Five tips for a realistic impact plan

You’re writing a research proposal and need to draw up an impact plan as part of it. Fair enough, but… What does that look like? What’s realistic? And when is it good enough?

An impact plan is, at its core, a roadmap to a goal: the difference you want to make with your research. And just as importantly, it keeps you and your project on track – even when science takes another unpredictable turn (see Why an impact plan makes you happy).

But… where do you start? There are all sorts of tools and just as many pitfalls. DEMPACT likes to work with Impact Maps. These form part of a scientifically grounded approach to bringing about change (Theory of Change) and are very useful for PIs and PhD students alike. Follow these five tips and you’ll have a solid foundation.

1. Do what you’re already good at: test hypotheses
2. Don’t set your target on the horizon, but within reach
3. Start broadly; leave the details for later
4. Hang your impact plan above your desk
5. Don’t look for a benchmark; keep reflecting

Interested?

DEMPACT organises practical workshops on drawing up impact maps.

1. Do what you’re already good at: test hypotheses

With an Impact Map, you do what you’re already used to doing as a researcher: formulating and testing hypotheses. For example: activities a, b and c cause x to change for target groups y and z. You then check whether this holds true in practice. If not, you investigate why not and adjust your plan.

Fictitious example. You want more care providers to know how to deal with behavioural changes caused by dementia. Currently, this figure stands at 20 per cent. You want this to reach 50 per cent in four years’ time, thanks to a training programme. You then consider: what do you need to research, develop and organise to get there? That is your working hypothesis. How do you check along the way whether you’re on the right track? An Impact Map, based on the Theory of Change methodology, helps you work through this process step by step.

2. Don’t set your sights on the horizon, but within reach

A great many researchers fall into this classic trap: setting an impact goal that lies beyond the reach of their influence. Of course, you want to contribute to better healthcare or to a treatment for dementia. But nobody can achieve that on their own – and certainly not within a single project or consortium.

The question is: what is your contribution to this project? Perhaps it is this: over the next four years, to clarify exactly how research into X makes a real difference, for whom and where exactly. This may sound modest, but it is usually what is needed to take the next step – that is how you create impact.

So make it very specific and measurable. Not ‘greater insight’, but ‘25 interviews in five care homes’. And not ‘for care providers’, but ‘for level 4 carers at memory clinics’.

Is that enough? Yes, that’s enough.

3. Start broadly; leave the details for later

When writing a research proposal, you won’t know everything yet. That’s fine. Start by setting out the impact (the improvement) you want to achieve, and for whom. For the time being, you can describe the activities that will take you there as ‘finding out how we can do X’ or ‘finding out what the role of Y is’.

As soon as a work package or project starts, you can zoom in. What specific outcomes should it deliver? What is a logical route: what actions are involved and how do you measure whether you’re staying on track?

4. Hang your impact plan above your desk

An Impact Map is not a bureaucratic formality, but a useful working document. So don’t tuck it away on your server – hang it above your desk and, above all, use it: during work meetings, consortium days and evaluations.

Always ask yourself: does this activity really contribute to the impact we want to achieve? And if not: what do we need to change? Perhaps it turns out that you shouldn’t be targeting carers, but rather the professionals who conduct the intakes. And not with a training course, but with a leaflet. Such adjustments are also part of the process.

5. Don’t focus on the finish line; instead, reflect

An Impact Map is therefore more of a compass than a finish line for an impact plan. You are constantly checking whether an activity contributes to achieving your desired impact. Are we still on track? If not: why is that, and what is needed to get back on track? Good to know: a well-thought-out Impact Map provides you with a solid starting point. Funding bodies such as ZonMw encourage this way of thinking. Do you also need to complete a standard form? If so, you’ll often already have the answers to hand.

You can also incorporate feedback from funding bodies into your measurement plan. This allows you to keep reflecting and improving. And that’s precisely the value: a good impact plan helps you and your project move forward. Not by locking everything down, but by steering the process intelligently.

Read more

• Vilans.nl on social impact
• zonmw.nl on how to draw up your own impact plan
• nwo.nl on knowledge utilisation.
• iph.nl on the Impact Map
• theoryofchange.org on the Theory of Change