SESYNC's Communications Toolkit: Introduction

Introduction

Researchers often convey their findings using technical language in scholarly journals. However, many research findings have broader applications.
By translating your work to broad audiences and thinking about communication throughout the life cycle of the research process, you can simultaneously meet research goals, convey knowledge to the people who need to know it, and achieve greater impact.
Robust communication work goes beyond the ability of researchers to speak more clearly about their findings. A broader goal is to build a more dynamic relationship between science and society, where knowledge can be exchanged as part of the research process between investigators and the broader community of decision-makers.

Language specific to disciplines can create communication barriers between and among those working in boundary organizations such as non-profits, the private sector, stakeholders, and others who use knowledge to inform decisions.
Because effective team science requires diligent and open communication to solve critical problems, it can be challenging to also translate your work to broad audiences.
We designed this toolkit to overcome some common challenges and we hope this information will enable science teams to engage with audiences to achieve research goals.

Begin a communication strategy at the start of your research process and revisit it throughout. Teams who have continually updated their messaging or communication strategy throughout the research process have found it helpful in refocusing the team’s direction around their research questions. For example, as you move forward with your research you may envision new audiences with whom your research might be useful; and as new audiences emerge, more specific goals might become clear and vice versa. Additionally, your research focus may change throughout the process as well, which may open up new goals and audiences. This process is not linear, but rather cyclical, requiring revisiting and refining throughout the research process and beyond.

This toolkit aims to be a resource for anyone in the interdisciplinary research community to develop a communication plan that is accessible, relevant, timely, understandable, and credible.
Communicating about your work is crucial to achieving broader impacts. Whether the goals are raising the understanding of your interdisciplinary efforts with specialists outside your area of expertise, or growing understanding of your science among targeted stakeholders and the public, it is important to strategize how to translate your work.
The following resources will help you formulate a plan to inform, engage, and/or influence specific audiences to reach your desired goals and achieve greater impact.

Continue to the next step of the toolkit: What Are Your Goals?