This guide describes the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) approach to measuring impact using examples from its own case studies, as well as showing how to maximise the impact of applied social science research. Applied social science research needs to demonstrate that it is relevant and useful both to public policy and practitioners. In this current economic climate, researchers and their organisations need to be able to justify public expenditure on research. As such, it is important to evaluate the impact of research in line with its aims, be they policy- or practice-oriented. For these reasons, NCVER has embarked on measuring the impact of its research. The findings and lessons learned from previous impact assessments have provided some pointers on both how to maximise and measure the impact of applied research. While the examples are specific to the field of education and training, they can be applied to other social science settings. The methodology has been influenced by work from the health sector, with NCVER adopting the "payback framework" developed by Buxton and Hanney (1996). Impact can be defined as the application, use and influence of research across various domains. The four domains considered here are: (1) producing knowledge; (2) building the capacity of researchers and end-users of the research; (3) informing policy; and (4) informing practice.