Getting it Across to your Stakeholders

Increasingly, research projects are expected to provide impact, and without a convincing impact statement, project proposals are now unlikely to get funding. This impact is not only for others in the scientific community, but also a wide range of stakeholders who are interested in knowing what a project has achieved. Getting it across to stakeholders can be achieved in terms of answers to the questions Why? Who? What? How? When? and Where? Why - because researchers are spending other people’s money and need to be accountable for this. Who - as well as other scientists, non-scientific stakeholder groups include industry and commerce, decision- and policy-makers, consumers and general public, as well as the media. What - in addition to traditional scientific presentations, for non-scientist stakeholders, emphasis should be on any practical applications of the research findings and relevance to perceived societal needs or problems. How - non-scientific stakeholders need a much more varied set of measures, beyond just scientific publications and presentations at conferences/symposia. Website, multimedia and social networks are now essential components of an effective dissemination strategy. When - regular events to describe progress with the research, such as press releases and newsletters should be combined with irregular meetings such as conferences, symposia, trade fairs and other stakeholder group meetings. Where - as well as events held at the researcher’s institution, other locations for dissemination activities should be planned locally, nationally and internationally, especially trade and industrial fairs. The increasing importance of research impact is resulting in many large-scale projects including partners with specific expertise in getting it across to stakeholders