Finalist
The Impactful Publication Framework
Summary of work
For too long, the potential impact of a publication has been determined through a retrospective exercise, reliant on inconsistent third-party metrics available post-publication. The Impactful Publication Framework interrupts this paradigm by empowering publication professionals to design each publication for impact from the outset.
The framework is a structured, prompt-based system applied across publication planning and development for randomised controlled trial publications. Comprising a checklist of evidence-based questions, it guides systematic interrogation of key decisions, ensuring publications are scientifically robust and intentionally positioned to deliver impact.
Developed in response to a structural constraint identified through benchmarking and an internal needs assessment, the framework consolidates fragmented reporting standards and guidance into a coherent, usable system. The initial framework was presented at ISMPP (≈195 attendees), refined through 38 external feedback submissions, and piloted across five accounts, delivering measurable behavioural change, including a 55% increase in confidence and an 83% increase in consistent impact-focused discussions. Exploration is now underway to translate the framework into an AI-supported tool to enable responsible, scalable adoption across the industry.
The innovation of this framework does not lie in creating new metrics, but in reframing impact as an upstream design discipline rather than a downstream reporting exercise.
Judges’ comments
‘The Impactful Publication Framework’ was intellectually rigorous and valuable reframing publication impact as an upstream design discipline. It was a clear fit in this category, being a properly evidenced problem, a practical and proportionate response, and a clear articulation of what the industry now understands that it did not before.
