Broader Impacts

The University of Chicago runs a number of programs through various schools and departments that seek to improve education and workforce development, broaden participation, and disseminate research.

Researchers make immense contributions to not only our growing body of knowledge, but to
society at large. Through various activities, projects, and initiatives, researchers can directly or indirectly improve people’s lives. The NSF asks researchers to think about the implications of their proposal through a section called Broader Impacts, a necessary component in all proposals that outlines the socially relevant outcomes of their project. The Broader Impacts framework poses three questions for researchers to consider in order to more clearly articulate the impact of their proposed work: 

• Who Can the Scientific Opportunities and Communicative Products Empower? 
• Whose Quality of Life Can the Empowerment Improve? 
• What Actions Make These Broader Impacts More Likely?

Our activities related to broader impacts extend to two programs that connect academic research to the public and to a variety of professional endeavors: Facilitating Thought Leadership provides support to SSD faculty in writing and placing op-eds in major news outlets and Alumni-in-Residence builds connections between students and Social Sciences alumni across a wide range of organizations, industries, and interests.