Broader Impacts Identity – Partnerships for Broader Impacts Design

The guide and activities that follow are meant to help you develop a self-directed clarification of your unique Broader Impacts niche. We hope that having a core focus of your Broader Impacts Identity, similar to having a core focus in your research field, will help you to develop proposals and implement Broader Impacts activities that lead to successful grant awards. The outcome of this workshop will be for you to develop/confirm some level of clarity and direction to identify your Broader Impacts audience, available assets, and potential partners. All of this information will be an essential component to shape the Broader Impacts section of any NSF proposal.

Exercise 1: Multidimensionality of Broader Impact Identity

Name your research field and its connections to societal needs and issues.
Which of the societal needs and issues most connect to your work?

Exercise 2: Research Career focus statement

Describe your current research focus in a 1-3 sentence statement: a written version of an ‘elevator pitch’.
In small groups of 2 or 3 individuals reflect on your field’s natural connections to societal issues (from Exercise 1).

Exercise 3: Free phasing: your pathway(s) motivation(s) to being a researcher

Quick list – short phrases that help to answer the questions that are posed:

What were your early motivators for going into your field, being a research/teacher; how did you feel about the path ahead?
In what ways were/are you hoping to change the world and why did you choose this professional pathway? What about it did you find exciting or important?
How are things different now?
Have your passions changed or evolved?
Do you believe something more or different is possible?

Think about the present and future:

How might your work actually change the world and for whom?
What is the (your) hidden potential?

Exercise 4: Craft a vision or impact goal statement

Work to craft a 1-3 sentence Broader Impacts Identity and goals statement. Focus on growth and long-term commitment(s). Use the ideas that are fresh in your mind from the previous exercises – help each other!

Who are you, what impact can your work have?
What change do you want to see as a result of your work and why?
Who is (are) your audience(s) or beneficiaries?
What are your preferred mechanisms/processes to realize desired impacts?
Impact Identity statement

Exercise 5: Identifying your impact capacity assets

The workshop facilitators can help serve as an asset connector to potential partners. You have identified your audience and a frame of the impact you would like to achieve. Now let’s see if there is a match to these attributes in the community. Explore, discuss and record:

What people, programs, expertise, partners, institutions, tools do you already have access to that can help you reach your impact goal?
What other people, programs, institutions, partnerships, etc. do you need?

How will you continue down the path of developing and defining your BI identity?

One thing to do
One person to contact (or get connected to via BI partners workshop or email connection)