2024 S2 Reading Effectively and Creatively

Academic and non-academic communication Academic dissemination provides you with the opportunity to showcase your research to others familiar with your field. The aim of academic communication is to develop ideas, create or contribute to a debate within the field and, ultimately, to advance knowledge within your academic discipline. Academic conferences, seminars and workshops provide focused forums for researchers to present their work to knowledgeable audiences and elicit feedback from those with expertise in the field. This is often an important precursor to formal dissemination through publication in scholarly journals, books or reports. Communicating your research to non-academic audiences requires different techniques and skills to the often-very-standardised format of academic dissemination. There are a wide range of channels you can use to engage with non-specialist audiences. For example: Stakeholder and knowledge exchange events Dissemination events can take many forms, including conferences, public lectures and round table discussions. Some are more costly and time-consuming to run than others and may be focused around a theme or with a keynote presentation that details the findings of recent research. They can seek to reach a targeted audience of influential groups, or aim for a more general reach amongst those interested in the topic of the research. Talking to policy and decision makers directly Identifying your audience first allows you to target a small number of key contacts. A great way of making your case and showing your expertise and passion for a subject is to drop them an email, pick up the phone, attend an event they are at, or ask them for a meeting. Policy briefings These are short documents highlighting key policy messages arising from a piece of academic research. They should be targeted at the intended audience, written in plain English, and ideally include policy recommendations and a call to action. Blogs, podcasts and social media Can be an effective, accessible, and engaging way to reach a broad, global audience, ranging from policy and decision makers, to the general public, journalists and fellow academics. They can give a sense of immediacy and ‘freshness’ to your research and are often easier for policy makers to engage with and share compared to academic papers or briefings. Traditional media Is helpful for building the profile of your research, bringing an issue to the attention of the public, policy and decision makers, and driving forward your recommendations for action. You can use press releases and media interviews to establish your status as an expert on the topic, or send a summary of your research to a journalist who is likely to be interested in your findings.