The Broader Impacts statement is a key component of any research proposal submitted to the National Science Foundation (NSF). Incorporating a plan to bring your science to the larger public is an important element for NSF grant applications because Broader Impacts is one of the two review criteria NSF uses for evaluating applications:
- Intellectual Merit: The potential to advance knowledge, and
- Broader Impacts: The potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes
Broader impacts can be accomplished:
- Through the research itself (i.e., research that has the potential to lead to breakthroughs in certain industries or contribute to solutions to societal problems)
- Through the activities that are directly related to specific research projects (e.g., using the research project as a training ground for students or early-career scientists)
- Through activities that are supported by, but are complementary to, the project (e.g., running an educational workshop for high school students on your research topic)
Planning Broader Impacts
The following web pages and resources can help you make a plan for expanding the impact of your research in society.
- Five tips for your Broader Impacts - NSF's webpage provides guidance from program officers on how best to address the Broader Impacts section of your project.
- CAS Support Services through STEM CORE - CAS Support Services can assist faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences with developing and implementing their broader impacts plan, for example, by drawing on existing connections to K-12, community colleges, museums and other partners in the community. See their webpage for a full list of services.
- Advancing Research Impact in Society (ARIS) - ARIS provides numerous resources for principal investigators seeking to broaden the impact of their research, from toolboxes, to help videos, to starter kits.
- ARIS Broader Impacts Wizard - This tool guides you through the process of developing a Broader Impacts plan that contains all the pieces necessary for successful implementation.
- ARIS Resources Page - This webpage is a database of materials to support principal investigators with broader impacts work.
- Understanding Broader Impacts Webinar (57 min; Timetable document for video )
Evaluating Implementation of Broader Impacts
Your proposal should include a plan to evaluate your broader impact activities. The resources below can help you find an evaluator for your project or support you in creating your own evaluation process and plan.
- American Evaluation Association - Use this source to find an evaluator for your project or learn more about evaluation practices.
- CAS Support Services through STEM CORE - CAS Support Services can help with evaluation as well as program design. Reach out to their office for more information about how they can support your work.
- Informal Science - This page from the Center for the Advancement of Informal Science (NSF Center) is a collection of project, research, and evaluation resources designed to support the informal STEM education community in a variety of learning environments.
- STELAR - STEM Learning and Research Center - Another source for finding evaluators with whom you can contract on a proposal. This resource was created for the ITEST mechanism, but education materials can be applicable to evaluation more broadly.