36. Practical Impact Planning and Evaluation: Dr Sarah Morton on contribution vs attribution and the Matter of Focus approach

Impact planningImpact metricsEvaluationKnowledge mobilisationResearch strategyResearch managementTheory of changeImpact assessment
Written By Chris Pahlow

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Episode show notes

How can we move beyond hoping for impact to systematically creating it? What tools can we use to plan for the impact we want to see in the world, evaluate whether it's happening, and tell compelling stories about the change we're contributing to? Dr Sarah Morton takes us through the Matter of Focus framework and software designed to do just that.

Sarah spent 16 years working in knowledge exchange at the University of Edinburgh before co-founding Matter of Focus. Her team's approach to impact planning and evaluation stands out for its focus on using plain language and breaking things down in ways that are really easy to understand, and they’ve developed the software tool OutNav to help make all this practical..

"I think where the approach works best is if it becomes really part of the way you work. We've got to have more of a feedback mindset because people are doing great things, but they're often not reflecting on them and people are making huge assumptions about engagement, for example, that they're engaging the people who are most important to the change that they see, and quite often they're not." -- Dr Sarah Morton

Sarah walks us through Matter of Focus' four-step process: setting out your theory of change using plain language headings, auditing what evidence you already have, identifying gaps and collecting meaningful data, and building your impact narrative over time. We explore how this cyclical approach transforms impact work from bureaucratic afterthought to strategic advantage.

(We’re releasing this ep a little early, between our usual monthly drops, to coincide with the ARMA UK conference. If you’re in Edinburgh, drop by the conference to say hi to Sarah and give OutNav a try in person! We’ll be back to our regular release schedule on July 1st with a new episode featuring returning fan-favourite guest Prof Phillip Dawson — all about his approach to crafting killer academic talks.)

Our conversation covers:

  • Why contribution analysis beats attribution thinking for complex change

  • The four-step Matter of Focus process for impact planning and evaluation

  • How to map pathways to impact using plain language frameworks

  • Practical data collection methods that busy researchers actually use

  • Moving from "broadcast mode" to strategic stakeholder engagement

  • Embedding impact thinking into daily research practice

  • How institutions can better support systematic impact work

Practical tips from this episode:

  • Start with the end in mind:

    • Before launching any impact activity, get clear on what difference you're trying to make and how you think change will happen

    • "If you don't set out what you think impact is going to be... you're thinking, okay, well, the reason we are taking these researchers into government is because we believe that, what? That those civil servants are going to listen? That they're going to use it? Like, how are they going to use it? What's going to happen next?" -- Dr Sarah Morton

  • Focus on contribution, not attribution:

    • Stop trying to prove your research directly caused change and start understanding how you influence change alongside other factors

    • "You can't cause a change with research. What you can do is you can influence a change and you can make a contribution to change." -- Dr Sarah Morton

  • Use plain language framework headings:

    • Structure your impact planning using simple questions like: "What you do, who with, how they feel, what they learn and gain, what they do differently, what difference does it make"

    • This creates a framework that's easy to communicate to stakeholders, funders, and the public

  • Develop a feedback mindset:

    • Build reflection and learning into everything you do rather than treating evaluation as an afterthought

    • "We've got to have more of a feedback mindset because people are doing great things, but they're often not reflecting on them and people are making huge assumptions about engagement" -- Dr Sarah Morton

    Start with what you already have:

    • Before creating new evaluation systems, audit existing evidence: social media metrics, web downloads, anecdotes, feedback forms

    • "What data do you already have? So it's usually social media, might be web downloads, might be anecdotes... We quite often get people to formalize all the anecdotal stuff" -- Dr Sarah Morton

  • Ask future-focused questions:

    • When collecting feedback, don't just ask if people enjoyed an event - ask what they learned and what they'll do differently

    • Use simple feedback forms with questions like: "What did you like? What could be improved? What did you learn? What will you do differently?"

  • Think strategically about stakeholder engagement:

    • Stop broadcasting to everyone and start thinking carefully about who needs to change and why they'd engage with your work

    • Sarah emphasises that if people don't think your work is important to them or will help them, they won't engage meaningfully

  • Focus effort where it matters most:

    • Use your impact framework to identify which activities have maximum impact and stop doing things that aren't really impactful

    • Sarah gives the example of a researcher who realized after 10 years that her partner organisation could never achieve the policy change needed, leading to a strategic pivot

Credits:

  • Host & Producer: Chris Pahlow

  • Edited by: Laura Carolina Corrigan

  • Music by: La Boucle and Blue Steel, courtesy of Epidemic Sound

Chris Pahlow
Chris Pahlow is an independent writer/director currently in post-production on his debut feature film PLAY IT SAFE. Chris has been fascinated with storytelling since he first earned his pen license and he’s spent the last ten years bringing stories to life through music videos, documentaries, and short films.
http://www.chrispahlow.com
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35. Strategic Science Communication: Prof John C. Besley on designing communication that actually changes behaviour