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Prepared by:European Commission, Research DG,Communication UnitOctober 2008

Communicating EU Research

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Why communicating research?Why communicating research?

“Researchers are reacting to recent public concerns about the direction and potential outcomes of their work by increasing their efforts to communicate to non-specialists.

While this is a necessary practice, such communication has often had limited success […]. Science communication has tended to involve researchers talking at the public about what science is doing with the expectation that this would increase acceptance.”

EURAB (European Research Advisory Board to the European Commission), Research and Societal Engagement, June 2007: http://ec.europa.eu/research/eurab/pdf/eurab_07_013_june_%202007_en.pdf

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Communication in FP7Communication in FP7

Grant agreement, Annex II, General conditions II.12. Information and communication

The beneficiaries shall, throughout the duration of the project, take appropriate measures to engage with the public and the media about the project aims and results and to highlight the Community financial support.

…

FP6 model contract:The beneficiaries shall, throughout the duration of the project, take appropriate measures to ensure suitable publicity for the project in order to highlight the Community financial support.

New !

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Grant agreement, Annex II, General conditions II.12. Information and communication

Unless the Commission requests otherwise, any publicity, including at a conference or seminar or any type of information or promotional material (brochure, leaflet, poster, presentation etc), must specify that the project has received Community research funding and display the European emblem. When displayed in association with a logo, the European emblem should be given appropriate prominence. This obligation to use the European emblem in respect of projects to which the European Community contributes implies no right of exclusive use.

[…]

New !

Communication in FP7Communication in FP7

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Communicating withing EU-Communicating withing EU-funded projectsfunded projects

External communication helps …

Increasing the success rate of your proposal (provided you have a good communication/dissemination plan)

Disseminating research results Increasing visibility and science awareness Achieving successful integration with stakeholders Promoting internal communication Networking and marketing the consortium Bridging the gap between scientists and the public Making European research more attractive

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http://www.mar-eco.no/

Good practicesGood practices

MAR-ECO (international study of the animals inhabiting the northern mid-Atlantic)

Public communication built-in Produced beautiful photos, amazing videos and a

travelling exhibition Descartes Prize 2006 for communication

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Good practicesGood practices

Noah’s Ark (impact of global warming on cultural heritage)

‘Diary note’ was sent out to journalists and published on 23 May 2007 by Research DG

400+ articles published in the media incl. New York’s Metro: ‘Monuments threatened by global warming’

http://noahsark.isac.cnr.it/

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Good practicesGood practices

Census of Antarctic Marine Life (largest international biological research programme undertaken during the 2007-2008 International Polar Year)

During their last mission in the Antarctica, the researchers published a daily journal on the web, explaining their work, conditions, etc

They found that this increased media coverage by 30%

http://www.caml.aq/

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Good practicesGood practices

Nano2hybrids (project on the synthesis and properties of carbo nanotubes)

Video clips Scientists blogs and diaries Forum etc

http://www.nano2hybrids.net/

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Good practicesGood practices

COMNET

Informal network of communication managers in 15 FP6 projects

About 3,000 are engaged in the COMNET projects COMNET members address the design and

implementation of communication activities in the health and food sector

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Open Access PilotOpen Access Pilot

Special clause added to all grant agreements of 7 FP7 research areas (Health, Energy, Environment, E-Infrastructures, ICT, Science in Society and Social science and humanities)

Grant recipients in these 7 areas are required to: deposit peer reviewed research articles or final manuscripts resulting from their

FP7 projects into an online repository; make their best efforts to ensure open access to these articles within either six

months (twelve months for social sciences and humanities, science in society) after publication.

http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/index.cfm?fuseaction=public.topic&id=1680

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What is a good communication?What is a good communication?

Work and coordinate at European level Be ambitious… and modest Focus on results and background, not just methodology Work with communication and media professionals Use existing relays and organisations Try to make a difference: originality pays! Media is not the end: diversify and reach out! Remember Lasswell’s wwwww:

Who (says) What (to) Whom (in) What Channel (with) What Effect Define your messages, target and support!

No propaganda!

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Communication challengesCommunication challenges

Today’s challenges in communication include:

New technologies (digital TV, SMS alerts, e-zines, forums, podcasts, news feeds, clips, webcasts, weblogs): how best to use them and for which audience?

Beyond “popularisation”: initiatives should aim at a 2-way communication, not just providing information

European fragmentation… and Europe has to compete with the US big communication machineries!

Scientists to become communication-minded? Yes, but European scientists lack professional recognition for engaging with the public

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Transnational initiativesTransnational initiatives

Despite European fragmentation several initiatives may help you communicating EU-wide:

European Commission (DG RTD) Cordis AlphaGalileo EurekAlert ECSITE (European Network of

Science Centres and Museums) EUSCEA (European Science

Events Association) etc

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Useful websitesUseful websites

Press room of the European Commissionhttp://europe.eu.int/comm/press_room/index_en.htm

Press room of Research DGhttp://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?pg=press&lg=en

Communicating European Research Conferenceshttp://ec.europa.eu/research/conferences/2004/cer2004/index_en.htmlhttp://ec.europa.eu/research/conferences/2005/cer2005/index_en.html

European Guide on successful communications

http://ec.europa.eu/research/conferences/2004/cer2004/pdf/rtd_2004_guide_success_communication.pdf

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Useful websitesUseful websites

PCST networkwww.upf.edu/pcstacademy/PCST_Network/

Successful communication websitehttp://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/science-communication/index_en.htm

European Forum on science journalismhttp://ec.europa.eu/research/conferences/2007/bcn2007/index_en.htm

CORDIS newshttp://cordis.europa.eu/news/home_en.html

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Unusual venues/placesfor science communication

Demolition houses, garbage places Cafés Schools, universities Public places, public parks Museums, art galleries Shopping malls, department stores, banks Factories, companies Lighthouses In nature: wood, mountain, beaches Railway station Amusement/Theme parks Jazzhouse Theatres, Opera house Exhibition Ship Parliament Tents, containers

Originality pays!Originality pays!

www.euscea.org/

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Scientists are dangerous! “Because of their knowledge, scientists have a power that makes

them dangerous”

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

MT LV HUN CY EU15 SL PL CZ SK EU10 EE TR BU RO LT

Percentage of people who tend to agree

Attitudes towards researchAttitudes towards research

Scientists ought to communicate their scientific knowledge better: 85.9% agree

Source: Eurobarometer, 2002, http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/index.cfm?fuseaction=public.topic&id=1220

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People are optimistic about science and technology

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

CH AT SIEL LU FR DK NL SE BE DE

EU25 CY PT IT IE CZ ES FI HU UK SK MT LV LT PL EE

% of people agreeing that s&t will improve the quality of life of future generations

Attitudes towards researchAttitudes towards research

Source: Eurobarometer, 2005, http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/index.cfm?fuseaction=public.topic&id=1220

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Where do Europeans get their scientific information?

0

5

13

21

51

0 20 40 60

Podcasts

Radio

Internet

Written press

Television

Attitudes towards researchAttitudes towards research

Source: Eurobarometer, 2007, http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_282_en.pdf

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Communicating research:

Web (EUROPA + CORDIS) Media events Research*eu magazine FUTURIS on Euronews Publications (400 per year incl

videos, DVDs, VNRs…) Public awareness (Science

Week) Visitors Events

Communication @ ECCommunication @ EC

ResearchDG

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Monthly magazine Focus on ERA, successes, people Available in English, French, German

and Spanish 120,000+ copies, 1,000,000+ readers

in 150+ countries A real online version

European Commission:European Commission:research*euresearch*eu

http://ec.europa.eu/research/research-eu/l

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European CommissionEuropean Commission: Futuris on : Futuris on EuroNewsEuroNews 15 M

viewers / episode

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Research on the web:Europa and CORDIS

CORDIS information for (potential) FP participants results and news

Europa - the EU’s ‘portal site’ - is aimed at all kinds of audiences: policy makers, students, researchers,

industry, press, information multipliers, etc. general information

1.5 million hits and … 300k unique visitors

per month Growing steadily

http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?lg=en

http://cordis.europa.eu/home_en.html

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European CommissionEuropean Commission: Guide to communication and media

relations Establishing target audiences and

selecting the appropriate media; Defining key messages; Preparing and supplying information

to the press; Building good relationships with

journalists; Evaluating results; Maximising the exposure of news

stories and press articles, and Tapping useful Commission

resources

http://ec.europa.eu/research/conferences/2004/cer2004/pdf/rtd_2004_guide_success_communication.pdf

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European CommissionEuropean Commission: AthenaWeb

www.athenaweb.org/

A video library on science and research in Europe

A resource platform for science journalists and producers

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European Commission: European Commission: PIDSPIDS

PIDS stands for Project Information Dissemination Service PIDS enables FP6 Project Coordinators (COs) and Project Officers

(POs) to Find information on their projectsStore their projects’ deliverables (news, events, results, documents…) Disseminate these deliverables through CORDIS services (CORDIS

Wire, results database, CORDIS Library…) and in a longer run, through projects’ mini sites.

PIDS should offer a complete service to assist the Participants – and the Officers - throughout the whole participation process:Proposal preparation (foreseen)Project Publication

http://cordis.europa.eu/pids/index.cfm?fuseaction=main.home

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Have something to say … that is real news… ... and make it sound interesting

Get to the point. Why should anyone care about this?

Think like a journalist: how can they make a story out of this? What would you be interested in reading about over your cornflakes?

Give them all they need. Don’t wait until they call you looking for more

How to write a good press How to write a good press release?release?

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What is a press release?What is a press release?

A message opportunity. Every press release should have a clear message, and a clear target audience. Who are we talking to? How best can we reach them?

An information resource. A press release is the basis for articles on the day or later. All the facts a journalist needs should be there.

Influencing the news agenda. A good press release will encourage journalists to write about your subject. Bad press releases mean they look elsewhere...

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Brussels, 3 April 2003

News alert

Science in the Candidate Countries:enthusiastic but with poor prospects, the

young abandon research careersImportant questions for the future of science in an enlarged Europe are raisedby the first major Commission survey in the Candidate Countries publishedtoday. More than half of all people questioned had little interest in science andtechnology, with young men in Cyprus and Hungary the most likely to valuescience, and older women in Bulgaria and Turkey the least. Young people areturning their backs on scientific careers, citing poor salary prospects as thechief reason. However, eight out of ten people believed that science couldimprove their quality of life and cure terminal illnesses and that generallyEuropean research delivered positive results.Presenting the results of the Eurobarometer on research in the Candidate Countries,European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin said: "People are more optimisticabout science in the Candidate Countries than in current Member States. They aremore confident in the capacity of science and technology to build a better future. Butthey are abandoning research due to a lack of resources and career prospects inscience. The time is ripe for greater investment in research in these countries as part ofan enlarged EU. We must ensure that we invest now in our scientific legacy for futureEuropean generations.”

For this Eurobarometer survey sample questions were fielded in November 2002 to atotal of 12,247 nationals in the 13 candidate countries: Bulgaria, Cyprus, the CzechRepublic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia,Slovenia, and Turkey.

Lacking information…The Eurobarometer shows there is a clear science divide in society. 56% of CandidateCountries’ nationals are neither interested in nor informed about science andtechnology (EU15: 45%). Only 35% of people expressed an interest in science (EU15:45%). Two thirds of participants in the survey think they are badly informed aboutscience and technology.

High interest in science and technology is seen in Cyprus (58%), Hungary (53%),Malta (50%) and Slovenia (50%) while two countries present a below-average interest:Bulgaria (34%) and Turkey (22%). Romania is exactly on average: 35%.

….but confident science can improve our quality of lifeDemographic analyses show that women are less interested in scientific topics (29%)than are men (41%). The youngest age group has the highest level of interest inscience and technology (44%), compared to 26% in the oldest age group.

Science is seen as a very positive value in the Candidate Countries; citizens expect alot from scientific progress. About eight in 10 people in the candidate region believe

BAD: Commission launches European Round Table on GMO Safety Research, and publishes Review of Results of GMO research

GOOD:GMOs: are there any risks ?

http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?pg=press&lg=en

How to write a good press How to write a good press release?release?

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How to write a good press How to write a good press release?release?

We are competing for journalists’ time and interest. So you should have real news and make it interesting!

Make your news relevant to people! Relate our message to things that matter to ordinary people!

Try twice as hard to sell good news Focus on results, tangible things Find the angle

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Too bureaucratic – in content and language. Nobody cares about procedures. Nobody cares about “agreed text”. News is about real people. What does your story mean?

Upside down. Put the interesting bits first. Save the details for the end.

Missing information. Are all the facts there? Have you got comparative figures? What will the journalists ask you for?

Jargon. Don’t say “Community Support Programme for employment”. Do say “EU plan to boost jobs”

Main problems with press Main problems with press releasesreleases

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Content : give them what they need

Language : write like a journalist

Structure : a hierarchy of information. Most press releases follow the following structure:

Title Chapeau Quote (not always) Details Background

Making a press release workMaking a press release work

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Title: think of it as a possible headline Short : 2 lines max Clear : Tell them what it is…straight up Simple : The details come later Action : Make something happen…use a verb

Chapeau: a summary of the main story - which stands alone Ideally 10 lines… maximum 15 Answer the main questions : Who? What? When? Why? How?

….and if possible Where? Only the main news… the details come later

What makes a good title and What makes a good title and chapeau?chapeau?

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Keep following the pyramid of information - main messages still come first.

Provide a quote or two - and make them snappy and relevant

Try to guess the journalists’ questions : Who? What? When? Why? How? Where?….and what’s new?

Make it easy to read - use headings, bullet points, 3 key themes, a section of Background at the end…

Details, graphs, tables, analysis, information with a longer shelf-life, can be incorporated in an annex, rather than all having to be in the press release

The main textThe main text

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Directorate-General for Research Communication Unitresearch-eu@ec.europa.euPhone +32-2-295 99 71Fax +32-2-295 82 20