Dissemination

Plan for the use and dissemination of RESL.eu findings

In order to support the impact of the research project, substantial attention will be on the dissemination of the research results through different channels, both academically as policy related. To ensure that dissemination is one of the key targets in the project, we worked out a specific work package on dissemination (see WP8). In the section below we will elaborate on the objectives, work description and deliverables attached to the dissemination work package and take into account the variety of communication means and relevant target groups.

As this research project does not aim at technological innovation or dissemination on the market, we will not focus on the likelihood of market uptake and commercialisation of project results. In regard to the management of knowledge (intellectual property) we foresee ‘Open Access‘ distribution of the research results to maximize valorisation of the research results by local, national and European policy makers and civic actors on the one hand, and the academic impact on the other. IP arrangements, covering issues such as the copyright ownership of the Publications, Reports, Policy Briefs, Research Instruments and Databases will be established in the consortium agreement. The general principle of the project is to let as many people as possible share in the knowledge and innovations that will be gathered. Therefore special attention will be paid in translating deliverables also in languages accessible in the partner countries.

The objectives for the dissemination of the project are:

to guarantee that research findings will be communicated to relevant target groups, both in the academic as in the policy field;
to develop a dissemination strategy, including dialogue with policy makers and civil society;
to set up an Action Platform, consisting of stakeholders form civic organizations, labour organizations, educational institutions and policy makers in each country;
to develop an project website and
to influence ESL policy making at national and European level.

Developing a dissemination strategy: maximizing the impact of the research findings

Effective communication requires a strategy that appears as a coherent plan of action. The project’s communication plan will comprise the total period of the project and will illustrate how the consortium designs its relations with all parties concerned, such as policy makers, labour organizations, educational institutions, fellow academics, civil society organizations, the media and the general public . The dissemination strategy will use more than a few channels, targeted to several audiences.

Setting clear dissemination goals

A dissemination strategy serves the general and specific aims as well as the results of project. Communication is not a goal in itself but is a means to support, inform and even influence. The communication objectives of therefore align to the organisation objectives and will focus on how to:

disseminate research findings;
identify policy relevant findings;
formulate recommendations for policy makers;
inform stakeholders and opinion makers (such as journalists);
make (the activities and research findings of) the project visible;
stimulate further research;
networking;
agenda-setting at various levels (at local and national and at European level);
stimulate an increased public awareness among the general public in the issues of (and the consequences of) early school leaving.

Identifying the various target audiences

As a crucial step in its communication strategy, each partner of the project will, develop a national database of stakeholders and identify crucial target audiences who will be informed at regular intervals and through social and interactive media of the project deliverables. It’s evident that this process will start soon after the official formation of the consortium. One of the advantages of underscoring different target audiences is that communication can be adapted to the particular target audiences. The deliverables of the project range from academically oriented reports, research instruments and databases, over policy oriented briefs and meetings with policy makers to Action Platforms and briefs for educational, employment and civic actors. In the summary below we will elaborate on the different deliverables in dissemination by target group.

Academic world:

Project website (public) and linked social media
Series of Publication, Reports and Policy Briefs
Academic round-up conference
Book resulting from the academic round-up conference
Scientific publications (peer-reviewed; fundamental and policy oriented contributions)
Methodological notes accompanying the Databases and Research Instruments
Databases and Research Instruments after signed agreement
Expert seminars in partner countries
Contributions in case country journals

Policy makers:

Project website (public) and linked social media
Series of Publications, Policy Briefs and Reports
Policy makers meeting in Brussels
Databases and Research Instruments after signed agreement
Practical tool for determining ‘Youth at Risk of ESL’
Conceptual models for intra- and extra-muros educational projects on ESL
National Action Platforms and Expert seminars in sending countries
Feedback materials to involved institutions (short fact sheets and briefs by request)
Scientific and popular publications (policy oriented contributions)
Final Report (to EU Commission)

Educational institutions/ Employer and employee organisations/ Civil society organisations:

Project website (public) and linked social media
Series of Publications, Policy Briefs and Reports
National Action Platforms and Expert seminars in sending countries
Practical tool for determining ‘Youth at Risk of ESL’
Conceptual models for intra- and extra-muros educational projects on ESL
Feedback materials to involved institutions (short fact sheets and briefs by request)
Scientific and popular publications (policy oriented contributions)

Creating National Action Platforms

Through the creation of National Action Platforms in all main partner countries, the dissemination strategy wants to serve all stakeholders in the field of education, civil society, labour market and policy making, aimed ultimately at informing and influencing these audiences in order to approach or deal with the phenomenon of early school leaving more adequately.

The aim of engaging all these audiences in the progress of the project is to create a critical mass that will assist in addressing and solving key dissemination challenges and to ensure the project's results are widely publicized and made available to academics, policy makers and others key figures in civil society across the European Union.

The members of the national Action Platforms will get the opportunity to exchange with members of the Action Platforms in other countries. The exchange of ideas will be ensured by participation in Action Platform meetings and dissemination activities in partner countries and access to the project website and related social media.

Using multiple methods and channels of dissemination

Dissemination of research results in scientific, civil society and policy circles ensures that new evidence is spread in society and contributes to evidence based policy making. Dissemination of research results is often considered to be the final phase of the research process. This is only partly true, as indicated in the previous paragraphs, a descent communication strategy starts at the beginning of the project (for instance by knowing and identifying stakeholders and target audiences). Also, different people and target groups prefer different communication methods. In this paragraph it is explained what methods and channels will be used to communicate with the various target audiences.

Interactive interventions

Notwithstanding the increased influence of electronic communication tools, interactive interventions (or in other words face to face communication) remain a unique and indispensable communication tool. The project will use the following opportunities to communicate its findings:

Conferences and expert seminars are crucial communication methods in the academic world to inform colleagues about research results, interesting findings, (new) methodology used and new research. Team members will use this communication channel to make their research known to the academic world and team members will participate in (inter)national conferences and seminars and organise the academic round-up conference of the project.
Meetings/debates - Team members will provide their insights in meetings and debates with various stakeholders and target audiences in order to feed discussion and to provide scientific input. The consortium will also organize meetings with the National Action Platforms and policy meetings like the Policy meeting planned in Brussels.
Informal briefings - Informal communication should be used as a means for exchanging ideas and getting relevant issues on the agenda. Through its networks, the consortium will communicate regularly with stakeholders in order to discuss relevant and remarkable findings and to challenge the research findings based on experiences of field workers, media reports and decision making. This way, researchers will remain informed about issues at stake for the stakeholders and stakeholders will be able to get a better understanding of findings that may in the first place look like contradicting their experience. Furthermore, informal discussions often lead to interesting new research questions as stakeholders can highlight social phenomena that are not necessarily visible to researchers. In other words, informal communication is an ideal way to bridge the gap between researchers, civil society organisations and policy makers.

Leave behinds

It goes without saying that printed communication tools are imperative. Not only do they allow creating a carefully controlled message that states just what you want to state and tells only what you want to tell. Leave behinds are needed for references and to remind target audiences of the research content. The centre will use the below-mentioned printed communication tools:

Fact sheets - Each Publication will generate a factsheet, consisting of the key concept and messages
Policy briefs - At regular intervals and especially destined to policy makers, specific Policy Briefs will summarize innovative and noteworthy policy recommendations.

Social and interactive electronic media

A whole range of technologies support modern communication. The consortium will use the following electronic tools:

E-zine - The project will disseminate an electronic news brief or E-zine to inform the target audiences of the upcoming activities, new research, recently finished. projects and other relevant or worthy information. The E-zine will provide space for message from stakeholders.
Website - The consortium will develop a project website that contains links to relevant social media.
Mailing/ E-Zine - As mentioned before, a database of stakeholders and target audiences will be created, the E-zine and other electronic information will be send to the mailing list. The website will provide an opportunity to subscribe to the mailing list.
E-sheets - The fact sheets will be available in an electronic version on the website with links to social media.
E-reports - The Publications, Reports and Policy Briefs will be available in an electronic version on the website with links to social media