Impact mapping tool for interdisciplinary research institutes

The identification of societal impacts resulting from interdisciplinary research is a complex task. This complexity is particularly evident for agricultural research, which strives to mitigate trade-offs between agricultural production and multiple societal targets, including food provision, ecosystem services, soil and biodiversity conservation, climate action and rural development, all contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To address this issue, this article presents an Impact Mapping Framework for systematically assessing such societal impacts. The use case on soil health shows how ZALF, an interdisciplinary agricultural landscape research institute in Germany, uses the framework to map its research activities and their contributions towards the improvement of ecosystem services and biodiversity, and the SDGs. The Impact Mapping Framework is presented in a circular format, with research activities mapped in the outermost circle and their contributions to SDGs in the center. The article provides step-by-step instructions for applying the impact mapping framework and a supplementary Impact Map Table. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of using a systemic approach to formatively assess the societal impact of interdisciplinary research, to visualize it for external communication, to identify research gaps and collaboration opportunities, and to build impact literacy.