We are delighted to announce the winning images of the BMC Ecology and Evolution photography competition. Like in previous years, the researchers who participated in this annual contest have, once again, produced a spectacular collection of images.
Traditional impact evaluations tend to measure change in pre-specified outcomes. Let’s say that 10 people attend a cycling training course; a traditional impact evaluation might measure anticipated outcomes, such as people’s confidence in cycling, at the beginning and end of the course. But what happens if a few people went on to set up a cycling club or start lobbying for safer roads where they live? These are just two examples of unanticipated impacts that could lead to further societal benefits or more sustainable effects. So shouldn’t we find a way to capture wider impacts of interventions in a meaningful way? Over the last few years, Dr James Noble, University of Bristol, and Dr Jennifer Hall, Bradford Institute for Health Research, have adapted a method called Ripple Effects Mapping to do this.