What is an impact report?

Not everything you do has “impact,” as we define it for this reporting system, nor should it. Impact reports are not activity reports. Impact is a term that refers to the difference your programs make in people’s lives.

Format
Situation/Problem (50-100 words)
Extension Response (75-125 words)
Impact (150-250 words)
Feedback (30-50 words)
Limit to one page

Submit report to appropriate Program Leader and they will review it and send it to your District Director.

As you think about what was accomplished over the course of your program, ask yourself these questions:

• What is different because of what was done or what happened as a result of the program delivered?
• What did this activity do for the community's economy?
• What anecdotal evidence was collected?
• What examples exist of the effects of the program?
• What evidence could be or was collected to document collected impact?

Impact reporting provides a way to:

• illustrate the significance of the land-grant effort
• show accountability
• demonstrate a return on investment
• foster a better public understanding of the whole picture of research, teaching and extension
• obtain future funding
• increase awareness of all programs

An impact report is a brief summary, in ordinary language, of the economic, environmental or social results of our efforts. It states accomplishments and their payoff to clientele/society. An impact report answers the questions: So what? Who cares?

Why should you care?

Impact reporting is important to our administrators because it:

• illustrates our accountability
• improves visibility of programs (local, state, national)
• generates support materials for legislative updates and county commissioners
• is a repository of anecdotes for speeches, annual reports and letters of support
• helps organize their focus for initiatives and program themes
• helps build greater understanding of our programs by the public
• is easier to sell science and education programs when they can emphasize outcomes
• results in a product they can reuse

Impact reporting is important to you as an extension educator because:

• it makes sense to the public
• It results in a brief and powerful report that you can use with many groups
• you are contributing to a scientific base
• your work is exposed to decision makers, partners, general public and potential funders

Who is your audience?

• the general public
• local governing bodies
• state officials
• federal officials
• your peers
• external funding sources
• industry representatives

These audience members:

• exercise some kind of control over your programs or are cooperating partners in your program
• generally want only information vital to decisions
• have lots of competition for their attention
• are asking for quantifiable differences brought about by investments in your program

What makes a good impact report?

An impact report is a brief summary, in lay terms, of the social, environmental or economic outcomes of your efforts. It states accomplishments and payoff to clientele/society.

A good impact report illustrates change in at least one of the following areas:

• Economic value or efficiency
• Environmental quality
• Social/individual well-being

Quick tips on writing

1. It takes two to communicate: a sender and a receiver
   • Writing is not an end in itself. You want the receiver to understand what you have now come to understand. Write in their language with words they understand. Think of a 25-year-old congressional aid as you write.
   • How can you make this person understand the impact of your efforts?
   • No jargon
   • No acronyms
   • Don't assume audience knows what a "BMP" is without explaining it
   • If you have to use unique terms, explain them
2. Be specific
   • Show your evidence. Use some, not a lot, of the facts and figures. You will have to do some digging.
3. Anecdotes are your friends
   • The people who can best tell our story are the people who have been affected by our programs. If someone else can say how great you are, it is so much more effective than when you do it.

Having trouble describing your project's impact?

Then, report potential impact

Sometimes it’s hard to define or quantify the impact of your project. This is especially true for basic research and work with youth and families, teaching and long-term efforts. If this describes your work, consider including potential impact. Tell us:

• the most likely benefactors of the research or education project
• what you expect the outcome to be and why
• an idea of how long it would take to reach expected outcomes
• real or hypothetical examples of expected outcomes

Example of a potential impact statement: We bought special software for classroom computers. The students learned to analyze the total true cost of producing food products. Using the same software industry uses makes these students ready for the job market and ready to enhance the food economy.

Anecdotes can be powerful! Consider these for hard-to-quantify statements.

Example of an anecdotal impact statement: “My blood pressure has come down and I have cut back on my blood pressure pills.” Dining with Diabetes program participant

Using the NDSU Impact Report Template

The NDSU Impact Report template is avaible in Word 97-03 and in Word 2007. Template and sample documents can be viewed on the Evaluation webpage under “Reports” http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/ext-emp/evaluation/reports.html

Using the template:

1. Save the template to your desktop.
2. When you want to create a new report, double click on the desktop icon to open a document based on the template. Make sure it opens as a .doc or .docx file.  Do not open the .dot or .dotx file from inside Word -- that will open the template, not a new file.
3. Turn on the "Show/Hide" feature in Word. This will show the paragraph marks, returns and hidden formatting symbols. A shortcut is Ctrl + * (It's similar to the old Reveal Codes.)
4. Do not:
   • change the margins or page size
   • remove the section breaks
   • edit the header or footer
5. Type of cut and paste your text into the template. Save the document to your desktop. Email the final version to your District Director and Program Leader. They will review the document and send you a note of approval before posting it to the website.
6. All full-time staff are required to do one Impact Report per year that reflects an individual effort. More reports are welcomed. If you are part of a team effort, such as Annie’s Project, the team leader will submit an Impact Report and your name will be included. This will not be counted as your individual program Impact Report for the year, unless you are the team chair who submits the report. Group work is highly encouraged but does not replace your individual reporting
7. When completed, please submit to appropriate Program Leader.