Addressing Broader Impacts
How does academic research benefit our communities?
What are Broader Impacts?
Most funding agencies will have some evaluative consideration for the overall impact of supported research on society, and the potential benefits of proposed projects. The National Science Foundation (NSF) in particular will evaluate a grant proposal on two broad criteria—Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts. The intellectual merit of the proposal is a justification of the novelty, scientific interest, and rigor of the research, while the broader impacts are an indication of how the research will contribute back to society.
These resources are the result of a collaborative effort between University Libraries, Office of Outreach & Engagement, Office of University Interdisciplinary Programs, Leadership in Public Science Cluster, and the Research Development Office’s Proposal Development Unit.
Broader impact resources
According to the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) Chapter III.A, “These broader impacts may be accomplished through the research itself, through activities that are directly related to specific research projects, or through activities that are supported by, but are complementary to, the project. The project activities may be based on previously established and/or innovative methods and approaches, but in either case must be well justified.”
NSF does not want to be prescriptive about the societal outcomes a project addresses. Examples of desired outcomes include, but aren’t limited to, the goals defined by the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. More information and context is available on the NSF Broader Impacts guide. Recent updates on NSF priorities can be found on the Updates on NSF Priorities web page.