University College Dublin

Impact Toolkit

Most funding agencies consider research impacts an important factor. Communicating impact is a skill in it’s own right and University College Dublin have created the Impact Toolkit to provide valuable guidance on explaining impact. They came to us to create a whiteboard animation that introduced the Impact Toolkit.

The Scrapbook

The Brief

Our whiteboard animation needed to connect with academics at University College Dublin (UCD) and beyond. It was important that the explainer animation outlined impact, the role it played in funding and the way the UCD Impact Toolkit was able to help academics think about impact. It was also crucial to end on a strong call-to-action, directing viewers to the Impact Toolkit.

The Explainer Video

In just over a minute and a half, our whiteboard animation introduced the types of impact that academic research can have, explaining its importance and the ways their Impact Tool kit can support academics to explain it. To bring this story to screen, we used rich visuals and a range of visual devices. These embodied the message of the UCD in an engaging and memorable way. Metaphors such as the distance between researchers and funders being shown as an expanse of water bridged by the stepping stones of impact, alongside familiar imagery such as toolboxes and wall planners, allowed us to map and present the information in a way which connected and stayed with people. Icons played a key role, emphasizing points made in the voiceover while communicating meaning in a concise and direct way.

The combination of visuals, voiceover and onscreen text allowed us to create an animation which fully explained the idea of impact and the Impact Toolkit in an engaging way, with a clear next steps.

About the Client

UCD is one of Europe’s leading research-intensive universities and has been educating students for more than 160 years. Ranked within the top 1% of higher institutions globally, UCD is Ireland’s biggest university and is committed to innovation.

The Context

Download the Impact Toolkit and find out more at the University College Dublin website.

Cognitive are award-winning pioneers of whiteboard animation, and the creators behind the RSA Animates series. We help corporate, academic and charitable organisations like the BBC, TED, Coca Cola and Sanofi to tell their stories more powerfully. Find out more about us here.