An Impact Statement is a
brief non-technical document that describes the difference that your research,
teaching, or extension efforts have made.
Such statements answer the question “So what, who cares?” and create
strong support for programs. Impact
statements convey in simple language, free of jargon, program accomplishments
and the payoff to society via any or all of the following:
Impact statements are
required for all S projects and are requested, but optional, for SCCs and
SERAs. A preliminary impact
statement is due after the 3rd year and a final impact statement is due after
the final year. These impact
statements are due 60 days after the annual meeting in 3rd year and 60 days
after the annual meeting in the final year. Impact statements should be submitted to
the Regional Association office as a Word or PDF file sent as an email
attachment to donna_pearce@ncsu.edu. The preliminary and final impact
statements may be included in the SAES-422 annual project report as an
attachment to replace the Impact section of that report.
The
final impact has to be submitted before final MRC approval for a replacement
project is granted. Preferably the
final impact statement will be available for AC’s when they review the
Development Committee request to rewrite the project. Notice of impact statement submission
will be sent to the Administrative Advisor(s) of the AC that originally reviewed
the Development Committee request or the SCC/SERA proposal
All
impact statements should in the following format and should not be more than one
page (12 pt font) in length, if possible.
If pictures or graphs are included also, statements may be up to two
pages in length.
Issue
– A
statement of the problem being addressed by the effort.
Resolution –
Statement of how this project or activity is contributing to finding a solution
to the problem.
Impact –
Statement of the economic, environmental, and/or social impact of this
project (impact, not outputs or
outcomes); or potential impacts, statement of what might be expected if the
project is successful.
Who
was involved – In
most cases this should be a list of the states, agencies, etc. that are
participants in the multistate activity that lead the effort being
described.
Contact
information –
One or two people who can be contacted for more information about the
project. This could be the current
chair of the multistate project committee, or the administrative advisor, or
both.
Ideally,
impact statements also include photographs or illustrations and quotes from
those who have benefited from the program, project, or activity.
Examples of impact
statements from some of the North Central region’s multistate projects can be
seen at the links below.
To
view the North Central Region’s Impact Statement web site go to http://www.wisc.edu/ncra/impactstatements.htm