Uptake, Implementation, & Impact

Plans for evaluating research uptake, implementation and impact will normally be included in the knowledge mobilization plan you develop during your research design phase.

Research impact might include advancing scholarship, capacity building through the training of student researchers and/or community partners, uptake and implementation of research in practice and policy, the generation of economic activity, and technological or social innovation. Understanding and articulating the impact of your research not only helps you evaluate if you've achieved your research objectives, but also plays an important role in securing funding for future projects.  

Understanding the way in which your research findings may be taken up and implemented by others may be important to certain research projects. In these cases, research partners will often play a key role in defining and understanding uptake, implementation and impact. 

The Research Office's Program Officer, Research Partnerships, is available to advise on approaches to understanding research uptake, implementation, and impact. The Library's resources on impact also provide information on different tools that measure journal and author impact as well as digital tools for gathering data on altmetrics. Institutional Analysis collates high-level research impact information to support the University in better understanding and showcasing its research successes, while Marketing & Communications is available to write research uptake, implementation and impact stories.