The drive towards open research practices is increasing at a fast pace. From open access publishing, to developing and using open source tools, to sharing data for future use, while ensuring transparency and reflexivity, researchers are encouraged to embed openness in research practice. Beyond sharing with academic colleagues, can open research practices also foster engagement with community, government, and others outside of academe? Can being “open” in our research work facilitate adoption of innovations and lead to societal impact? What role can technology play in fostering open engagement with non-academic partners? How can we align open research practices with translation and commercialisation outcomes? This symposium explores these questions, and more, as we examine what an open future means for societal impact work.