Creative Communications Seminar

This seminar is open to all researchers and research-facing professional service staff and is recommended for those interested in using creative methods to engage people with research and disseminate their findings beyond traditional academic journals.

This seminar will use Stories of Dementia NIHR funded research programme as a case study to discuss the potential pathways to impact, with a focus on the use of film.  We will discuss the development of our programme and networks, the daily routines and longer-term strategies we used that have enhanced our ability to have rapid impacts on public discourse, practice, and policy. We will also discuss the key decisions, lessons learnt, and challenges along the way.  We describe the pathways to building our community and networks and our strategies to mobilize them in supporting the delivery of our research evidence using film and social media.

This professional development activity is a Researcher-Led Initiative that is funded by the University of Exeter Researcher Development & Research Culture Team.

REGISTER

Please email Dr Liz Shaw  to register to attend. If this event becomes over-subscribed, priority shall be given to Early Career Researchers.

COURSE AIMS

This seminar is part of the Creative Communication Seminar Series which aims to:

1. Increase researcher awareness of the alternative dissemination methods available beyond academic journals
2. Provide researchers with the opportunity to gain knowledge and practise new skills, enabling them to utilise creative dissemination techniques within their own work.
3. Give researchers the time to practise new skills by creating different dissemination products for existing research projects.

INTENDED AUDIENCE

This seminar is open to all researchers and research-facing professional service staff but is recommended for those interested in using creative methods to engage people with research and disseminate their findings beyond traditional academic journals, particularly Early Career Researchers.

COURSE CONTENT

We discuss our practical steps in its initial development and the ongoing process of refinement and change in response to the needs of the research and the wider field:

• Branding and developing the look and feel of images to represent a research programme. The power of a vision and clarity of communication that can enhance the research.
• Developing and building networks and collaboration; identifying the creative expertise and putting together the team that can both respond to and enhance your research.
• Creating film content for different audiences across different social platforms, and considers the range of potential impacts (awareness raising, training, campaigning) required.
• What are the strategies to identifying and obtaining your key stories? Building trust, developing and supporting people (including vulnerable populations) to express and share their experiences on film.
• Daily routines and strategies and their importance for reaching national media and policy. 
• Funding and how to identify, utilize, and manage the categories and constraints within funding bodies and institutions.

Central to all of this is involving people; we discuss the fundamental and ongoing work of harnessing networks, expertise, recognising and responding to emerging priorities and building communities of interest and mutual support.

We will discuss the steps from no experience in social media to develop skills and confidence in using film, blogging, vlogging, twitter and Instagram to make research accessible and visible, and their role in harnessing communities of interest and achieving engagement and impacts. We will set out their key roles in extending and enhancing the reach of journal articles, lead to collaborative outputs (BBC radio documentary), interest from national media (The Guardian, BBC Breakfast), and visibility to public policy.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course you will be able to:

1. Develop your personal or project brand and identify what sets you apart.
2. Understand all the platforms, audiences and requirements of the formats and how to get noticed.
3. Identify target audiences and reflect on how to make your research accessible and meet their needs
4. How you can use film and social media to reach the widest audiences possible and communicate key messages.
5. Produce an outline strategy and pathway to impacts.

PRESENTER INFORMATION

• Katie Featherstone, Reader, Medical Sociology Cardiff University
• Nick Daw, Director of Photography
• Dawn Driscoll, PR and Communications Consultant, Utley Foundation
• Tyler Chambers, Social Media
• Sonia Vougioukalou, Patient and Public Involvement, Cardiff University