guidance they have developed is clear and simple, and includes some great examples. Read their guidelines on how to get 'Funding fit', watch their video (under 'Considering research impact' on that page) and read the excellent notes that give further explanation to what they cover in the video.  

Other resources

The Research Impact Handbook is a great, easy-to-read handbook on research impact, and it includes an excellent chapter on different types of impact to help prompt your thinking. 
The principles and approaches that author Mark Reed outlines are consistent with the messages that the iPEN team have been promoting, and this is an excellent resource to get your hands on.
Since 2010  CSIRO has been implementing an organisation-wide impact framework to consistently plan, monitor, and evaluate the impact of their research. 
This approach is consistent with other approaches used by other international organisations such as the OECD and the World Bank. Their approaches and MBIE's results-chain framework are broadly the same, and consistent with the approaches iPEN is supporting through our training modules.
iPEN members are in touch with our CSIRO colleagues to learn what has worked for them, and where they have encountered challenges. 
Hungry for more?
​Check out our resources page, or sign up to some of the networks or professional organisations we've listed here.