1. Ross O. Love Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
IMPACT STATEMENTS
Ross O. Love
Oklahoma Cooperative
Extension Service

2. How Impacts are Used? Local, State and Federal policymakers
For quick response to info requests
Communicate with partners/public
Accomplishment reports
News stories
Administrative speeches and papers

3. What is Impact?
The reportable
Quantifiable
Verifiable difference

4. Components Relevance Response Results Issue What has been done?
Outcomes and Impact

5. An Impact Statement is Brief summary Lay terms -- environmental….
-- social….
-- environmental….
-- economic....
…results relatable to your efforts

6. Rockwell and Bennett’s TOPS Model

8. Logic Model of Development Research
Situation: Development research in Land Grant universities colleges of agriculture, environmental, life, and human sciences.
Inputs
Outputs
Activities Participation
Outcomes – Impact
Short Term Medium Term Long Term
What we invest:
- Faculty
- Staff
- Students
- Infrastructure
- Funds
- Time
- Knowledge
- Methodology
- Technology
- Stakeholder needs
What we do:
- Design and conduct developmental research
- Write grant proposals
- Publish scientific and industry/public articles
- Train students
- File patents
- Develop methods and procedures
- Inform policy and decision makers
- Interact with discovery researchers and extension specialists
Who we reach:
- Other development researchers
- Discovery researchers
- Extension specialists
- Teaching faculty
- Funders
- Scientific journal and industry/popular magazine editors
- Patent officers
- Policy and decision makers
- Agricultural, environmental, life, and human science industries
- Public
What the short term results are:
- Applied knowledge
- Application skills
- Grants
- Publications
- Patents and licenses
- Application methods and technology
- Plant & animal varieties
- Developmental research methods and technology
- Practical knowledge for policy and decision makers
- Information, skills, and technology for extension programs
What the medium term results are:
- Expanded applied knowledge base
- Graduates trained in developmental research methodology and techniques
- Best management practices adopted by public and private sectors
- Methods, technology, and inputs (i.e. new varieties) adopted by public and private sectors
- Enhanced and updated extension programs
- Informed policy & decision makers
That the ultimate results are:
- Successful agricultural, environmental, life, and human science enterprises
- Economic development increased
- Communities empowered
- Improved environmental
quality
- Enhanced quality of life
- Fact-based policies & laws written
Assumptions
External Factors

9. Impact Statements
Report the difference your programs are making in people’s lives
Report the difference in ways average people can understand
Not every successful program makes a successful impact statement

10. Remember…Impact is Not
For your scientific peers
An activities report
Just the number of people you reached
A description of process
A technical report
A scientific paper or abstract
A long, detailed account

11. Elements of Impact Statements
Title
Issue Reason the research or Extension program implemented:
Scope, severity, need, problem, questions, consequences of issue
What has been done? How did Extension or research personnel respond; description of the research or educational program
Impact Outcomes or impacts of effort. May include evaluation strategy, evaluation data, quantitative or qualitative outcome and/or impacts or potential impacts; sometimes anecdotal statements can be used

12. Issue – who cares and why?
Attention-getter that tells who should care and why
Brief problem/issues statement
Tells why this information is important and provides context
May help form the scope of the issue or problem
May mention potential public payoffs

13. What has been done? Brief general overview of activities Scope
-- how many years
-- number of people served
-- number of educational activities
-- attendance
-- percent of target audience reached
-- acres represented
-- size of community

14. IMPACT The heart of your statement
Relates to real people and real world problems
Reports actual or potential change
Outcomes
Impacts

15. Outcomes Quantitative and qualitative Capacities built in audiences
-- Knowledge gained
-- Skills acquired
-- Decision making improved
Behavior, attitude changes
Practice or situation changes

16. Impacts Actual or potential changes in:
-- Economic value or efficiency
-- Environmental quality
-- Social well-being
-- Individual health and well-being

17. Impact Examples Dollars saved or earned Input use reduced
Acres of habitat improved
Chemical applications reduced (#, A)
Yields increased
Markets developed
Laws or regulations created

18. Impact Examples (Cont’d)
Businesses started
People employed
Certificates awarded
Improved attendance
Reduced loss of productivity
Impact Statement Reporting
R,E,T