Abstract

Open, collaborative, and participative practices in research trigger complex change processes that lead to societal impact. Together with representatives from research, practice, civil society, policy, funding and media, we set out to make these different pathways to impact visible, explicit, and tangible. The co-creatively developed OIS Impact Model shows what effects Open Innovation in Science (OIS) initiatives for involvement and engagement can have on personal awareness and competencies, behaviour and life circumstances of all those involved.

The OIS Impact Model is a tool which can be used to plan, communicate and assess the outcomes of active citizen involvement in research. It is presented as an interactive map or as a downloadable toolkit with detailed guidelines. The OIS Impact Model includes both quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods which can be used throughout, at the end or after the research project. It follows a modular approach to either build or enhance impact planning and evaluation.

The OIS Impact Model does not claim to be complete, but provides a comprehensive foundation that can be easily and flexibly adapted to the project’s needs complementing existing instruments or providing a basis for individual approaches. Visitors of the poster sessions are invited to learn more about the development of the OIS Impact Model, how it works and how to use and implement it. They will get a better understanding of the different dimensions which can be assessed from involvement and engagement practices in research and how to start building an evaluation design using the model.