Resource
What funders mean when they ask for impact now
Impact language is everywhere, but it rarely means the same thing twice.
Translate the word into a real audience
Impact becomes easier when you name the first audience that will move: a regulator, a clinical network, a platform maintainer, a ministry, or a commercial partner.
Once that audience is concrete, the pathway stops sounding theoretical.
Do not promise scale too early
Funders are increasingly skeptical of impact claims that skip straight to transformation. They respond better to believable first movement.
Small, specific adoption stories are often more persuasive than grand claims with no clear first step.