Reporting and Writing Meaningful Impact Statements

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Reporting and Writing Meaningful Impact
Statements
County Commissions
USU Extension
John Q. lic
Utah State Legislature
RE A
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What Is IMPACT and Why Should We Care?

• Impact defined
• Importance of impact reporting
• Impact statements defined

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What Is IMPACT

• Impact is
• The reportable and verifiable difference a
  land-grant program makes in the lives of citizens

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What Is IMPACT

• Importance of impact reporting
• Letting people know what were doing is important
  for many reasons
• Public accountability
• Program accountability
• Return on investment
• Better public understanding of the whole
  picture of research, teaching and service
• Future funding
• Better awareness of all the programs within the
  institution

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What Is IMPACT

• An impact statement is
• A brief summary, in lay terms, of the economic,
  environmental and/or social impact of your
  efforts. It states accomplishments and their
  payoff to society

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What Is IMPACT

• In short, an impact statement answers the
  questions
• So what?
• And
• Who cares?

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Whos Your Impact Audience?

• What do they all have in common?
• Exercise some kind of control over your programs
• 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

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The Importance of Impact to Each of Us

• Or. Why we each care

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Impact Reporting Is Important to Faculty and
Field Staff Because...

• This kind of reporting makes sense to the public
• Youre contributing to scientific literacy (or
  agricultural literacy, or food literacy, or....)
• It cuts the number of urgent requests you get for
  program examples, story ideas, etc
• Your work will get more exposure
• Your work gets exposed to potential funders

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Impact Reporting Is Important to Administrators
Because It...

• Illustrates your accountability
• Improves visibility of programs (local, state,
  national)
• Generates support materials for lobbying
• Is a repository of anecdotes for speeches or
  letters
• Helps organize your focus for initiatives and
  program themes

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To Admin Because It

• Helps build greater understanding of your
  programs by your publics
• Is easier to sell science and education
  programs when you emphasize outcomes
• Results in a product you can reuse

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Ultimately

• The public expects us to be accountable to show
  the impact of our land-grant programs
• Impact is the difference your programs are making
  in peoples lives
• Impact statements tell various audiences about
  that difference

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Elements of an Impact Statement

• What makes a good impact statement?

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What Makes a Good Impact Statement?

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

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What Makes a Good Impact Statement?

• It answers the questions
• So what?
• And
• Who cares?

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What Makes a Good Impact Statement?

• It illustrates change in at least one of the
  following
• Economic value or efficiency
• Environmental quality
• Societal/individual wellbeing

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Whos Your Impact Audience?

• The general public
• Local governing bodies
• State officials
• Federal officials
• Your peers
• External funding sources
• Industry representatives

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Elements of an Impact Statement

• Economic value or efficiency
• The release of Cereal Leaf Beetle parasites in
  the state has create a biological control for
  this pesky grain beetle. These pests greatly
  reduce the quality of grains such as barley and
  wheat and are expensive to destroy with
  conventional practices. Through the
  implementation of this biological control
  practice many fields showed a 30 - 80 percent
  parasitizism. The introduction of these Cereal
  Leaf Beetle parasites saved an estimated 200,000
  on 20,000 acres of grain that did not have to be
  sprayed.

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Elements of an Impact Statement

• Environmental quality
• USU Extension in cooperation with the Utah State
  Division of Wildlife Resources have developed a
  program to allow landowners to sell hunting
  access on their private land. In 1997 more than
  1/3 of Utahs privately-owned rangeland (1.5
  million acres)consisting of 62 operations are
  enrolled in this program. The program provides
  more than 2,000 public hunters with access to
  high quality hunting experiences free of charge.
  The operations generate over 10 million in
  agricultural revenues. More than 50,000 acres of
  habitat has been enhanced through reseeding and
  changed management practices.

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Elements of an Impact Statement

• Social/individual wellbeing (health)
• Parents and youth working together to prevent
  juvenile delinquency developed a model of mentor
  involvement. Youth demonstrated an increase in
  developmental skills and parents reported
  improved relationships with their youth and
  improved parenting skills. There was a decline in
  the delinquent behavior and an increase in
  positive assets. 97 of the parents of at-risk
  youth would be involved in the program again. The
  Board of Juvenile Justice wholeheartedly endorsed
  the program. Testing instruments have been
  designed and are being utilized throughout the
  state.

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An Impact Statement Is Not

• A description of process
• The number of folks attending a meeting, enrolled
  in a program or some other counting report

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Reporting Potential Impact

• Potential impact should be considered, especially
  in basic research and teaching or youth education
  work

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Example of Potential Impact

• 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

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Example of an Anecdotal Impact Statement

• Farmer Betty says the university saved her life.
  A radio report on rabies symptoms in cattle was
  produced and distributed. Farmer heard on her
  local station and thought she had a cow with
  symptoms. Called the vet -- no rabies. A second
  opinion -- no rabies. Cow dies and the farmer
  sends it for testing. Tests positive for
  transmittable rabies. The farmer got immediate
  treatment. And credits the radio report with
  describing things well enough to save her life

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Uses for Impact Statements

• We wrote these things. Now what?

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Uses for Impact Statements

• Regular reports to general public
• Regular reports to officials
• Targeted reports to people or groups interested
  in a particular topic
• To attract funding
• As tips for media

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Using Impact

• To show university response to an issue
• As part of an overall project tracking system
• To find common grounds for collaboration with
  other land-grants, agencies, businesses
• To quickly update on-going projects
• As examples for university marketing efforts

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For Further Information or to Comment Contact

• Dr Dallas L. Holmes
• Extension Specialist Institutional Research
• Utah State University Extension
• 4900 Old Main Hill
• Logan, Utah 84322-4900
• DallasH_at_Ext.USU.Edu