Step-by-Step Guide
A communication strategy is simply a vehicle to get you from where you are now to where you want to be. It doesn't have to be a lengthy document but it does have to be a living document. The key points are to:
- Keep it simple so that everyone involved knows the aim, and their role.
- Make it targeted - doing the right things, not trying to do everything.
- Build in review mechanisms for forward planning.
- Update it regularly in the light of experience and opportunities.
- Communicate it effectively within the research team and to the ESRC.
- Share successes and knowledge about what works (and what doesn't).
What follows is a step-by-step guide to putting together a communications strategy. Every strategy will be different but you can use these steps as a template to develop your own. All the steps are connected and developing a good strategy will always be an iterative process.
Drafting a communications strategy often falls to one person, but having a team meeting at the beginning and end of the process can be valuable. It allows all team members to contribute ideas, builds ownership and emphasises that everyone on the project is a communicator, whether they answer the phone or speak at an international conference. Every contact with a stakeholder is a chance to communicate your research aims more effectively.
The step-by-step guide covers:
- Checking perceptions
- Setting objectives
- Agreeing principles
- Developing messages and branding
- Prioritising audiences
- Choosing channels
- Planning activities
- Estimating time
- Estimating budget
- Evaluating success