Building a BI Identity

Building a Track Record for Positive Impact on Society

A middle school student hi-fives a college student while doing a science activity

Think of the Broader Impacts projects you develop as more than just a "one off", something needed to check a box to satisfy NSF. Although the budget for your BI efforts may not end up being large, the long term impact of your efforts to benefit society can really add up! As you write proposals over your career, you will add to your Prior Support section -- assisting reviewers in assessing the quality of your prior work conducted with prior or current NSF funding.

Just as you have probably thought about your research goals you hope to achieve over your career — your "research identity" — think about the long-term impact you could make through your BI efforts over your career — your "BI identity".

Food for Thought: As you craft you BI identity over your career, think about these elements:

  • What is your superpower? What are you really good at? Which of your personality traits could weave well into your BI activities? Who do you like to talk to about your research?
  • What is the nature of your research and how can you use it to connect with others? What critical questions drive your discipline? How can those questions engage others?
  • What infrastructure exists within your institution to support your broader impact efforts?

Adapted from: 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.

For more examples of successful scientists who have constructed BI Identities, check out these case studies.

 

  How is my research relevant to society? How will I know if my BI project is successful?