Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A grant application identifies named end-user organisations and engagement activities mapped to expected impacts.
- Is an instance
A research team revises its pathway annually based on new stakeholder relationships.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
A pathway statement listing 'dissemination via journals' as the sole route to impact.
- Not an instance
Naming stakeholders that have not been consulted or involved in the project.
Editorial commentary
Pathway to Impact statements were a mandatory section of UKRI grant applications from 2009 until 2020, when they were replaced by integrated impact considerations in the application narrative. The concept persists across funder requirements globally: a pathway statement identifies likely beneficiaries, planned engagement activities, intermediate milestones, and the assumed mechanisms linking research outputs to societal effects. Pathways differ from theories of change by being more activity-specific and time-bound.
References
- UKRI guidance on impact (historical). NESTA 'Innovating for impact' 2020.
Also known as
Pathway statement · Impact pathway
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
<role vocab="credit"
vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
vocab-term="Pathway to impact"
vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/pathway-to-impact" />{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "DefinedTerm",
"name": "Pathway to impact",
"identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/pathway-to-impact",
"description": "An articulated sequence of activities, intermediate outcomes and stakeholder engagements through which research findings are expected to translate into beneficial change beyond academia.",
"inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/engagement-impact-and-sdg-alignment/",
"url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/pathway-to-impact",
"sameAs": [
"Pathway statement",
"Impact pathway"
],
"license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}
