Impact Case Studies

Impact case studies are narratives that provide evidence-based descriptions of how research has contributed to positive change and benefits for society. They can explain why research was undertaken, describe the translation process, and offer captivating stories about complex research areas. Impact case studies are useful for communicating research through various means, including websites, social media, academic CVs, grant applications, stakeholder reporting, promotional pathways, impact awards, and submissions such as the ARC Engagement and Impact assessment (pdf summary of the below can be found here).

Structure of an impact case study

The structure of an impact case study includes a short, easy-to-understand title that describes the impact of the research.

The summary of the impact should be concise and free of technical language or jargon. It should:

clearly articulate the major impacts,
reach, and
significance, connecting them to specific beneficiaries and the problems or questions that the research addresses.

The description of the underpinning research should outline:

the key research findings,
describe the research itself, and
explain how the research was commissioned and implemented to address a unique challenge,
also include any relevant contextual information about
- the research area,
- the names of key researchers,
- and institutional positions held at the time of research.

References section

The references section should provide citations for key outputs from the research, including:

author(s),
title,
year of publication,
type of output,
relevant details, and
access to the output if required for assessment or submission.
This section should also include evidence of the quality of the research, such as:
- grant details, including the person/s who was awarded the grant,
- grant title, sponsor,
- grant period, and
- grant value.

Description of the impact

The description of the impact should provide a narrative that includes tangible evidence explaining how the research made a distinct and significant contribution to the impact. It should clearly explain a causal chain, with evidence for each distinct step, of how the research pathway led from the research to impact.

The description of the impact should also include:

specific, well-evidenced articulations of impacts, significance, and reach, with dates of when the impact occurred.
The nature and extent of the impact, including how the research made an evident contribution, should be described, and indicators, metrics, or data should be added wherever possible.
The section should also identify the beneficiaries, intermediaries, and end-users and how they have benefitted, and describe how the researchers have engaged with these beneficiaries and end-users.

The evidence of impact section should list external sources that corroborate the key impact claims.

Approach to impact

As part of the approach to impact section, a chronological narrative should explain how the impact was facilitated and realized, focusing on the time frame between the research and the impact.

This section should consider questions such as:

What support was provided to create impact?
How was that support implemented?
How did researchers engage with stakeholders, end-users, or beneficiaries?
What processes were used to evaluate impact plan and outcomes?
How were translation methods integrated into research practices?
What resources were made available to facilitate impact realization?
What other strategies were used to drive research engagement?

Final words

Finally, it is important to be punchy and concise in impact case studies due to word count and character limits.

Easy-to-understand language should be used to ensure information is salient and well connected.
A consistent active voice should be maintained, and repetition, specific technical terminology, and “isms” should be avoided.
Necessary technical terms should be explained, and acronyms should be spelled out only if necessary.
Headings and language should be consistent and meaningful, and bolded text should be used for impacts, beneficiaries, researchers, dates, and internal references.
Testimonial quotes should be italicized, and policy citations should be included with support from testimonials of the research contribution.
It is also helpful to describe any commercialization of specific research findings and consider using visuals and images to illustrate the case study.