Environmental change will lead to ‘new’ ecosystems in the future - but how will those most affected adapt? This ESPA project is answering this question by studying farmers in India confronted with a highly invasive species. Lantana camara has affected bamboo basket making, cattle grazing and forest safety. Whilst many responses have improved livelihoods, tribal differences show that culture, knowledge, values, and attitudes also affect people’s responses to change. Allowing for these influences presents major challenges for...
Impact
Impact is at the heart of ESPA. ESPA’s research will improve the lives of poor people in developing countries by filling knowledge gaps that currently limit the way that ecosystem services contribute to the alleviation of poverty. ESPA’s Impact Strategy describes how the ESPA programme will ensure that this new knowledge is used to deliver significant and sustainable development impact.
See some examples of ESPA's impact below.
ESPA’s approach to achieving impact on people’s lives is innovative and consists of four interlinked components, all of which are delivered by working through people and partnerships, as shown in the programme’s Impact Framework (see Figure 1 below).
Please visit the Making an Impact page to view ESPA's impact stories.
Useful Links
As a researcher, you can draw on many tools to help turn your research into impact, including:
- Impact Toolkit (ESRC): tools and guidance for creating impact
- Research Into Use (DFID): includes examples of how to successfully plan and create impact
- Research into Action (DFID)
- Pathways to Impact guidance (NERC)
- Development Assistance Committee’s Criteria for Evaluating Development Assistance (OECD): can help identify and report on ‘development impact’
- RCUK Impact Framework
- RCUK 'What do we mean by impact'
- Theory of Change
If you have any feedback on the ESPA Impact Strategy, please send it to info@espa.ac.uk. This is a living document so please check back regularly for updates.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 ESPA Impact Strategy | 821.7 KB |
| Reporting Requirements.pdf | 104.08 KB |
| Ethics Guidelines.pdf | 254.94 KB |
| ESPA Communications Strategy 2012.pdf | 292.35 KB |
