Impact is the reportable difference a program makes for the citizens of Georgia.
Office of Communications: Resources
Writing for Impact
- What's an Impact Statement?
- How to Target Your Audience
- Writing an Impact Statement
- Using Your Impact Statement
What's an Impact Statement?
A brief, clear summary of the social, environmental or economic impact of your efforts. It states your accomplishments and the payoff to society.
Impact statements provide:
Public accountability Report on response to an issue Tracking system for a project Overview of collaborative efforts Quick update on a project State and federal reporting needs Summary of return on investment Support for funding request
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How to Target Your Audience
What audience you're targeting dictates how much information you need to give them. They usually know very little about your program, so keep your impact statements simple and interesting.
Who are your audiences?
Your neighbors and community Local decision makers State and federal decision makers Peers
Each of these audiences needs their own statement(s) because they have separate interests in what you do for them.
Why do your audiences need impact statements?
Because they write your pay check To help them make good decisions Because you compete for their time To show them how their investments have made a difference
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Writing an Impact Statement
An impact statement should answer the question, "So what?" It should also show a measurable change in economic value or efficiency, environmental quality, social well-being, and/or health and well-being.
First, write the basic information:
Situation: Why did this program start? Response (program): What did you do to resolve the situation? Results (impact): How has the program affected the participants and stakeholders? An impact statement is NOT:
Just the numbers: people, meetings Just more paperwork Just the process
| Tough Areas to Show Impact: | |
| Youth & Families |
Many programs are designed to prevent negative outcomes. It's hard to describe the impact of something that doesn't happen. |
| Campus Classroom | Students leave college and you may lose track of them. It's also very difficult to trace what effect you've had as a part of students' overall course work. |
| Basic Research | You may not know what impact it will have yet. |
| Long-term Projects | Collaborators may still be working on applications that will have impact much later. |
Measuring Impact
Estimate the potential impact
Relate anecdotes
Build in evaluation of your programs
by using:
Planning for Impact
Know what you want to measure
Build around issues, not events
Respond to the situation
| Watch Out for Falling Crock! | |
| Exaggerated claims | You can't accurately claim a reduction in youth violence after your 4-H membership increased. |
| Unclear point of reference (who can take credit?) |
If multiple agencies work to decrease homeowner pesticide use, you can't take all the credit for it. |
| Include the negatives | Don't make everything sound rosy if it's not. Be honest about the outcomes. |
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Using Your Impact Statement
Share your impact by:
reporting to the general public, officials and target audiences supplementing your funding requests pitching as media tips including in quarterly and annual reports responding to USDA requests submitting for news release in Georgia FACES or Georgia Audio