Broader impacts 

National funding agencies are becoming increasingly attuned to how the research projects they support can benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes. These outcomes can be accomplished through the research itself, through activities directly related to the research, or through activities supported by and complementary to the project.

Principal investigators at MIT who submit grant proposals to the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and other federal agencies are asked to include narratives on outreach, educational activities, and public engagement. 

For example, for grant proposals submitted to the NSF, the Project Summary and Project Description must contain a separate section on Broader Impacts with a header. The NSF is not prescriptive about the societal outcomes a project addresses, but they provide the following examples of desired outcomes that could be included: 

  • Inclusion: Increasing and including the participation of women, persons with disabilities and underrepresented minorities in STEM.
  • STEM education: Improving education and educator development — at any level — in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
  • Public engagement: Increasing public scientific literacy and public engagement with STEM.
  • Societal well-being: Improving the well-being of individuals in society.
  • STEM workforce: Developing a more diverse, globally competitive STEM workforce.
  • Partnerships: Building partnerships between academia, industry and others.
  • National security: Improving national security.
  • Economic competitiveness: Increasing the economic competitiveness of the U.S.
  • Infrastructure: Enhancing infrastructure for research and education.

MIT has many programs and initiatives to support researchers who need to develop their broader impacts statements. Contact the research development team in the Office of the Vice President for Research to brainstorm ideas for your broader impacts plan and to learn more about MIT programs that you may leverage.