What is capturing and evidencing impact?
Demonstrate how your research is making a difference beyond academia, building trust, supporting informed decision-making, securing future funding, and demonstrating the public value of your work.
Capturing and evidencing your impact refers to the process of creating a record of information (such as data, quotes, reports, and other evidence) that can demonstrate the achievement of, and progress towards, outcomes and impacts. It is about making the real-world benefits and changes of your research visible, trustworthy, and meaningful to others.
Capturing and evidencing is most effective when it is planned early and embedded into your research process. While it is possible to search retrospectively for evidence, this approach is often incomplete and more time-consuming. Just like good research practice, this process relies on defining what you want to measure, collecting the right data, and interpreting it in context.
A proactive approach to capturing and evidencing impact strengthens the reliability of your claims, makes it easier to tell a compelling impact story, supports accountability to stakeholders, and builds a stronger track record that can open opportunities for recognition, funding, and collaboration.
From indicators to evidence
Capturing and evidencing impact is not a single step. It begins with identifying what signs of change you expect to see, continues with recording those changes as they occur, and ends with building a credible body of evidence to demonstrate your impact.
- Identifying indicators of change – The signs that show your research is making a difference. Indicators provide the framework for what you need to capture.
- Capturing impact – Recording those signs of change as they occur, such as stakeholder feedback, event participation, or changes in practice. Capturing ensures nothing is lost along the way.
- Evidencing impact – Substantiating your claims with credible proof that others can verify and trust, such as policy documents, citation and publication data, or measures of engagement.
Benefits of capturing and evidencing impact
Having a plan for capturing and evidencing impact helps you:
- Test robustness and feasibility – Planning indicators and evidence forces clarity about what success looks like and whether it is realistic and measurable.
- Save time and widen your evidence base – Proactively capturing information as it arises is far easier than searching retrospectively, and allows you to include a wider range of perspectives and data sources.
- Enable evaluation and learning – Capturing evidence over time lets you reflect on what worked, whether intended outcomes were achieved, and adapt your plan if necessary.
- Strengthen accountability and communication – Evidencing impact builds credibility with funders, partners, and the public, while also helping you share compelling stories about the societal value of your research.
- Build your track record and recognition – A well-evidenced impact narrative strengthens your CV, supports funding and promotion cases, and demonstrates the contributions and benefits of your research.