How can you encourage research communication and dissemination in your organization?

1 Define your goals and audiences

Before you start communicating and disseminating your research, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and who you want to reach. This will help you tailor your messages, formats, channels, and strategies to suit your specific purposes and contexts. For example, if your goal is to inform policy decisions, you may want to target policymakers and influencers with concise and relevant policy briefs or infographics. If your goal is to raise awareness or spark debate, you may want to target the general public or the media with engaging stories or podcasts.

2 Plan and budget your activities

Research communication and dissemination should not be an afterthought or a one-off event, but a planned and budgeted process that runs throughout the research cycle. You should allocate sufficient time, money, and human resources for your communication and dissemination activities, and integrate them into your research design, implementation, and evaluation. You should also monitor and measure the outcomes and impacts of your communication and dissemination efforts, and use the feedback and data to improve your future activities.

3 Build your skills and capacities

Research communication and dissemination require a range of skills and capacities, such as writing, editing, design, media relations, social media, web development, and evaluation. You may not have all these skills or capacities in-house, or you may need to update or enhance them. Therefore, you should invest in building your skills and capacities, either by hiring external experts, partnering with other organizations, or providing training and mentoring for your staff. You should also create opportunities for learning and sharing best practices within and across your organization.

4 Create and share quality content

The quality of your content is key to attracting and retaining the attention and interest of your audiences. You should create and share content that is accurate, relevant, timely, credible, and engaging. You should also use different formats and styles to suit different audiences and channels, such as reports, articles, blogs, videos, webinars, newsletters, or social media posts. You should also ensure that your content is accessible and inclusive, by using plain language, avoiding jargon, providing translations, or using alternative formats.

5 Leverage your networks and partnerships

Research communication and dissemination can be more effective and efficient if you leverage your existing networks and partnerships, or establish new ones. You can use your networks and partnerships to amplify your reach, enhance your credibility, diversify your perspectives, and facilitate dialogue and feedback. For example, you can collaborate with other researchers or organizations working on similar topics or issues, or join relevant networks or platforms that connect you with your audiences or stakeholders. You can also engage with intermediaries, such as journalists, bloggers, or influencers, who can help you disseminate your research to wider or different audiences.

6 Recognize and reward your efforts

Research communication and dissemination can be time-consuming and challenging, and may not always be valued or rewarded by your organization or your funders. Therefore, you should recognize and reward your efforts, and those of your staff, collaborators, or partners, to motivate and sustain them. You can do this by providing incentives, such as funding, promotion, recognition, or feedback, for engaging in communication and dissemination activities. You can also showcase and celebrate your achievements, such as publications, media coverage, citations, downloads, or impacts, and share your stories and lessons learned with others.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?