Science with impact: How to Engage People, Change Practice, and Influence policy

Anne Toomey
Island Press, £28.00

Generally speaking, science is often depicted in the popular media as a white-coated white male sitting in isolation at the lab bench beavering away in search of the eureka moment. While not taking away from those who spend their days at the lab bench, the expectation of many in society, including funders of science, is that science demonstrates its value by what is called impact.  In effect impact is both a process and an outcome and relates to the good (social, environmental, economic and cultural) that is achieved from the outputs of research activities. Anne Toomey has spent her career studying impact, and what makes it happen. While her background is environmental science, this book covers a broad range of examples of how to –  and how not to – achieve impact from your science.

She begins with the basics of what not to do by describing the downfalls of the soap box (or ‘the public must just be better at understanding’) approach. From there, Toomey leads us on a journey through the ‘hows’ of achieving impact in the various stages of the scientific process. She finishes by detailing what policy makers are looking for from science to support their work. While there is a lot of content in this book, Toomey gives many examples that help colour the text. She shows that impact is something that needs time and thought if it is to occur and last beyond the first contact. Ultimately, impact is a people business, and relationships are key. I recommend this book to seasoned and young scientists alike; demonstrating the impact of our science is a hot topic and it’s here to stay.

Professor Iain Gordon FRSB

Reviewed by Professor Iain Gordon FRSB, Honorary Professor at the Fenner School of Environment & Society, The Australian National University