Plan
The tools, resources and information on this page will help you plan for impact, increasing the likelihood of your research making a positive difference in the world. Using them, you will be able to identify who in society stands to benefit from your research, work out how you can connect with the right people to create impact, and write more convincingly about the potential impact of your work.
Impact Planning Canvas
The Impact Planning Canvas is a tool which makes life easier by breaking impact down into its component parts. It can help with many aspects of impact planning, from identifying collaborators to writing impact sections in funding proposals.
It is preferable to think about impact at the beginning of a research project – this gives you the best chance of getting your research into the right hands to make a difference. However, the Canvas can be completed at any stage of the research journey. It is never too late to think about impact. The Canvas can also be used to reflect on completed projects, helping you identify impacts that may have already occurred.
The best way to fill it in is to use post-it notes, either physically or using an online whiteboard system, like Miro or Google Jamboard. This allows you to think flexibly, and makes it easier to adapt your responses as you work through the different sections. Completing the canvas should not take long – just 15 to 30 minutes.
Watch this video to learn how to fill in the Canvas:
Timing
It is important to consider the timing of research impact, as some impacts may be long-term.
Short-term - impact observed
- Implementation of outputs for improvement
- Increased knowledge, skills, awareness
- Altered attitudes
Medium-term - actions delivering future impact
- Changes in behaviour, practices, procedures, values, decision making, focus
Long-term - specific short/medium term indicators of long-term impact
- Changes in policy, legislation
- Improvements to the economy
- Societal/Cultural shift
- Environmental improvements
- Acceptance and use of technologies
Stakeholders
It is beneficial to have meaningful engagement with your stakeholders from conception and design of a project to its application. This will help you gain an understanding of what your stakeholders need, and not just what you wish to do.
First, you must consider who your stakeholders are. Stakeholders are anyone who will use and benefit from your work.
These include:
- General public
- Private sector
- Public sector
- Charities/Not for Profit
- Policy makers
- International, national or local government/agencies
- Interested Groups
- Community, Professional, Practitioner, Specialist and Support groups
Purpose
Linking the purpose of your proposed research to tangible strategic goals (sector-specific, local, national, international, global) will give your work credibility and external/peer validation. It demonstrates a need for your proposed research and reduces the need to convince the reviewer that your research is timely.
An example of a global framework that your research can be linked to is the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs, agreed on by all 193 UN Member States in 2015, are a set of 17 goals and 169 underpinning targets, to secure a more sustainable future for all the world’s citizens. In 2022, a project was completed in UCC to map our research to the SDGs. Helpful information about the SDGs and the results of the project is available on our SDGs website.
Ms. Julie O'Donoghue outlines how to use a mapping tool to realize alignment between your research and the SDGs – at goal and target level. An awareness and understanding of the impact of your research on the SDGs is important for funding applications, seeking potential collaborations and communicating about your research to different audiences. The workshop is especially helpful for researchers who missed the SDGs mapping workshops in summer 2022 or for those who are looking to refresh their knowledge about the SDGs.
Recording Link (Internal UCC Sharepoint Link)
Writing an impact section in a funding proposal
The requirements for impact statements on funding proposals will differ depending on the criteria set out by the funding body. It is important to be clear from the beginning in understanding what is being evaluated in required impact sections. Below are some useful links from a selection of funding bodies, and their guidance on writing impact statements.
Useful links
- Science Foundation Ireland has guidance on completing an impact statement, available on their website.
- Horizon Europe - Guidelines on impact can be found in the Work Programmes and the application form.
Research Skills Training Programme
Pathways to Impact: Presented by Dr. Allen White and Dr. Sean Lucey, this session looks at impact across a range of fields including Clinical and Health Research, Business, Social Sciences & Humanities. It also explores the Case Study Narrative Template developed within the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences.
- Recording Link (Internal UCC Sharepoint Link)
Other impact planning resources
- Professor Mark Reed of Fast Track Impact has a freely available Impact Planning Template. Professor Reed has also made a Stakeholder Analysis Template freely available, which can help in prioritising which beneficiaries to work with.
- ENLIGHT in University of Galway are members of the ENLIGHT research impact team, and have developed a Repository of International Good Practices on Research Impact Assessment and Measurement; as well as the Toolkit for Self-Assessment of Universities Research Impact Awareness, Literacy and Readiness.
- Campus Engage, based within the Irish Universities Association, has information and resources available regarding making an impact through Engaged Research and Innovation.