Guidance

Manual of communication and dissemination

2009-11-24T13:33:20Z

Guidance for organisation of community work, writing dissemination products, and dissemination activities

Author: Nichola Geeson

The DESIRE project has developed strategies that could remediate land degradation over vast areas, with potentially enormous environmental, social and economic benefits. However this potential can only be realised if these strategies are actually adopted by stakeholders. Stakeholders range from families who depend upon and manage land, to the policy-makers at district, national and international scales who design policies that affect land degradation.

Therefore, DESIRE has developed a comprehensive, pragmatic approach that can enable us to communicate our findings effectively to diverse groups of people. The aim of this DESIRE-specific manual was to provide guidance specifically for DESIRE project partners, as a compendium of ideas and guidance. A shorter, generic version of this manual is also available, to offer guidance to researchers outside DESIRE (see »Manual of communication and dissemination (Generic)).

The Manual of communication and dissemination (DESIRE-specific) contains the following sections

1.	Introduction
	1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4	The audience Improving communication and understanding Writing DESIRE dissemination products Overview of this Manual
2.	Preparation for production of dissemination products
	2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5	Complexity and formats of dissemination Key messages and basic products of DESIRE Identification of the most suitable dissemination products to be used in each Study Site Matching the complexity of dissemination products to the audience Writing for different audiences
		2.5.1 All audiences 2.5.2 Writing purely for scientists 2.5.3 Writing for educated stakeholders 2.5.4 Writing for less knowledgeable stakeholders and members of the general public 2.5.5 Writing for schoolchildren and their teachers 2.5.6 Writing for administrators and politicians
3.	Developing and using dissemination products with stakeholders
	3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6	Principles of stakeholder engagement Keeping stakeholders involved Developing dissemination products with stakeholders Preparing the most suitable products for the intended audience Spreading dissemination products and messages far and wide Evaluation of dissemination products
4.	Structure of the Harmonised Information System
	4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4	Purpose of the HIS How the HIS was planned User requirements for the HIS, as suggested by DESIRE partners New opportunities for dissemination within the HIS
5.	First ideas for DESIRE dissemination products
	5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5	First ideas of Research Theme 1 dissemination products First ideas and examples of Research Theme 2 dissemination products First ideas of Research Theme 3 dissemination products for the HIS First ideas of Research Theme 4 dissemination products for the HIS First ideas of Research Theme 5 dissemination products for the HIS
6.	Practical considerations
	6.1 6.2	Copyright and intellectual property Cost-effective ways of promoting dissemination
7.	Sources of dissemination material to use as it is with DESIRE stakeholders, or use for ideas for new dissemination products
	7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5	General For technicians and farmers For Policy Makers For Teachers and others involved in education For Researchers....
8.	Further reading
	8.1	Communication with stakeholders

Appendix 1:	Stakeholder checklists
Appendix 2:	Examples of dissemination products
Appendix 3:	Writing press releases
Appendix 4:	Writing a policy brief
Appendix 5:	Making video clips and video podcasts
Appendix 6:	Making DESIRE posters, factsheets, booklets, brochures and PowerPoint presentations

More details ... download the full manual
	Manual of communication and dissemination (DESIRE-specific) [2.27 MB]

Guidelines to writing a policy brief

2011-01-20T12:15:41Z

Authors: Marie José van der Werff ten Bosch (Both ENDS), Patrice Burger and Maude Gentit (CARI)

These guidelines for writing a policy brief have been compiled to help study site teams with writing a policy brief based on the results of their DESIRE research.

Contents

1. Why should we write policy briefs, with what aim?

2. Some general tips

- Title of the paper
- Executive summary
- Context and importance of teh problem or issue
- Policy recommendations
- Appendices
- Sources consulted or recommended

3. Layout and Choices

4. Check list

5. Used resources

6. Annex 1: How do I brief policymakers on science-related issues (Chandrika Nath)

7. Annex 2: "The Little Manual on Science Communication: a summary" (Cássio Leite Vieira)

Download the full document

Guidelines for writing a policy brief [0.4 MB]

International dissemination opportunities for articles and press releases

2010-12-02T12:11:31Z

Why not write articles and press releases for:

DesertNet International
CORDIS European Commission News
European Commission Science for Environment Policy
European Environment Agency
European Water Partnership
Drynet
Geography Directions
IISD mailing lists for MEA bulletin, Earth Negotiations Bulletin, Water-L, etc.
MEA Bulletin invites articles from practitioners, MEAs and academics. Contact

Mongabay.com blog

Science in School aims to promote inspiring science teaching by encouraging communication between teachers, scientists, and everyone else involved in European science education.

UNCCD Library Contact
UNCCD Newsbox Contact

UNCCD on Facebook
UNCCD on Twitter

UNDP Newsroom
UNESCO Water, sustainable development, and conservation of freshwater resources
Willem van Cotthem’s desertification blog

Dissemination guidance from expert organisations

2010-12-06T12:53:51Z

How to write for different audiences

Different groups of stakeholders will respond to different approaches, as outlined below. General guidance for writing for different audiences, and communication in general, is also dealt with very efficiently by the ESRC Communications Toolkit (Economic and Social Research Council, UK).

How to write Policy briefs
International Society for Technology in Education provides comprehensive tips and templates
The policy brief (International Policy Fellowships)
How to write a policy memo (Trevor Thrall, University of Michigan-Dearborn)

How to make video clips and video podcasts
Video material for student education (Mark Reed, University of Leeds, UK)

Intellectual Property and Copyright
Broadly speaking, the results of the project (knowledge) are the property of the contractor who has generated them. Where several contractors have jointly carried out work generating such results and their respective share of the work cannot be ascertained, they shall have joint ownership thereof. However, they shall agree among themselves on the allocation and terms of exercising the ownership of the knowledge in accordance with the FP7 model contract. See IPR helpdesk.

See also Comprehensive copyright advice for the United Kingdom (UK Copyright Service) but each country is likely to have slightly different laws. For audio-visual or video material it is always essential to pay attention to copyright. Participants being filmed should sign consent forms and all images and soundtracks must be copyright-cleared. See also advice on providing copyright notices and using copyright notices (UK Copyright Service).

Copyscape is a useful tool that will compare your web pages to others indexed by Google and return any it finds with matching text. If you notice another web site using your content, the best place to start is by reading the copyright infringement fact sheet (UK Copyright Service).

http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p03_copyright_notices

Dissemination training

2010-12-01T14:53:39Z

Author: Nichola Geeson

This dissemination training presentation was given at the 5th DESIRE Plenary Meeting, Xi'an, China, October 2010

Steps for planning dissemination

2009-11-18T14:11:51Z

Author: Nichola Geeson

Dissemination is all about targeting your audience, finding out how they are affected by desertification and how the results of scientific studies can help.

This presentation outlines 10 steps to planning dissemination and a number of channels through which it can be delivered.

Matching information complexity to the audience

2009-11-18T14:20:53Z

Author: Nichola Geeson

How does desertification affect all your different audiences?
How can you present your results in ways that will interest and help them?

This presentation outlines how the complexity of the information can be matched to the different kinds of audience you are trying to reach.

Stakeholder involvement

2009-11-18T14:29:04Z

Authors: Joris de Vente & Albert Solé

A number of different strategies can be used to promote and maintain stakeholder involvement in research projects. This presentation describes those trialled under the DESIRE project in the Guadalentín Basin, Spain

The strategies include:

Stakeholder workshops
Field logbook for regular records of farming activities
Photo-logbook record of activities, visible on the HIS
Local Newsletter (Noticias del Campo) for stakeholders
Field demonstration of monitoring for stakeholders
Group field visit to farm receiving regional subsidies
Scientific conference presentations and publications

Networking, communication and media tools

2009-11-18T14:43:18Z

Authors: Goldberg, K., van der Werff ten Bosch, M.J., and Oettlé, N.

Networking, communication and media tools can be used to advocate for sustainable land use in the drylands.

This presentation gives examples of

internal communication
website
newsletters
other publications/written material
radio outreach
marches and rallies
press conferences
face to face exchange

that have been used in the Drynet project.

The RIFT principle

2009-11-24T11:35:05Z

Authors: Patrice Burger, Maude Gentit and Marie José van der Werff ten Bosch

The RIFT principal is about disseminating the

Right Information for the Right people in the Right Format and at the Right Time

So, who should be targeted? This presentation argues that it is better to concentrate on convincing the innovators and early adopters first, rather than trying to convince everyone all at once.