Tips for Writing a Systematics DDIG Part 5: Broader Impacts

This is the last in my brief series of posts on preparing a DDIG.

Although often viewed with some mixture of confusion and frustration, a well thought-out broader impacts section is critical to any proposal being submitted to NSF. Are you a cynic who views broader impacts as little more than an obstacle standing between you and your research? If yes, get over yourself. The way you and your science interact with the rest of the scientific community and society at large deserves your attention. That said, expectations for the broader impacts of a DDIG are commensurate with the relatively low amount of funds they involve (relative to the much larger amounts your PI is likely to be applying for). Your PI may be starting a high school science program as part of her grant, but you shouldn’t feel compelled to go to such lengths in your DDIG. What then should you include in your broader impacts? Most proposals include some mention of one or more of the following broader impacts, many of which are likely to be coincident with your primary research objectives.

1. Undergraduate research opportunities (i.e., ‘training’ undergraduates by having them slave away on your project). This is a no brainer. Everybody wins when you get undergraduates involved in your research. This will be all the more convincing if you can include some ‘preliminary data’ showing that you already have experience recruiting and mentoring undergraduates.
2. Dissemination of data and results on the interwebs. You’re going to put your data online anyways, so why not take some credit for it?
3. Conservation significance. Conservation is a noble goal, but try to avoid vacuous statements like “The group I’m studying including some species of conservation concern.”
4. Outreach to the broader community. Often in the form of a museum exhibit or public presentations. Be creative here – visit a school, give a “keynote” at a science fair, etc., but make sure reviewers aren’t left feeling like you’re not going to follow through.