1. Project Relevance
The first step in planning a viable Broader Impact project, is to determine how the outcome of your research might be useful to the potential audience you would like to work with. (Don't worry, we'll work on audiences next.) The questions on this page ask you to think about how the goals of your research will apply to your broader impact work.
In your proposal, this will help you connect the intellectual merit portion of your proposal with the broader impact section. For more guidance, please review How is my research relevant to society?
Example: Can we use trflp profiling of high molecular weight ribosomes to determine if the percentage of active bacteria and specific individual bacterial species change in parallel to a strong environmental gradient?
We can use molecular techniques to learn about what functions bacteria perform in the environment. We can learn about how bacteria can survive and grow in different places and how scientists can use molecular techniques to learn about them.
Example: Through a deeper understanding of the carbon cycle and the role that microorganisms play, the audience can gain a greater comprehension of the science of climate change.