Research

Broader Impacts Resources

Broader Impacts (BI) are the potential societal benefits of a research project - they demonstrate how the work contributes to the public good beyond just advancing scientific knowledge. This can involve activities from inspiring the next generation of scientists, to engaging the public in research, or to developing new technologies that address a societal need. By integrating these broader effects, researchers ensure that their work is relevant and valuable to communities, stakeholders, and the wider world. While many funders have specific requirements around Broader Impacts, the National Science Foundation has the clearest guidance, which we dive into below.

Summary

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has provided updated guidance on their Broader Impacts (BI) review criterion. While the core tenet—benefiting society—remains the same, the focus has shifted. NSF is now emphasizing BI activities that build on national priorities and expand capacity through universal access. The goal is to maximize the reach and impact of your research on a national scale.

Background

The National Science Foundation continues to evaluate all proposals using two statutory criteria: 

  1. Intellectual Merit (the potential of the proposed activity to advance knowledge within or across fields) and
  2. Broader Impacts (the potential for the research to benefit society). 

The requirement for Broader Impacts stems from the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, which mandated NSF to apply this criterion to demonstrate project support for specific societal goals. Historically, while Intellectual Merit was often seen as the primary criterion for research review, Broader Impacts have evolved to be recognized as equally crucial, with the NSF emphasizing that both criteria are necessary for a competitive proposal.

What this means for you: Your proposal must demonstrate not only groundbreaking research but also a clear and compelling plan for how that research will benefit the public. This shift recognizes that great science and positive societal outcomes are two sides of the same coin.

The National Science Foundation and the America COMPETES Act describe several suggested areas of societally relevant broader impacts that proposers can address. Below, we provide a summary of the key goals/focal areas, some examples of activities that could align with each goal and the reference source for each.

Broader Impact AreaExampleIncluded in ACA1?
1. Economic Competitiveness: Increasing the economic competitiveness of the United States.Developing a new material that reduces manufacturing costs for a key industry, leading to increased U.S. market share.Yes, #1
2. Societal Well-being: Advancing the health and welfare of the American people.Designing resilient urban planning strategies based on models to protect communities from extreme weather events.Yes, #2
3. National Defense: Supporting the national defense of the United States.Researching secure communication protocols to enhance cybersecurity for critical national infrastructure.Yes, #3
4. Partnerships: Increased partnerships between academia, industry, and others.Collaborating with a local tech company to translate research findings into a commercial product, benefiting both academic innovation and industrial application.Yes, #4
5a. STEM Workforce: Development of a globally competitive STEM workforce.Providing training for graduate students in techniques crucial for emerging industries like AI and biotechnology.Yes, #5
5b. STEM Education: Improving education and educator development, at any level, in STEM.Developing new, engaging curriculum modules for K-12 science classrooms that integrate current research topics.Yes, #5
6. Public Engagement: Increasing public scientific literacy and engagement with STEM.Organizing a series of public workshops or a citizen science project to involve community members in science research.Yes, #6
7. Broadening Participation: Full participation of individuals and communities in STEM.Providing STEM programs or activities for rural communities geographically isolated from university resources.Yes, #7
Public Policy: Using science and technology to inform public policy.Providing data-driven analyses to local government agencies to inform decisions on sustainable resource management.No, PAPPG2 only
Infrastructure: Enhancing infrastructure for research and education.Upgrading laboratory equipment to enable cutting-edge research and provide student training opportunities.No, PAPPG2 only

1America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, 2 NSF PAPPG (NSF 24-1)

Yes, broadening participation remains a vital component of the NSF's Broader Impacts criterion, and can still be used as part of Broader Impacts plans. However, per NSF’s updated guidance, your activities and research "must ensure that all outreach, recruitment, or participatory activities in NSF projects are open and available to all Americans." 

NSF further clarifies in Section 35 of its terms and conditions the following: "...award is subject to the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. §§ 2000d et seq.), Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. §§ 1681 et seq.), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 794), the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. §§ 6101 et seq), and all applicable regulations and policies issued by NSF or cognizant Federal agencies pursuant to these statutes.  Specifically, in accordance with these statutes, regulations and policies, no person on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under the award. "

This means that if you plan to have activities aimed at broadening participation, they must be open and available to everyone, and not focus on groups defined by protected characteristics (e.g., race, ethnicity, sex, etc.).  NSF recommends that you design opportunities to be broadly accessible while allowing for efforts to build capacity in STEM fields without implicitly or explicitly limiting participation based on a protected class.

To ensure your Broader Impacts plan is compliant with the latest NSF directives, consider the following:

  1. Prioritize core Broader Impacts goals: Align your BI activities with the first six America COMPETES goals, such as advancing U.S. economic competitiveness, public health and welfare, national defense, and academia-industry partnerships, developing a globally competitive STEM workforce, and improving public scientific literacy. Clearly state which goals your activities support.
  2. Where possible, integrate your Broader Impacts with national priorities: Clearly articulate how your research aligns with national strategic interests such as artificial intelligence, quantum information science, biotechnology, national defense, economic competitiveness, and global scientific leadership.
  3. Focus on building capacity in STEM: Design broadening participation activities to be "open and available to all Americans."

Think of your proposal as a two-part story. The Intellectual Merit section tells the story of the science, while the Broader Impacts section tells the story of its positive effect on the community, education, or other societal goals.

AAAS Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology. Provides opportunities and resources for scientists to engage with policymakers and the general public.

American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB). Programs and grants for scientists to engage with the public.

Amiable Consulting Broader Impacts Webinars: Amiable Consulting provides free recordings of informative webinars that focus on changes to the NSF broader impacts requirements.

Broader Impacts Wizard. Developed by ARIS and Rutgers University to help research teams develop broader impact statements that address the National Science Foundation Broader Impacts Criterion.

BPCnet Resource Portal. Computing Research Association initiative, supported by the National Science Foundation CISE directorate, provides curated resources for diversifying the computing community.

Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society (ARIS). Funded by the National Science Foundation to build broader impact capacity and scholarship, particularly through an online platform of best practices, resources, and partnering opportunities. This includes a printable Broader Impacts Guidesheet and a Broader Impacts Toolkit with updated guidance on NSF priorities.

Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE). Resource center funded by the National Science Foundation’s Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) with over 8,000 resources for evidence-based informal STEM learning.

  1. NSF Updates on Priorities - This frequently updated NSF page contains extensive information regarding new policies and priorities.
  2. The NSF Implementation of Recent Executive Orders webpage provides general information about changes to NSF policy in response to executive orders.
  3. NSF Broader Impacts Page - Learn more about how and why the Broader Impacts criterion is used and different types of impact areas.
  4. Other helpful citations:
    1. Julie Risien, Martin Storksdieck, Unveiling Impact Identities: A Path for Connecting Science and Society, Integrative and Comparative Biology, Volume 58, Issue 1, July 2018, Pages 58–66, https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icy011
    2. Susan D. Renoe, An insider perspective on broader impacts, BioScience, Volume 75, Issue 3, March 2025, Pages 207–211, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaf004