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The Essentials of Communicating Research CCW - SaciWATERS Kathmandu, 19 June 2013. Climate Change and Water program goal: ‘support applied, policy relevant research to help people adapt to the water related impacts of climate change’. CCW prospectus (2010). Why Communicate?.
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The Essentials of Communicating ResearchCCW - SaciWATERSKathmandu, 19 June 2013
Climate Change and Water program goal: ‘support applied, policy relevant research to help people adapt to the water related impacts of climate change’. CCW prospectus (2010)
Why Communicate? Success in our work can be judged by: • the quality of our work and the RELEVANCEof our results • how well it is noticed -PROFILE Visibility determined by: • how well you promote your research outputs All to achieve IMPACT: • Successful research uptake means policy impact • Continued investment in research area – sustainability of outputs
Climate Change Impact: how do we get from here to here?
What is communication? Communication Dissemination
What is communication? Message sent! Communication
What is communication? Message received! Communication
How to communicate….. • Be clear about your message • Know your audience • Don’t assume people know what you are talking about! • Pick your tools carefully
Know your audience… Put yourself in their shoes- what is important to them?
Adapt your message to fit your audience Keep complex concepts simple – KISS rule Make you message relevant to the audience eg. human stories; smart economic solutions; sustainable growth; etc. A picture can tell a thousand words…..
Don’t make assumptions… Don’t assume prior knowledge of a topic Avoid jargon and too much technical detail
Avoid… …overloading people with one-way information
Use appropriate tools for appropriate tasks • Look at the tools that your peers are using for good and BAD examples • Take advice from skilled communications officers • Observe current trends on the web, social media, video, radio and in print • (web pages are not ‘cut & paste’ from project docs) • Choose media interventions carefully • Take advantage of external events you can participate in without the burden of organization
Cont. • Choose and ‘use’ your champions carefully • Be prepared for two-way communication and be ready to provide appropriate follow up • Learn from other sectors • Be prepared to change your message – if you have been saying the same thing for 20 years without any success you need to REPACKAGE or CHANGE THE MESSAGE
How to communicate….. • Be clear about your message • Know your audience • Don’t assume people know what you are talking about! • Pick your tools carefully
Thank-you! Acknowledgements: Anna Katrami, EU Comms Unit