Stakeholder engagement usually ends with outcome measurement but long-term impact beyond the project is often not ensured. Strategy development is needed during the project period to enable a long-term impact, e.g. through follow-up projects or responsible persons from society.
The participation of the actors in a transdisciplinary project usually ends with the measurement of results and the first implementation of the findings in practice. However, a long-term impact of the project results beyond the funding is often not ensured. Especially considering the fact that societal relevance of research results often only becomes apparent after some time (Kurzhals et al., 2021, in reference to Bornmann, 2012), the settling and sustainability of the results can sometimes only take place at a later point in time. It is necessary to develop a strategy during the project to ensure the long-term sustainability of the project results. For example, follow-up projects or people from society who are trained to generate and maintain results in the long term are suitable for this purpose (Kurzhals et al., 2021).