Top ten tips for making an impact

  1. Begin your impact plan with a set of objectives that are clear, simple and measurable. 
  2. Ensure that the objectives of your impact strategy don't simply restate the objectives of the project itself. 
  3. Set out your key messages in clear, accessible language – audiences such as journalists and policymakers are overloaded with information and may not remember your messages if they are too complex. 
  4. Try out your messages in different media, for example, a press release, a report, a newspaper article or a web page. This will help you find the most effective way of presenting them. 
  5. Prioritise your target audiences and user groups according to their importance and influence relative to your objectives. 
  6. Make sure you are using the most effective channels to communicate with your  audience – think about the channels that your audience will prefer. 
  7. Draw up a project plan that includes all the activities you intend to carry out, with deadlines, responsibilities and costs. 
  8. Don't underestimate the time and money involved in carrying out your activities. Remember to include staff time as a cost. 
  9. Ensure value for money by focusing on high impact/low cost activities and buying in specialist help where necessary. 
  10. Build in some simple evaluation measures at the start so that you'll know if and how you have succeeded in meeting your objectives.