Last week I spoke on understanding and communicating potential impacts of research findings in the quest for funding. I shared three approaches PIs can use when they need to communicate impact but are unsure about how to start. The audience consisted of attendees at a “Success with Research Funding” Scientify Research webinar that also included representatives of Overton and the Research on Research Institute.

To set the stage, it's helpful to remember that as you advance in your career, you generally need to take a higher-level perspective understanding and communicating how your work fits into a larger context than what you probably did when you were in graduate school.

When you’re a student or in another trainee role, you’re in the weeds. This isn't a criticism; it’s exactly where you want to be at that time. It's your job to learn specialized skills and knowledge to become a subject matter expert in your research area. However, as you advance you're going to be interacting with people from further and further outside your discipline, possibly including non-technical decision-makers. This means that when you talk about impact, you must provide the relevant context so the impacts can be fully appreciated.

Here are three methods for doing that:

1. Look for examples and inspiration from those who've already done it well. For excellent reporting on STEM research, see MIT News. Their talented writers produce great headlines. Almost all of them place impact front and center. Check out what's there. Another place to look is Science Matters at the NSF website. These are news stories on the outcomes of NSF-funded research projects. Scroll through to look for articles on research related to your subject matter.

2. Work toward communicating impact by “talking it out.” Sometimes it’s hard to find just the right words but this is where AI can help. Open a transcription app, and start speaking about your research. Explain the impacts you think your work will have. Rambling on is good! Don't worry about grammar or “ums.” When you have the transcript, ask AI to pull out the likely impacts in sentences that will help you convey impact succinctly. You can also brainstorm with AI for additional potential impacts beyond those you have already identified. However, if you use this method it’s imperative to perform a reality check to confirm you’re receiving good, defensible claims.

3. Consider which impacts may be quantifiable. Will the results from your research make a process less costly? If so, estimate by how much. Will your research speed up a process? Again, estimate by how much. Not all work lends itself to these kinds of metrics, but think about whether there's anything you might say here. Quantification can be a simple way to communicate impact clearly. Again, just make sure you can back up your claims.

There are many methods you can use to communicate impact and these are three right here!

Thanks to Scientify Research for inviting me to share these tips and participate in their roundtable.

More on Impact

This week I’m linking to a video I recorded earlier this year that breaks down how some NSF-funded PIs successfully communicated the impact of their research from proposal stage through completion. Check it out!

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