In this blog we discuss how to create a communications plan for disseminating research findings. Moreover, we explore some practical tips and case studies, so you can feel confident to start your plan today.

Why you need to create a communications plan for disseminating research findings

A communications plan helps to enhances the visibility of your research. Specifically, a well-structured communications plan:

• helps you share your findings with the world in an organised way
• gives you control over how and when you communicate those findings
• enables you to engage effectively with your target audience whether policymakers, practitioners or community groups
• allows you to track your progress and measure the impact of your efforts

It is important to note that you can create a communications plan at any stage of your research project, whether you’re just starting out or nearing the final stages.

However, many researchers feel most comfortable thinking about communication during the dissemination phase. That’s because that is usually when you have concrete findings to share and are eager to tell people about them.

We often encourage researchers to think about communication from the onset of their project, right at the proposal stage. The Guide to Communicating Research offers practical examples of how you can embed communication for the beginning of your project, in the proposal, setup and sustain phases as well as the dissemination stage.

However, this blog focuses only on how to develop a communications plan for the dissemination phase of your research project. 

The 7 building blocks of a communications plan

To create a successful communications plan for disseminating research findings, there are seven building blocks to consider.

These are:

• Goals
• Audience
• Message
• Formats
• Channels
• Timing
• Evaluation

Let’s go through each of these building blocks one by one.

Visual from The Guide to Communicating Research: For Researchers and Research Communicators (2024)

1. Establish your goals and objectives

Whenever we are commissioned to create a communications plan, we start by asking a crucial question: What are you hoping to achieve with your communications? Keep in mind that the goals of your communications plan are different from your research goals. 

When setting goals for your communications plan, you have to be specific, focused and clear. Also, ensure that you made these goals with clearly defined objectives that are achievable within the time and resources allocated.

Some common goals for a comms plan in the dissemination phase include:

• Influence policymakers in favour of the key findings of your research
• Collaborate with other researchers and organisations in your field
• Engage with journalists of sector-specific media

Be sure to pair these with Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound (SMART) objectives. For example:

• Engage with at least three policy makers within the next eight months by providing tailored policy briefs highlighting
  the key findings of your research.
• Identify and reach out to five relevant researchers and organisations within the next six months, sharing a one-minute
  explainer animation of the project findings, aiming to secure at least one partnership by the end of the year.
• Identify 10 appropriate journalists and research what they are looking for from a story. Create a press release tailored to
  different media outlets, aiming to secure at least two media features or articles within five months of distribution.

2. Define the audience you want to reach

Once you have set your goal(s), the next step is defining your audience. Your findings can be communicated in different ways based on who your audience is. In fact, the remaining blocks of the communications plan are informed by your audience.

When defining your audience, consider these five questions. These will help you develop a profile and gain a better understanding of how you can engage with them:

1. What does the audience already know about this issue?
2. What is the audience’s current position on the topic?
3. What do they need to know?
4. What are the current gaps in their knowledge?
5. What can we tell these individuals about the findings that will capture their attention to engage?

Case study

During our collaboration with Dr Christie Floor de Jong and her research project on the risk of prostate cancer among Black men,
we identified two key audiences:

1. Public health professionals: The goal was to influence them to increase partnerships with the Black community and promote peer-led interventions (where the message is delivered by Black men, for Black men).
2. The Black community: The goals were to communicate the results of this successful collaboration with researchers and public health teams and to raise awareness about the risk of prostate cancer and encourage early detection.

Since these audiences had different communication goals, we tailored the content and delivered it in different formats. For instance, we created:

• an animation (you can watch it here) for the community to make the message more accessible and engaging, and
• a visual summary for public health professionals to deliver concise, evidence-based information

Snippet of the visual summary for public health professionals

3. Articulate key messages for your audience

Now that you have your goal(s) and a specific audience in mind, you need to figure out what you want to say to them in a way that will resonate. Ultimately, your key message should capture the key information you want this audience to remember from your research. 

In the dissemination stage, ask yourself:

• What from my findings will resonate most with this audience? 
• What will pique their interest? 
• What from my research will be most valuable for them to know?

Case study

In our collaboration with Dr Andrew Wallace from the University of Greenwich on his project about Modern Methods of Construction, we teased out specific messages for different audiences:

• For industry professionals, the key message highlighted the uneven nature of MMC housing delivery and quality so far, and how it can be improved to meet industry standards.
• For policymakers, the focus was on understanding why MMC has underperformed and outlining how policy can and should respond.

4. Chose the most appropriate formats for dissemination

The choice of format depends on various factors but most importantly your target audience and the context in which you engage with them. We typically organise formats in:

• Short formats offer a quick summary of key takeaways: 1-6 page short documents, in the form of infographics, policy briefs, visual summaries, comics, illustrations
• Long formats allow for a deeper understanding of the results: static or interactive reports of 10+ pages
• Other products such as social media assets, presentations, posters, banners, media releases, animations, podcasts

A successful communications plan for disseminating research finding soften incorporates both short, long and other formats.

Case studies

For Dr Andrew Wallace’s project, we developed a tailored set of materials:

• For policymakers: a detailed report, a 6-page visual summary of that report and a 2-page policy brief. The aim is to allow policymakers to engage with the materials based on how much time they have and their level of interest. 
• For industry stakeholders: a 2-page visual summary, with content specifically designed to address the knowledge gaps within the field, ensuring that it was relevant and actionable for professionals looking to improve MMC housing delivery and quality.

During our collaboration with Professor Zoe Marshman from the University of Sheffield for her research project on prevening tooth decay in secondary school pupils, we identified four distinct audiences:

• Secondary school students who participated in her research project
• Secondary schools (teachers and authorities) with the goal of influencing them to implement the findings 
• Academia (researchers and public health practitioners) interested in strategies for improving children’s oral hygiene and policymakers 
• Local authorities responsible for taking action to enhance children’s oral health

For each of these audiences, we developed tailored one-page summaries with engaging visuals. To further capture students’ attention, we created an animation and for researchers, we provided a PowerPoint presentation. This multi-format approach ensured that the messaging was both relevant and impactful for all audiences.

Snippet of the visual summary for secondary school students

Snippet of the visual summary for researchers and public health practitioners

Need help in creating these tailored visual materials for your research project? Let’s have a chat!

5. Use the right channels to communicate

Channels are the platforms through which the formats are shared to reach your target audience.

To select the right channels for your visual materials, consider where your audience consumes information or where they are most active. 

These channels might include your research project’s website, institutional or organisational websites, community workshops, social media, industry publications or events and more.

After selecting your channels, you may need to make further decisions based on your audience’s preferences and the platform’s features. For example, if you are creating a social media post, one group of your audience might be more active on LinkedIn, while another might prefer Instagram. In this case, you would need to adjust the content to fit each platform’s style, ensuring it aligns with both audiences’ level of understanding.

Case study

Here is an example from one of our collaborations of a short format (visual summary) adapted for social media into a LinkedIn carousel.

6. When to engage to share your findings

Now that you know your goals, who your audience is, the key messages that will resonate with them, the formats you want to share with them and where you want to reach them, it’s wise to consider timing. Ask yourself when the best times are to reach your audience and share your communication materials. 

Consider when your audience is most likely to engage with your communications. You might want to examine policy cycles, the academic calendar, or upcoming industry events to determine optimal timing for your outreach.

Case study

• Earlier this year, we collaborated with Dr Benjamin Neimark from Queen Mary University London to produce a 12-page interactive report on the military emissions gap.
• The report featured contributions from various experts and was used by the client at the Bonn Climate Conference in June 2024.
• The conference provided an excellent platform to highlight the research directly to policymakers and professionals in the climate policy arena. 

Snippet of the introduction page of Confronting military greenhouse gas emissions

7. Evaluating the communication efforts

Finally, when creating a communications plan for disseminating research findings you need to think about evaluation. This involves:

• measuring the success of your communication activities
• identifying areas for improvement and
• understanding how well your research message has reached its intended audience.

To gauge success of your communications plan, consider quantitative metrics such as sign-ups, email open rates, attendees at an event, social media engagement and website visits.

You may also need to  evaluate if the intended audience understood the key messages. You can evaluate this through qualitative metrics such as feedback forms, testimonials and relevant email exchanges that highlight the impact of your efforts. Letters of support are especially useful when writing your REF Impact Case Study.

This evaluation approach will help you refine your strategy and enhance future communication initiatives.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, creating a tailored communications plan for disseminating research findings, can bring clarity and focus to your efforts and increase the visibility of your work.

This process should ideally be repeated for each distinct audience you engage with, allowing for tailored messaging that resonates with their specific needs. 

By following the seven key building blocks outlined in this blog, you can effectively engage diverse audiences, from policymakers to community groups. This process may vary in duration based on the number of audiences and the resources you have available.

Thanks for reading and reach out if the Research Retold team can help!

This article draws on:

1. Gruia, M. (2024) Create a communications plan. Chapter 3 in The Guide to Communicating Research: For Researchers and Research Communicators . (pp. 67-120). Research Retold.
2. Workbook A: Create a communications plan, Wallace Foundation
3. Signy, H. (2022) How to write a communications plan (2022).The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre