Broader Impacts Information

What are Broader Impacts (BI)?

In general terms, broader impacts (BI) are the broader societal value of your research activities. While NSF is the agency that places the most emphasis on broader impact activities at this time, we encourage including these kinds of activities in proposals to any federal or state funding agency, private foundations or corporate partners.

At the NSF, Broader Impacts is one of two merit review criteria:

Intellectual Merit: The potential to advance knowledge Broader Impacts: The potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes

How to Accomplish Broader Impacts?
  • Through the research itself (e.g., research that has potential to lead to breakthroughs in a discipline, create infrastructure or equipment that is broadly beneficial, or contribute solutions to societal problems)
  • Through activities that are directly related to specific research projects (e.g., research experience for students or citizen science projects that contribute to the research)
  • Through activities that are supported by, but are complementary to the project (e.g., running an educational workshop for teachers on your research topic)

An illustrative summary of these options can be found at the NSF Office of Integrative Activities

Why is NSF Requiring Broader Impacts?

At the core of NSF’s broader impact requirement is an aspirational set of societally relevant outcomes for the nation’s STEM enterprise:

  • full participation of women, persons with disabilities, and underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)
  • improved STEM education and educator development at any level
  • increased public scientific literacy and public engagement with science and technology
  • improved well-being of individuals in society
  • development of a diverse, globally competitive STEM workforce
  • increased partnerships between academia, industry, and others
  • improved national security
  • increased economic competitiveness of the U.S.
  • enhanced infrastructure for research and education
  • Through activities that are supported by, but are complementary to the project (e.g., running an educational workshop for teachers on your research topic)

Learn more about Broader Impacts here:

For more general information on education and outreach see this guide for scientists published by Oceanography, that was co-authored by UCSD/Scripps outreach experts and several collaborators: https://tos.org/epo-guide