Impact Statements
Each year, the MAES asks its affiliated faculty members to report on the impact of the research they are doing. This is done by writing impact statements. Impact statements are used in a number of different ways, including in the USDA National Impact Database.
The following is a summary of what impact statements are and now to write them. If you have questions about writing your impact statement, please contact Jamie DePolo, MAES editor, at depolo@msu.edu.
Contents:
- What Is Impact?
- Why Should You Care about Impact?
- Who Is the Audience for Impact Statements?
- So What Makes a Good Impact Statement?
- Having Trouble Describing Your Project's Impact?
- Components of an Impact Statement
- Example 1
- Example 2
- Example 3
- Proximate Research Impacts
- Physical Changes
- Behaviorial Changes
- Human Health Impacts
- Economic Impact Analysis
- Help Calculating Impact
Impact is the difference your programs are making in peoples lives. In more technical terms, impact is the quantifiable difference a research or education program makes in the quality of life for its clients and citizens.
Impact reporting lets the MAES:
- IIlustrate the importance of the land-grant effort.
- Pprovide public accountability.
- Provide program accountability.
- Show a return on investment.
- Foster a better public understanding of the whole picture of research, teaching and service.
- Obtain future funding.
- Increase awareness of all MAES programs at Michigan State.
An impact statement is a brief summary, in non-technical terms, of the economic, environmental, and/or social impact of our efforts. It states accomplishments and their payoff to society. In short, an impact statement answers two questions:
- So what?
- Who cares?
Why Should You Care about Impact?
Impact reporting is important to a number of different people, both on- and off-campus.
Impact is important to administrators because it:
- Illustrates accountability.
- Improves visibility of MAES programs at the local, state and national level.
- Generates support materials for lobbying.
- Creates a repository of anecdotes for speeches or letters.
- Helps organize the focus for initiatives and program themes.
- Helps build greater understanding of MAES programs by the public.
- Is easier to get people interested in science and education programs when the outcomes are emphasized.
Impact reporting is important to you as faculty member because:
- This kind of reporting makes sense to legislators who control MAES funding and to the public.
- You're contributing to scientific literacy.
- It cuts the number of urgent requests you get for program examples, story ideas, etc.
- Your work will get more exposure.
- Your work will be exposed to potential funders.
Impact reporting is important to MAES communications managers because:
- It is a source of story ideas.
- It adds depth to reporting.
- Iit makes it easier to plan awareness campaigns.
Who Is the Audience for Impact Statements?
- Congress
- State legislatures
- The general public (taxpayers)
- Stakeholders
- External funding sources
- Industry representatives
- Your department, your college, the MAES and all of MSU.
- You
These people care about impact statements because:
- They want to know the benefits of the programs they are funding.
- There is competition for their attention and dollars.
- They have some type of control over your programs -- usually in terms of money.
- They generally want only information vital to making decisions.
- They are asking for quantifiable differences brought about by investments in your program.
So What Makes a Good Impact Statement?
Remember, an impact statement is the quantifiable difference a research or educational program makes in the quality of life for its clients and citizens.
A good impact statement answers the questions "So what?" and "Who cares?"
A good impact statement uses one or more of three areas to measure and define the changes a program has made:
Economic -- dollars saved or profit made
Example: Five years ago, Berrien County pork producers spent $17 more than the state average to raise a market hog. We helped them improve their record keeping and production practices, and costs dropped $20 to $3.19 BELOW the state average. Each farm's profit increased $345,000 over five years, bringing more hogs, more jobs, and more spending to the county.
Environmental quality -- clean-up or pollution prevention
Example: Chopped waste paper is an economical substitute for wood chips commonly used as bedding by the horse industry. MAES scientists have found that the paper absorbs moisture better, too. By using some of the 76 million tons of paper Americans throw away each year, researchers can reduce landfill demands, save a few trees and keep horses comfortable all at once.
Social -- lives changed or better health
Example: No standards exist for wooden basketball, dance and aerobics floors. So, MAES scientists are setting them. Our scientists studied the role of floor type and construction in chronic-use injuries that often make people stop exercising. Computer models predict how a floor reacts to various forces or environmental changes. Those predictions, and what doctors know about chronic athletic injuries, bring a prescription for safer exercise for athletes of all ages and abilities.
An impact statement is NOT:
- A description of a program.
- The number of people attending a meeting.
- The number of students in a class.
- A two-inch thick report detailing all your outcomes and findings.
Impact statements must answer the "so what?" question.
Having Trouble Describing Your Project's Impact?
Sometimes it's difficult to define or quantify the impact of your project. This is especially true for basic research, research on youth and families, teaching, and research that spans many years. If this describes your work, consider including potential impact.
Potential impact allows you to describe:
- The most likely benefactors of the research or education project.
- What you expect the outcome to be and why.
- An idea of how long it would take to reach expected outcomes.
- Real or hypothetical examples of expected outcomes.
Here is an example of a potential impact statement:
We bought special software for classroom computers. The students learned to analyze the total true cost of producing food products. Using the same software industry uses gives these students a leg up in the job market and makes them ready to boost the food economy.
Anecdotes are your friends! Consider using one person's story for a hard-to-quantify project. If you can relate your work to an existing, measurable problem, don't hesitate to use anecdotal, measurable examples of behavior change or knowledge acquisition that can be extrapolated to a broader audience.
Here is an an example of an anecdotal impact statement:
Sally James, a beef producer, says the university saved her life. As part of a special thrust on rabies education, a radio report on rabies symptoms in cattle was produced and distributed. James heard the story on her local radio station and thought she had a cow with symptoms. She called the vet, who said no. A second opinion also said no rabies. The cow died and James sent it in for testing. The test came back positive for transmittable rabies. James got immediate treatment -- and credits the radio report with describing things well enough to save her life.
Components of an Impact Statement
- Program goal and objectives.
- Issue or problem to be addressed.
- Anticipated outcomes.
- Measurable outcome data.
- Outcomes/accomplishments are written so they show impact on an individual or group of people.
- Tell us "who cares" and "so what".
Other important factors:
- Clarity and readability -- an impact statement is not the first 10 pages of a journal article about the project or your entire project report.
- Illustrate how your work changed or improved the lifes of your clientele.
- Talk about the contributions your work can make to society.
Impact statements also need:
- Main contact person (include title, address, phone number and e-mail address).
- Title of project.
- Funding sources.
- Cooperators/collaborators (other universities, companies or organizations).
- USDA goal met by the project.
- Counties or region affected (or other states or countries).
More Examples
The Issue:
Data obtained from a local hospital in western Michigan showed that
only 18 percent of women who delivered initiated breastfeeding. Nationally,
more than 60 percent of women breastfeed, reducing illness in infants
and risk of cancers in mothers.
What’s been
done?
Twenty educational classes were offered to pregnant women. Thirty-six
pregnant women attended class 1, 32 attended class 2, and 13 attended
class 3.
Impact (so what):
Approximately 60 percent of the mothers initiated breastfeeding. Mothers
who breastfeed save $130 per month in formula costs.
The issue:
Farmers need more than just new crops. They also need new markets.
What has been done?
MAES researchers and MSUE specialists connected small fruit and vegetable
growers to new markets.
Impact:
As a result, Michigan’s small farmers now provide more than 60,000
pounds of fresh produce to 20 school districts in the state.
The issue:
Agriculture is a sustainable cycle. Producers are always looking for
new ways to reduce runoff, recycle waste, improve the soil and use less
fertilizer and fewer pesticides.
What has been done?
Researchers reduced harmful hog manure odor by changing the diet of
the pigs.
Impact:
By reducing the crude protein and adding synthetic amino acids, nitrogen
levels in manure were reduced by up to 30 percent, ammonia levels were
reduced by half and detectable odors and “rotten egg” gas
emissions dropped by 40 percent.
The following is the text of a slide presentation on economic analysis of impact by Jim Oehmke, professor of agricultural economics. The presentation was made at the June 2005 Impact Training Session sponsored by the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, Project GREEEN and the Michigan Animal Industry Initiative.
The Research to Impact Continuum
Proximate Research Impacts
- Publications
- Journal Rankings
- Citations
- Grants
- Prestige
- Funding (Economic Impact)
- Patents
- Licenses
- Royalties (Economic Impact)
- Outreach Programs
- Reduced farm
production costs
- Better production methods
- Improved crop varieties
- Consumer benefits
- Lower costs
- Lower storage and marketing losses
- Longer fresh produce season
- Organic alternatives
- Legislative
changes
- Background checks program
- Impacts on case
law
- Contingent valuation
- Dairy manure
- Administrative
changes
- Better implementation of mandates
- Avoidance of
negatives
- Concorde SST program
- Value added agriculture and employment
- More nutritious
foods
- Golden rice (lower disease incidence)
- Baby leaf salad greens production (lower obesity)
- Farmaceuticals/nutraceuticals
- Antioxidants (cancer prevention)
- Milk with omega fatty acids (lower cholesterol)
- Health behaviors
- Reduction in unplanned teen pregnancies
Science is generating new knowledge following the scientific method.
Economic Impact Analysis is tracing the effects of new knowledge as it works it way through our socio-economic system, and quantifying the economic impact of these effects.
The MSU Department of Agricultural Economics has created the Center for Applied Economic Analysis. One of the mandates of this Center is to conduct economic benefit-cost analysis and impact assessments.
For more information on the Center, please e-mail Steve Hanson, chairperson of the Agricultural Economics Department, or call him at 517-355-4567.
