How do you measure and demonstrate the impact and relevance of your research outcomes?

1 Define your impact goals

Before you can measure and demonstrate your impact, you need to define what impact means for your research project and who are your intended audiences. Impact can be understood as the positive change or benefit that your research contributes to society, the environment, the economy, or a specific field of knowledge. Depending on your discipline, methodology, and scope, you may have different impact goals and indicators, such as citations, policy changes, media coverage, collaborations, patents, or social outcomes. You should also identify who are the stakeholders that are interested in or affected by your research, such as academics, practitioners, policymakers, funders, or the general public, and what are their expectations and needs.

2 Choose your impact metrics

Once you have defined your impact goals and audiences, you need to choose the appropriate metrics or indicators that can help you quantify and qualify your impact. There are many types of impact metrics, such as bibliometric, altmetric, economic, social, or environmental, that can capture different aspects and dimensions of your impact. However, not all metrics are equally relevant, valid, or reliable for your research context and purpose. You should select the metrics that best align with your impact goals and audiences, and that can provide meaningful and robust evidence of your impact. You should also be aware of the limitations and biases of some metrics, such as citation counts or journal impact factors, and use them with caution and context.

3 Use impact platforms and tools

To collect and analyze your impact metrics, you can use various platforms and tools that can help you track and visualize your impact data. For example, you can use online databases and repositories, such as Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, or ORCID, to monitor your bibliometric data, such as publications, citations, h-index, or author profiles. You can also use social media and web analytics platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, or Google Analytics, to measure your altmetric data, such as mentions, shares, views, likes, or comments. Additionally, you can use impact assessment frameworks and models, such as the Research Excellence Framework (REF), the Payback Framework, or the Logic Model, to evaluate your economic, social, or environmental impact.

4 Communicate your impact story

To demonstrate your impact to your audiences, you need to communicate your impact story in a clear and compelling way. Your impact story is the narrative that explains how your research has made a difference or added value to a specific problem or issue. To craft your impact story, you should use your impact metrics as evidence, but not as the main focus. You should also tailor your impact story to your audience's interests and needs, and use the appropriate language and format. For example, you can use academic publications, conference presentations, or peer reviews to communicate your impact to other researchers. You can also use policy briefs, reports, or testimonials to communicate your impact to policymakers or funders. Moreover, you can use blogs, podcasts, videos, or infographics to communicate your impact to the public or the media.

5 Engage with your impact network

To enhance and sustain your impact, you need to engage with your impact network, which is the group of people and organizations that are involved in or influenced by your research. Your impact network can help you disseminate your impact story, provide feedback and support, create new opportunities and collaborations, and amplify your impact reach and scope. To engage with your impact network, you should build and maintain relationships with your stakeholders, share and exchange knowledge and resources, seek and offer advice and guidance, and acknowledge and appreciate their contributions and inputs.

6 Review and improve your impact practice

To ensure that your impact practice is effective and ethical, you need to review and improve your impact practice on a regular basis. Your impact practice is the process and approach that you use to plan, implement, measure, communicate, and engage with your impact. To review and improve your impact practice, you should reflect on your impact goals and metrics, evaluate your impact platforms and tools, assess your impact story and communication, solicit feedback and input from your impact network, and identify areas for improvement and development. You should also follow the principles and standards of responsible research and innovation (RRI), which include public engagement, open access, gender equality, ethics, and governance.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?