Broader impacts

Understand the importance of addressing need, intellectual merit, and broader impacts in a research proposal... 

In this textbook, the term broader impacts refers to how your proposed work will benefit other scientists, society at large, and the training of future scientists. 

Project Summary. In one page or less, write a summary, suitable for publication, of proposed activities. It should not be an abstract of the proposal but rather a self-contained description of the proposed work. The summary should be written in the third person and include descriptions of (i) the goals and objectives of the project, (2) the importance of the project, (3) the proposed methods, and (4) the broader impacts of the work, it should be written for a scientifically literate reader, but not necessarily an individual in your field or discipline. 

Project Summary. One-page limit, including the names and affiliations of all senior personnel. The project summary must address both the intellectual merit and broader impacts of the proposed CRC project. 

All good proposals must come to an end. In this chapter, we examine conventional ways in which authors summarize and conclude their Project Descriptions. We consider project timelines, lists of expected outcomes, and statements of broader impacts. By the end of this chapter, you should be able to... 

Suggest broader impacts of your proposed work... 

Move 3 concludes the proposal and focuses on the project s broader impacts, allowing investigators one more chance to stress the importance of the work. The Outcomes and Impacts section, like the Conclusions section in a journal article, broadens its scope to address a scientific, rather than an expert, audience. 

As mentioned in chapter 11, the term broader impacts also includes human impacts (i.e., how the proposed work will impact students and prepare them to be future scientists). For example, Aga (excerpt 14A) addresses students in her Project Schedule section ( Students will have their own project, sufficient time to complete the analytical work, and the opportunity to present results at a national meeting. ). Similarly, Finney (excerpt 14B) mentions one graduate student by name and another new graduate student who will join the project. These are just two examples. In general, authors describe human impacts by (1) anticipating... 

We conclude our discussion of move 3 by considering verb tense and voice combinations commonly used in this move (summarized in table 14.5). Present tense, present perfect, and future tense are used to reiterate goals. Future tense is used most often to state broader impacts. Active voice is common throughout the move, and personal pronouns (e.g., we and our) may be used at the authors discretion. 

Write a conclusion for your Project Description that(l) reiterates project goals and importance and (2) addresses the broader impacts ofthe work. Take advantage ofyour last opportunity to stress the importance of your work. 

In what ways might the broader impacts sway the opinion of reviewers ... 

With these guidelines in mind, consider an excerpt from Aga s CAREER proposal Project Summary (excerpt 15C). The excerpt summarizes the research component of the proposed work, thereby addressing the intellectual merit of the project. For completeness, the excerpt also includes Aga s broader impacts summary, highlighting the educational components of her work. (Educational impact summaries are not included elsewhere.)... 

Broader Impacts. The educational component of this proposal will provide research experience for undergraduate students in Chemistry and enhance laboratory experiments... 

In your own words, what are the broader impacts of Aga s proposed research activities Consider both the impacts of the work on society and on training future scientists. 

To summarize broader impacts Future-passive The data... will be used to determine the seasonal pattern of agriculture chemical input into local rivers and reservoirs. (Adapted from Aga, 2002)... 

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