Storytelling for Research Impact – Feb. 25, 2026

Session Description

The Centre for Research & Innovation Support (CRIS) presents Storytelling for Research Impact: An Advancing Research Impact in Society (ARIS) webinar. Join  Janice McDonnell and Susan Renoe as they explain and demonstrate research impact storytelling strategies for researchers. The speakers will focus on how principal investigators can create compelling research impact narratives. Researchers want to communicate their findings to broader audiences from informing the public to influencing policy; at the same time research is complex and challenging to distill into neat stories. In this webinar Dr. McDonnell and Dr. Renoe will provide an introduction to using storytelling strategies to support researchers as they pursue this key aspect of their work. 

By using storytelling techniques, the speakers will guide participants through developing a research impact narrative plan—from understanding the role of storytelling in communicating research findings to a range of audiences; to recognizing storytelling techniques (story boarding, character development, story arcs, using accessible language, understanding audiences’ expectations). 

The speakers will also provide real-world examples of how researchers have crafted their research impact narratives to model promising practices. They will familiarize the audience with the Broader Impacts tools created by ARIS that researchers can use after the webinar. The webinar will emphasize intentionality, inclusivity, and sustainability in designing research impact storytelling so that researchers are engaging diverse communities, influencing policy directions, and address societal challenges. 

Techniques of storytelling and research impact communication will also be highlighted in the upcoming session: Narrative CV: What is it and why do I need one?