To have any impact, research needs to be actively communicated to those it affects. When communicating research outside of academia, you need to think about:
- who the research impacts
- what the key messages/implications are
- whether the research is time sensitive
- how you can reach your target audience
- how you communicate the research (often multiple ways)
- how you can lead people to engage in the research in more depth – if they choose.
When you write content for any publication, consider:
- the audience and how they consume content
- the style of the publication
- the structure of content in that publication
- the language used (particular vocabularly; writing for experts/non-experts)
- how to make the content engaging – particularly the opening sentence and the exit
- removing clutter
- how the reader might engage with the research further – and engage with you.
It is important to have a respository for your research, such as a web page, where you can direct stakeholders to further resources about your work. Here you can provide different research outputs, including links to any media articles, podcasts, videos, and other resources. You can also provide a way for readers to engage with you.
This is a summary of a presentation I gave to CIMA on 28 October 2021 on Academic Research for Impact.
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