Reflecting on the increasingly competitive demands on academics to demonstrate impact to receive funding, Tatiana Abi Aad and Stefan de Jong present a new tool to simplify creating compelling impact narratives.

Research funders increasingly demand clear and quantifiable evidence to justify resources spent and allocated. Following drastic budget cuts to our national research system in the Netherlands, some of the worst seen in the since the 1980s, we can no longer afford not to use our collective voices and experiences to drive change and make the case for further funding.

To take on this challenge, we gathered with partners to create a solution: The Impact Narrative Tool, an instrument designed to help researchers and organizations effectively convey the story of their impact journey.

When we sat down with our partners in Rotterdam to exchange ideas on what the tool should achieve, we all shared the same experiences with communicating impact.

Adja, a researcher from Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam working with healthcare professionals, highlights how critical it has become to demonstrate your impact when securing funding and how difficult it is for her colleagues to voice their perspectives: “How can we initiate and sustain a movement that engages diverse stakeholders in collaborative efforts towards impact?”.

Joella, a communication expert working with the Dutch National Center for Youth Health, a foundation dedicated to improving children’s wellbeing, stresses the need to effectively communicate impact to justify their organisation’s existence and facilitate knowledge exchange across sectors.

Finally, Dianne, a policy maker at the City of Delft explained how for example a support programme for vulnerable young mothers may be cut if the municipal council cannot be convinced of its benefits.

These conversations highlighted a sentiment: each participant, from academic researchers to executing organisations like National Center for Youth Health Care and local governments like City of Delft, plays a role in shaping impact. Therefore, we concluded that the tool should facilitate (a) movement around particular societal issues.

Then, we jointly explored the right channel to host the tool and maximize its impact. Given the diverse potential users, ranging from researchers and their societal partners, we decided to develop an interactive website that guides users through a dynamic step-by-step narrative design process. We agreed on the critical elements we wanted the tool to include: simplicity, step-by-step guidance, and adaptability across different fields.

Module 1 introduces what “impact” means and helps you define the change you intend to achieve. Module 2 walks through the impact narrative’s structure and value, explaining each component’s benefit. By module 3, you dive deeper into its essential elements with a tailored workbook that guides you through questions that shape your story . Module 4 offers an interview protocol that you can use to gather essential information from various sources, and module 5 teaches you to tailor and distribute your narrative to the right audience effectively.

You are also provided with a workbook that encapsulates all the relevant steps from the tool and provides examples. It serves as a storage space for the information for your story. Finally, in module 6, you learn tips and tricks to bring your narrative alive! Four modules are accompanied by videos that summarise the information in two to five minutes. The infographic below ties all modules together.

After introducing the tool, the initial feedback has been overwhelmingly positive: “Very useful,” said one researcher, while another commented, “We should no longer just write bare figures (number of patents and licenses), but highlight impact cases through storytelling.” Others noted its flexibility, benefiting social workers and public engagement. We plan a Spanish translation to broaden the tool’s reach to even more users across sectors and countries.

Anyone working in impact or familiar with creating, enabling and measuring it will surely recognise the struggle. As efforts to drive meaningful change increase, two questions arise: how and what do we put on paper? How do we share it with people? The days of researchers sharing their work with only fellow academics are over – now, the public is eager to hear what they are up to, and trust researchers to play a role in shaping policy and driving change through their findings. Through the tool’s emphasis on storytelling, it can be used by researchers and those who develop and implement policies alike as a chance to craft narratives that secure funding while amplifying the broader societal impact of their work.

Today’s researcher has to wear many hats; that of the explorer experimenting and analysing new territory, the educator teaching and mentoring young professionals, the academic writer developing papers and articles, and the project leader coordinating timelines and resources – all while facing growing pressure to address societal issues and to create meaningful impact. With this in mind, we invite researchers and professionals to explore the Impact Narrative Tool and start sharing their impact stories and submit them through our website so that they are used as archetypes for others to refer to. With clear narratives, we can drive change, inspire action, and amplify the voices that need to be heard.

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