Talking about “pleasure and pain” of project managers. This is a topic which becomes more and more a challenge when implementing EU funded actions. Let’s phrase some basic principles. To ensure effective dissemination of EU funded projects, it is necessary to have well-planned strategies in place in order to maximise social, scientific, and commercial implications of a project, as well as in order to communicate project results.
Contrary to the belief of most, this level of consideration is not beneath the perceived “real work” of a project, rather it involves necessary skills and activities, not simply check-boxes. It also reflects the need to meet the requirements for EU funding (Horizon 2020 or the Eurostars awards), which is contractually binding.
To achieve this, research projects, as any other strategic program implementation, should have developed communication and dissemination plans, which explain how project results will be shared with industry stakeholders, institutions, scientific communities, and the wider public. Although “dissemination” and “communication” are two concepts that are often used interchangeably, they are not the same.
Communication means taking “strategic, focused measures for the purpose of communicating both the act itself and the results to an array of audiences, including media and audiences, and potentially engaging in a two-way exchange”. For instance, communications activities include visual identities, such as logos and designs, a projects website, graphics tools, such as pamphlets, leaflets, and brochures, social media, videos, press releases, and so on.
Dissemination, in contrast, indicates “the set of actions and strategies that aims to publish and disseminate the results of a project to maximise their impact and favour its exploitation (also of an economic angle) from the point of view of real-world usage”. In this case, the intended audiences would be subjects who are specialized in specific sectors, for example, academia, or lawmakers. This is important, because it makes the transmission of results and use of them easier to reach wider audiences.
Therefore, this activity in a project deserves special consideration, time, financial and human resources, both during the design phase of a proposal for the project and in the execution. In some EU programs despite this aspect in a project is strongly demanded, not always budget can be considered as feasible and substantial according to the expectations.
In what concerns Horizon program, “exploitation” is the “use of results for additional research activities beyond the scope of activities covered by Action Concern, or in product or process development, creation, and marketing, or in the creation and provision of services, or standardization activities”.
These include:
Visibility: the use of a wide array of platforms for distributing the collaborative materials created with stakeholders, and for maximising the total impact and visibility.
Public trust & awareness: Establish key values and enhance a projects social impact, while including the needs of patients/end users and understanding community attitudes and opinions, leading to public trust and awareness.
Commercial Outreach: Develop an effective outreach strategy and engage stakeholders, raising the profile of your business and visibility with funding agencies, policy makers, and potential partners.
As anyone can see, there is a lot to be taken into consideration and to be done in this frame, but it is worth (and necessary) since it is all about the long lasting duration of our project results and the sustainability and exploitation of what consortia have developed through extended time.