The EUREKA project is highly innovative and very ambitious. It aims to make a significant and meaningful contribution to ensure the longevity and better sharing of the research and innovation outputs of multi-actor Horizon Europe funded projects, thereby contributing to the strengthening of Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems in the EU Member States.
In multi-actor projects, success and lasting impact depends upon two key factors:
- Relevant actors and other interested stakeholders being aware of, informed about and (where appropriate) engaged with the project throughout its lifetime
- The outputs being delivered in an appropriate, easy accessible and easy-to-use format for the end-users
In line with EC guidance on H2020 projects, it is understood there is a difference between the general function of communication for the purpose of raising awareness about and encouraging interaction with project activities and the more specific functions of:
- dissemination (distributing and sharing with potential end users and interested stakeholders)
- exploitation (using for practical or policy purposes) of the project outputs
The most favored Communication & Dissimination techniques and channels
In spring 2021, EUREKA has made a report on ´'which Communication and Dissemination channels and approaches are the most effective ones for reaching target audience(s) in multi-actor projects'. The lessons learnt by the multi-actor community will be applied by EUREKA to maximise the impact of the communication and dissemination activities in the project.
The communication and dissemination team of EUREKA identified the following aspects as most important insights in relation to C&D, based on surveys in the MAP community:
- The involvement of experienced C&D specialists in a multi-actor project is strongly recommended to reach optimal communication and dissemination results
- Collaboration with other multi-actor projects and the existing networks gives a lot of possibilities regarding common media channels and common events to reduce the feeling of information overload
- Targeting local advocates, ambassadors and influencers build trust to the messages and help to overcome the issue of native language
- The most preferred tool/channel is project websites; a website should be targeted the needs of foresters, farmers and advisors (and others), regarding sharing of project results
- Various physical and virtual events are perceived as effective for C&D and exploitation. An important aspect is to encourage partners to act as ambassadors and communicate and promote a project and the use of the project results and outputs at relevant congresses, meetings, seminars etc.
- Factsheets, practical or scientific articles, posters and leaflets, either in digital or printed form, is seen as important to reach different target audiences.
- Clear messages should be easy to share by project partners in their existing C&D channels to build the AKIS community
- Social media posts should be used to raise awareness about a project and the project results. Selecting a few channels and creating specific content is an effective strategy. Videos are seen as a popular tool to be shared on social media channels, both to promote project results and to build trust and interest of potential end-users and relevant stakeholders of a project.
How to engage project partners in Communication & Dissimination activities
Based on the results of the EUREKA survey, the project has identified the importance of utilising already existing C&D channels of project partners and the community to reach the highest possible number of stakeholders and end-users. Therefore, the communication and dissemination team has developed a "Communication and Dissemination Guide for the EUREKA partners" on how to share the most relevant news stories from EUREKA in their respective C&D channels. Each of the news items (for websites, newsletters and social media channels) is written in English in the guide, but project partners are urged to translate and share the content in their own national language.
