Uncertainty and serendipity: reflecting on impact in community-engaged research

This article reflects on the complexities of planning for, achieving, and evidencing impact in community-engaged screen practice research. Drawing on Narrative Futuring workshops conducted with DreamSpace Academy in Sri Lanka and the ASEAN Social Enterprise Development Programme during the COVID-19 pandemic, we position ourselves as reflective practitioners and argue that uncertainty and serendipity are intrinsic, but often overlooked, dimensions of community-engaged collaborations. While contemporary university impact agendas emphasise linear pathways, predictable outcomes, and demonstrable causal links, in our experience community-engaged screen practice rarely unfolds in such orderly ways. Instead, impact emerges unpredictably via relationships, context-specific decisions, collaboration, and opportunities that cannot be planned in advance. By situating uncertainty and serendipity as impact lenses, we challenge rigid interpretations of existing impact planning and evaluation frameworks, and advocate for their use as adaptable guides rather than prescriptive blueprints. Through two case studies, we reflect on how Narrative Futuring research facilitated both intended outcomes and unanticipated opportunities. Being open to uncertainty and receptive of serendipity might open up new pathways to impact that could exceed original impact ambitions, yet fall outside conventional planning or evaluation frameworks.