SoE for Societal Impact Proposal

Takeaway #1

When choosing a journal in which to publish your research, you strive for one with the most reach (scale) and impact (scope) in your discipline.

When crafting a Social Impact (SI) plan, a similar approach should be applied. Strive to build partnerships that can help you achieve your desired reach and impact with a target audience — not just for the duration covered by this proposal, but partnerships that could thrive and grow over the course of your career.

Takeaway #2

Who do you want to engage and work with on your SI project?

Everyone on your team should have clearly defined roles and tasks that reflect their motivations to contribute to the project and produce measurable Social impact results.

By being thoughtful about identifying the right partners and target audience in the proposal writing phase, you will assure a positive experience for all involved when you are funded.

Takeaway #3

Who will help you engage the target audience in your work?

There are many options for you to consider when constructing a SI plan. When deciding who to select as a target audience for your work, you should contemplate how it will benefit from the proposed SI activity.

When considering the potential target audiences below, keep in mind the NRF's commitment to Broadening Participation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).

Focus your efforts on:
- Engaging with underrepresented groups and diverse institutions across all geographical regions
- Supporting the preparation of a diverse, globally engaged (STEM) workforce
- Integrating your research with education
- Building infrastructure and capacity
- And most importantly, think about working with your target audience and partners instead of doing something for them.

Takeaway #4

Life teaches us that selecting good partners can make all the difference. The information below will help provide guidance on identifying appropriate and high-quality partner(s) to accomplish your SI goals.

Sometimes partners will help you develop and deliver the activity and sometimes your partners are representatives of your target audience who are the intended beneficiaries of the SI activity.

In addition, sometimes you will work with existing relationships in your university or college, and other times you might seek a new partner (local community organisation, NGOs, NPOs, etc.) to achieve a specific goal or objective.

Takeaway #5

A partnership should have Purpose:
Think about what you want to achieve with your partners. Here are three common types of partnerships with different goals and objectives.

Strategic:
Partners are mutually dependent on one another by reducing the time and energy lost in duplicative efforts for organizations, and/or their members. These types of partnerships can function with limited trust and interaction.

Learning:
These types of partnerships are with organizations that work well together but may not be reliant on one another to achieve their goals. Learning partnerships help organizations gain new insights and knowledge from each other; co-produce new knowledge tools or opportunities; and inspire each other or innovate together.

Transformational:
These partnerships focus on bolstering each organization's possibility of realizing its vision. The goal is to do transformative work through advocacy, capacity building, and tool development. Transformational partnerships often energize social innovations and social movements.

Takeaway #6

In your proposal:

• Make sure you reflect the qualifications of the individual, team, or institution to conduct the proposed activities.
• Include relevant information on the results of prior support for previously funded NRF projects. If no prior NRF support has been received, include evidence that the proposed PI and project team have the experience to successfully execute the SI activity(s) to achieve the stated outcomes.
• If the PI has no prior SI experience, they should include a partner or team member with SI experience, either from within institution or with another institution, such as an informal science education institution or a professional science education/outreach consultancy. The proposal should include a biosketch and/or a letter of collaboration for the SI activity partner(s), as allowed by the proposal guidelines.

Takeaway #7

Life teaches us that selecting good partners can make all the difference. The information below will help provide guidance on identifying appropriate and high-quality partner(s) to accomplish your SI goals.

Sometimes partners will help you develop and deliver the activity and sometimes your partners are representatives of your target audience who are the intended beneficiaries of the SI activity.

In addition, sometimes you will work with existing relationships in your university or college, and other times you might seek a new partner (local community organisation, NGOs, NPOs, etc.) to achieve a specific goal or objective.

Takeaway #8

One of the most important things to consider is the needs of the audience you are engaging. Understanding the audiences' needs and motivations for working with you will not only make a more compelling case (rationale) for funding your SI project, it will make for a positive connection and experience when funded.

(Take a look at this video on our website to review …) This video reviews some of the characteristics of target audiences and how you might think about the contact time and audience size when choosing a project.

Takeaway #9

There are many ways to gain insight into audience need. Listed below are descriptions of segments of society that researchers commonly engage with their SI efforts. These descriptions are dynamically linked to some key literature and background papers that will help you understand your target audience and write your rationale for your SI project. The list is not exhaustive, rather it is a sampling of potential audiences that can be used as inspiration.

Choose one that you will enjoy working with, and/or that you have an existing connection to, and/or that has some special meaning to you. For example, if you were a first-generation college student and it would be meaningful for you to identify and work with high school students who have the potential to be first-gen college students, themselves, that would be a great choice for you. Whichever audience you chose, do so with the intention of establishing a mutually beneficial relationship — one that will have value and meaning to all parties involved.

Takeaway #10

Who will you work with

This audience is defined as policy makers at both the local and national level, including politicians, environmental managers, and political affiliates (staffers) who create ideas and plans to be carried out by government for the benefit of society.

• Why is it of value to work with them
  - Demonstrate the linkage between scientific discovery and societal benefit
  - Develop applications of research outcomes that improve public policy
  - Integrate research into broader programs and activities of local and national interest
  - Provide information to support policy formulation by National, Provincial or regional agencies
• How will you engage them (strategies and locations)
  - Collaborate with government scientists or engineers on a research project based upon societal or environmental issues
  - Provide government scientists access to and training on your research equipment
  - Offer to act as an "expert" to proofread government documents or respond to requests for interviews and information
  - Provide a lecture, field trip or demonstration to National, Provincial or regional level officials
  - Participate in listening feedback loops with public officials, non-profits or other partners to create solutions to societal problems

Takeaway #11

After considering partnerships, target audience, and potential activities, you need to decide what portion of your proposal's total budget to allocate for SI activities. Factors to consider include whether you will require full funding, utilize in-kind funding, or if are you leveraging an existing program.

Questions to consider when developing your budget include:

• Does your institution and/or chosen partner(s) have the infrastructure to support your SI activities?
• Is the scale of your SI activity appropriate for the scale of the overall project?
  Does the budget justification match the proposed project description in sufficient detail?

Takeaway #12

Tips for developing a strong budget proposal:

• Describe the resources provided by the PI's institution and partnering institution(s).
• Include a description of the resources provided in the budget justification (beyond the information in your Facilities Statement).
• The budget justification should provide enough information for reviewers to evaluate the appropriateness of the necessary resources to conduct proposed SI activity(s) and reach desired outcomes.

In your proposal:

• Are there adequate resources available to the PI (either at the home institution or through collaborations) to carry out the proposed activities?
• Is the budget allocated for Social Impact activities sufficient to successfully implement them?

Reviewers will (might) be asking:

• Do the institution(s) and/or chosen partner(s) have the infrastructure to support the activities and the associated evaluation?
• Is the scale of the SI activities appropriate for the scale of the overall project?
• Does the budget justification match what is proposed in the project description in sufficient detail?

 

Takeaway #13

How can you convert the scientific questions you propose into messages relevant to your audience (beyond your peers)?

It is important to remember that conversations with your audience are a two-way street. You are not just bestowing knowledge in your SI activities, it is a process of learning what is important to your audience and finding common ground to share how your research is relevant and perhaps provide solutions to questions your audience may have about the science.

The goal is to understand which aspects of your research are most relevant to them, and what you should prioritize as you share your research beyond your peers.

Takeaway #14

In Your Proposal:

When constructing and reviewing your SI statement, it is important to consider the following questions:

• Does your SI statement address a demonstrated need?
• Are the needs of those participating in your project described?
• Are the benefits to participation described?
• Is the length of the engagement with the participants described and adequate?
• Is there a mechanism described for reaching them?

Reviewers of your proposal will (might) be asking:

• What is the potential for the proposed activity to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific desired societal outcomes?
• To what extent do the proposed activities suggest and explore creative, original, or potentially transformative concepts?

Takeaway #15

Building a Track Record for Positive Impact on Society: Building a SI Identity

Think of the broader Societal Impact projects you develop as more than just a "one-off", something needed to check a box to satisfy NRF. Although the budget for your SI efforts may not end up being large, the long-term impact of your efforts to benefit society can really add up.

As you write proposals over your career, you will add to your Prior Support section -- assisting reviewers in assessing the quality of your prior work conducted with prior or current NRF funding.

Just as you have probably thought about your research goals you hope to achieve over your career — your "research identity" —
think about the long-term impact you could make through your SI efforts over your career — your "SI identity".

Food for Thought: As you craft your Societal Impact identity over your career, think about these elements:

• What is your superpower?
• What are you really good at?
• Which of your personality traits could weave well into your SI activities?
• Who would you like to talk to about your research?
• What is the nature of your research and how can you use it to connect with others?
• What critical questions drive your discipline?
• How can those questions engage others?
• What infrastructure exists within your institution to support your Societal Impact efforts?

Adapted from: Julie Risien, Martin Storksdieck, Unveiling Impact Identities: A Path for Connecting Science and Society, Integrative and Comparative Biology, Volume 58, Issue 1, July 2018, Pages 58-66, https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icy011.

Takeaway #16

A truly successful SI project engages people outside your field to understand the relevance of your research. SI activities are an excellent mechanism to not only engage the public, but also to demonstrate accountability with public funds.Takeaway #14

How do you document and tell the story of your success?

Just as you collect data in your scientific research, you need to collect data on the efficacy of your SI project which means you need to plan for a project evaluation. Depending on your needs and budget, an evaluation can be simple or sophisticated and you can do it on your own, work with evaluation consultants within your institution (if your institution has in-house expertise), or hire a professional evaluator to help you.

How much is enough evaluation for my project?

For your proposal, you will not need in-depth detail about your evaluation plans but you should demonstrate that you have considered how you plan to evaluate the SI component of your project. The evaluation results will help you share the success and/or offer guidance for future iterations.

How much will the evaluation cost?

How do I find an evaluator (internal vs. external)?

Check with your university’s RI Team (or your Faculty SoE-SI virtual office) for in-house expertise or suggestions for evaluators.

If there are none, consider working with your partner's evaluators. If they do not have one, consider looking at the resources listed on our website (where applicable).

In your SI Proposal:

A project evaluation plan outlines how you will systematically collect data from your audience to address questions such as:

• Was this SI project successful?
• To what extent did the project meet the stated goals and objectives?
• Was this SI project valuable to your audience?
• Were your SI activities appropriate for them?
• Did your audience change as a result of this SI project, and in what ways (i.e. knowledge, skills, or behaviour)?

Reviewers will (might) be asking:

• Does the plan incorporate a mechanism to evaluate success?
• Is there a plan in place to measure the project outcomes?