Writing research impact statements

Research drives innovation by generating new ideas or ways of doing things and, in turn, contributes to society (Chapman, 2). Increasingly, attention is being given to demonstrating and measuring the return on research investment and the benefits generated from research, for example, by the Australian Research Council (ARC) especially in terms of environmental, economic, and social impact (ARC, 1). In a perfect world all research undertaken would have impact (Cleary, Siegfried, Jackson, & Hunt, 3). However, the ARC definition of impact requires the researcher to make a demonstrable contribution “to the economy, society, culture, national security, public policy or services, health, the environment, or quality of life, beyond contributions to academia.”