Designing Research for Impact: Part 4 – ‘Why evidencing your impact matters – and how to collect it’

This is the final segment in a series of blogs by guest blogger, Hannah Clark, Impact Facilitator, University of Manchester, exploring designing impact from research. 

In the final part of the series, I want to explore an often-overlooked element of a project: evidence collection. Evaluating impact is important for a number of reasons. Just as initial public engagement during the planning phase of a project can help shape the proposal, evaluating your impact can identify key factors in planning future research projects and justifying future funding. Whether you are aiming to influence policy, change behaviours, or simply spark curiosity, evidence is what turns intentions into meaningful outcomes. Ultimately, it is about being able to confidently say, “This is what changed because of our work, and here is how we know.”

Plan your evaluation early (really early!)

The best time to think about evaluation of your research impact is right at the beginning of your project. Building evaluation into your planning phase helps shape your engagement activities and provides a justification for them within a funding application.

We measure research impact in terms of reach and significance:

• Reach: the extent to which the pool of identified stakeholders/beneficiaries have been reached. This typically produces quantitative data (numbers of attendees etc.)
• Significance: the degree to which the impact has enabled, enriched, influenced, informed or changed the beneficiaries or their circumstances, beliefs, etc. This can produce either qualitative or quantitative data, and ideally, you should aim for a mix of the two (narratives and testimonials about the change your research has brought about and metrics of that change)

It is worth noting that impact that continues beyond your project timeline is still valuable. Some things to consider looking for are:

• Are people still engaging months/years later?
• Has participation (reach) increased over time?
• Has a new partnership or practice grown out of your work, making it even more significant?

These are powerful indicators of lasting change so try to think about how you will monitor impact longer term when planning your evaluation.

Evidence collection methods: Which is right for my project?

As we have seen throughout this series, there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to research impact as it largely depends on the project, the stakeholders, and what your intended impact is, but a mix of quantitative (numbers) and qualitative (stories and feedback) data will provide you with a holistic view and a comprehensive narrative to take forward. The list below is a small sample of the types of evidence collection you may wish to consider:

• Comment cards, graffiti walls, response boards – Informal, creative ways for people to leave spontaneous/anonymous thoughts.
• Surveys and questionnaires – Useful for structured feedback. Keep them short, targeted, and suited to your audience.
• Interviews, focus groups, testimonials – Great for getting deeper insight into what changed and why.
• Observations – Watching how people interact with your project can be hugely valuable. Use a standard template to record what you see.
• Visual evidence – Photos, video clips, artworks, or social media screenshots can help demonstrate engagement and outcomes. Be mindful of permissions and privacy.
• Reports, policy debates, media mentions, access stats – Concrete outcomes linked to your work provide strong evidence of impact.

How to manage the evaluation process:

Depending on the time and resources available for a project there are a few options:

1. DIY – If your project is small or has limited funding, you can create simple tools to collect feedback and analyse the results yourself.
2. Hire a professional – Larger projects may benefit from a specialist evaluator who can offer expertise and independence. This is particularly helpful if you are working with sensitive subjects or extremely large data pools.
3. Co-evaluate with your audience – Involving participants or partners in evaluating is often central to co-produced projects as long as the methodology is appropriate and does not place undue burden on anyone. The most appropriate use of co-evaluation is when the evidence you are collecting is of direct use to both parties.

If the evaluation process feels overwhelming, it is okay to seek support, start small, and keep it manageable. The most important thing is to make evaluation a routine part of your engagement practice.

Thank you for following this mini-series on research impact. In the ever-changing landscape of Higher Education, it is important that we come to think of research impact as more than just an unpredictable bonus to our research. It is a vital part of how we demonstrate the value of our work beyond academia. Engaging with stakeholders, communities, and beneficiaries makes our research richer, more relevant, and more likely to lead to real-world change. By carefully tracking and evidencing impact, we build a compelling story about how our work is making a difference, and we deepen our own understanding of how ideas take root and grow in the world.