• An “Impact Analysis” provides extended research to Utah policymakers, issue experts, and members of the media.
• Readers can expect designed visuals and helpful data while maintaining the convenience of a blog-style article.

​Sutherland Institute policy experts recently began publishing articles referred to as “Impact Analysis,” supplementing their usual “Insights” articles and other policy publications. What are these articles, and what distinguishes them from other Sutherland scholarly works? Read below for our explanation.

What are the goals of the articles?

An Impact Analysis is a new written piece with the goal of elevating important data, research, or policy analysis beyond the scope of an “Insights” article, while intended to be more responsive to current issue debates than other forms of publications. Unlike an Insights piece, an Impact Analysis will often provide imagery, charts, statistics, or video clips that provide a deeper look into a specific issue.

“An essential role of Sutherland is to provide authoritative and trustworthy research and policy analysis practically applied to current policy challenges facing our state and nation,” said Sutherland Vice President of Strategy and Senior Fellow Nic Dunn. “Our new Impact Analysis line of content will help do that in a way that elevates understanding of critical issues, in a format that can keep up with the fast-paced nature of modern political and policy debates.”

What is the scope of an Impact Analysis?

All work published by Sutherland experts aims to benefit and inform voters, policymakers, issue experts and leaders in Utah and beyond. Each piece of work, however, provides a different level of detail. An Impact Analysis will reach beyond that of an Insights article or Commentary piece but will be nimbler in content and design than other long-form publications or issue briefs. Analyses will also be populated in the Blog feed, much like Takeaways, Insights, and Commentary.

Who is the Impact Analysis written for?

All Sutherland content is published with the intention to better inform any individual who chooses to view it. An Impact Analysis, however, is geared more toward issue experts, legislators, and members of the media to serve as a reputable resource in their research.

Why “Impact Analysis”?

Unlike an Insights article, where the goal is to keep readers up to date and informed on an issue, or a publication in which Sutherland aims to provide policy recommendations, an Impact Analysis serves to make an “impact” on an issue by providing input in a variety of ways, whether that be data with or without a specific policy recommendation, with analysis from Sutherland experts.