September 3, 2026
How do we make sure climate science actually makes a difference? That was the focus of a recent Climate College webinar exploring “impact pathways”, a practical framework for connecting research to real-world outcomes.
An impact pathway maps how research moves from inputs and activities, to outputs, outcomes and ultimately impact. It’s becoming an essential part of climate research, helping scientists not only design better projects but also demonstrate why their work matters to funders, policymakers and communities. As the webinar highlighted, the first steps (inputs, activities and outputs) are familiar territory for most researchers. The real challenge, and opportunity, comes in defining outcomes and impacts: what changes because of the work, how that change happens, and who benefits.
A powerful example came from Rachael Young and David Allingham of the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, who shared their experiences as part of a team delivering climate vulnerability assessments across primary industries.
The project’s approach brought together diverse inputs: climate data, sector-specific expertise and modelling capabilities, with the DPIRD team acting as the “glue” connecting everything. The scale was significant: the assessments covered 37 commodities and 14 biosecurity risks, supported by more than 50 models and the analysis of 4,200 panels containing almost 30,000 maps. It was a highly collaborative effort, involving around 300 collaborators across industry, government and research. The findings have since been presented to over 1000 stakeholders across industry bodies, government agencies and different jurisdictions and academia.
The project’s activities centred on co-design, particularly workshops that directly engaged participants in developing, testing and refining the models that underlie the assessments. Stakeholders were not simply consulted after the science was completed. Their knowledge helped define the models, peer review the results and identified the important elements of the findings. This ensured the work was grounded in real decision-making contexts and sector needs, rather than being purely academic.
The outputs were a suite of climate vulnerability assessments covering different primary industry sectors and related biosecurity risks. These included sector-specific reports, accessible factsheets, standardised maps, presentations and publicly available data resources. These are now practical tools, not just scientific outputs, designed for use in planning and risk management.
Importantly, the conversation didn’t stop there. As highlighted in the webinar, outcomes included the uptake and use of these assessments by sectors to inform their planning and climate risk management. And the impacts extended even further: from improved resilience in industry decision-making to supporting NSW LLS and DPIRD staff plan and prepare for biosecurity incursions. In this way, these 51 statewide climate vulnerability assessments are now informing decisions at state, sector and regional scales.
The significance of this work has been formally recognised. The program received both the NSW and national Planning Institute of Australia Awards for Excellence, reflecting its value in supporting evidence-based planning and decision-making across sectors.
One of the key takeaways from the session was that impact is rarely linear or easy to measure. As participants discussed, researchers are often just one part of a much bigger system, contributing to change alongside many others. Impacts may take years to emerge and aren’t always directly visible.
But that doesn’t make them any less important. In fact, thinking in terms of impact pathways helps shift the focus from “what did we produce?” to “what difference did it make?”, a crucial mindset for climate science in a rapidly changing world. The Climate Vulnerability Assessment shows that the pathway to impact begins well before the communication products are published. It starts by involving intended users in shaping the questions, evidence and tools from the outset.
Climate College continues to provide a space for early career researchers to build these skills, connect across disciplines, and learn how to turn great science into meaningful impact.
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