Welcome to part 3 of our series exploring what research impact is, why it matters, and how it is achieved. 

Let’s start with some philosophy! If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Now let’s ask a similar question in relation to research: if people can’t find and understand research, can it have impact?

For research to have impact, the people who can apply it need to find it and understand it. This requires a more structured approach to communication, particularly to reach and engage audiences beyond academia. There has been a gap between what researchers are expected to achieve in terms of broader audiences and impact, and the skills and tools required to achieve that.

How to achieve research impact

• Download slides containing this and other graphics from the research impact series by Kudos 

At Kudos we’ve developed this model – breaking down the steps towards impact into reaching the necessary audiences, making sure that these audiences are aware of your your findings and recommendations, bringing about change, and then scaling that change.

Communication, communication, communication

A lot of this depends on communication. Communicating research is not as much of a secret art as people think. It‘s really just a case of being clear on who your research is for, and then how you can best communicate to those people – what to say, so that they‘ll understand you, and where to say it, so that they‘ll actually see it.

Next week we’ll post another series of blogs covering the who, what and where of research communication.

Getting started with research communication and impact

The things you do to communicate and disseminate your research are the vital “missing link” between the research that you do and the impact you hope to achieve. At Kudos we have spent 10 years helping researchers develop impact through better research communication and dissemination. Get started now – you can register for free and then pick the tools and services you need.