How can you effectively disseminate your research findings to a wider audience?

1 Know your audience

The first step to disseminate your research is to identify and understand your target audience. Who are they? What are their needs, interests, and preferences? How do they access and use information? Depending on your research topic and purpose, your audience may include policymakers, practitioners, media, funders, peers, or the public. You may also have multiple audiences with different levels of knowledge and engagement. Knowing your audience will help you tailor your message, format, and channel to suit their needs and expectations.

2 Craft your message

The next step is to craft a clear, concise, and compelling message that summarizes your research findings and highlights their relevance and implications. Your message should answer the following questions: What is the main problem or question that your research addresses? What are the key findings or solutions that your research offers? Why are they important or useful for your audience? How can they apply or benefit from them? You may also want to include a call to action or a recommendation that invites your audience to take further steps or learn more. Your message should be tailored to each audience segment and avoid jargon, acronyms, and technical details.

3 Choose your format

When choosing the most appropriate and effective format to present your message, you should consider the audience and your goals. Depending on these factors, you may use different formats such as a peer-reviewed journal article or conference paper for academic audiences, a policy brief or white paper for policymakers and decision-makers, a blog post, newsletter, or magazine article for media and general audiences, a webinar, podcast, or video for online and interactive audiences, or a poster, flyer, or brochure for offline and visual audiences. Each format has its own advantages and disadvantages; therefore the length, style, design, accessibility, and credibility of your format should be taken into account.

4 Select your channel

The fourth step is to select the most suitable and effective channel to distribute your message. Depending on your format and audience, you may use a variety of channels, such as a journal or conference website for academics, policy networks or think tanks for policymakers, social media or news outlets for media and general audiences, webinar or podcast platforms for online audiences, and research events or community venues for offline audiences. Each channel has its own reach and impact, so you should consider factors like audience size, engagement, reputation, and cost when making your selection.

5 Evaluate your impact

The final step is to evaluate the impact of your dissemination efforts. You should monitor and measure how your message is received, shared, and used by your audience. Indicators and methods for this could include citation counts or impact factors for academic audiences, policy changes or recommendations for policymakers and decision-makers, media coverage or social media mentions for media and general audiences, webinar attendance or podcast downloads for online and interactive audiences, and event feedback or community involvement for offline and visual audiences. Evaluating your impact will help you assess the effectiveness of your dissemination strategy and identify areas that need improvement or further action.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?