How to communicate and promote

EU-funded project results

Michael H. Wappelhorstpress officer

Communication UnitReserach DG, European Commission

Michael.Wappelhorst@ec.europa.eu

SMEs in Health Research, Brussels, 19 March 2007

EU research: some key figures

� about 2,000 new projects launched per year

� at peak activity: > 30 000 proposals; > 4 000 experts per year

� EU RTD budget: ~ EUR 5 billion per year

� per project: > 7 partners from 3 countries

European Commission: research related press information

� European Commission > Research > Press centre:

www.ec.europa.eu/research/press.cfm

� EUROPA > EU PRESS ROOM:www.europa.eu/press_room/index_en.htm

� REPRESENTATIONS of the European Commission in the Member Stateswww.ec.europa.eu/represent_en.htm

A European challenge:27 MS & associated countries

� Reseach Press Centre

(European Commission)

� CORDIS News

� AlphaGalileo.org

� etc.

RTD communication unit: „press office“ of Research DG*

� Mission: Communicating European Research

to provide information on, communicate and promote visibility of (and access to) EU-supported research programmes, projects and initiatives

� Main activities: media, publications, events, web, desktop publishing, visitors

* 24-page corporate brochure in EN/FR/DE (2004):

The Directorate-General for Research - building Europe's Future

www.ec.europa.eu/dgs/research/index_en.html

� Main activities:

– Web (EUROPA)

– Media events (~1/week)

– RTD info magazine

– European Research Headlines

– EuroNews: Futuris

– Publications (RTD: 400 per year), incl. videos, DTP

– Research Enquiries service (RTD entry point)

– Visitors

– Events

RTD communication RTD communication

activitiesactivities

Out

RTD� staff: 27 posts (press, AV, web, DTP)

� services to other services

� 6 framework contracts (PR, AV, events)

„press office“ of Research DG: activities in detail (1/2)

� Information on research policy and programmes: provision of information (different publications on FP7 and the European Research Area)

� Information of the general public: - Research*EU (former RTD info) – Magazine on European Research (production of Research DG’s flagship publication (6-10 issues per year; circulation 84.000 copies, in EN, FR, DE in print plus ES online);- leaflets European research in action presenting results from European research (some available in >20 languages);- management of the thematic research web site(to become a European research portal). www.ec.europa.eu/research/index_en.html

„press office“ of Research DG: activities in detail (2/2)

� Press activities: preparation and distribution of ~ 3 research press releases per week and organisation of ~ 1 media briefing/press conferenceper week; management of a database of ~ 3000 (European science) journalists

� Services for the services (DG RTD):management of 6 framework contracts for information and communication services, publication policy, contacts with EU Publications Office (including management of mailing lists and publication stocks), CORE group (EC communication group)

� Public understanding of science:management of the European Science Week; promotion and support of communication activities at the level of FP projects; management of specific “science in society” calls for proposals related to communication

Bringing the good wordBringing the good word

to Member Statesto Member States

►44 media events in 2003

►3 kilos of articles!

Biggest campaign ever to study the ozone layer and ozone loss

54 journalists

70+ press reports

RTD actitivities supportingEU-funded research projects

� prepare press releases (to be issued byspokesman‘s service (PRESS DG) in agreementwith the cabinet of the Research Commissioner)

� prepare media invitations („diary notes“) for eventsin and outside Brussels (~3 weeks before event)

� prepare research „headline“ (daily news item on website)

� support EC project officers and project partners on possible communication strategies (media guide, nationalised press releases, publications, …)

News alerts

Brussels, 3 April 2003

News alert

Science in the Candidate Countries:enthusiastic but with poor prospects, the

young abandon research careers

Important questions for the future of science in an enlarged Europe are raisedby the first major Commission survey in the Candidate Countries publishedtoday. More than half of all people questioned had little interest in science andtechnology, with young men in Cyprus and Hungary the most likely to valuescience, and older women in Bulgaria and Turkey the least. Young people areturning their backs on scientific careers, citing poor salary prospects as thechief reason. However, eight out of ten people believed that science couldimprove their quality of life and cure terminal illnesses and that generallyEuropean research delivered positive results.

Presenting the results of the Eurobarometer on research in the Candidate Countries,European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin said: "People are more optimisticabout science in the Candidate Countries than in current Member States. They aremore confident in the capacity of science and technology to build a better future. Butthey are abandoning research due to a lack of resources and career prospects inscience. The time is ripe for greater investment in research in these countries as part ofan enlarged EU. We must ensure that we invest now in our scientific legacy for futureEuropean generations.”

For this Eurobarometer survey sample questions were fielded in November 2002 to atotal of 12,247 nationals in the 13 candidate countries: Bulgaria, Cyprus, the CzechRepublic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia,Slovenia, and Turkey.

Lacking information…

The Eurobarometer shows there is a clear science divide in society. 56% of CandidateCountries’ nationals are neither interested in nor informed about science andtechnology (EU15: 45%). Only 35% of people expressed an interest in science (EU15:45%). Two thirds of participants in the survey think they are badly informed aboutscience and technology.

High interest in science and technology is seen in Cyprus (58%), Hungary (53%),Malta (50%) and Slovenia (50%) while two countries present a below-average interest:Bulgaria (34%) and Turkey (22%). Romania is exactly on average: 35%.

….but confident science can improve our quality of life

Demographic analyses show that women are less interested in scientific topics (29%)than are men (41%). The youngest age group has the highest level of interest inscience and technology (44%), compared to 26% in the oldest age group.

Science is seen as a very positive value in the Candidate Countries; citizens expect alot from scientific progress. About eight in 10 people in the candidate region believe

�BAD: Commission launches European Round Table on GMO Safety Research, and publishes Review of Results of GMO research

�GOOD: GMOs: are there any risks?

European research portaland European Ressearch Headlines

EUROPA > European Commission > Researchwww.ec.europa.eu/research/index_en.html

Research Press Centre:media invitations & news alertswww.ec.europa.eu/research/press.cfm

RTD (co-)organised major events:Communicating European Research (CER)

and several FP7 launch conferences

� Launching FP7 – Information Multipliers Event (Feb. 2007)- multilingual information materialwww.ec.europa.eu/research/fp7/index_en.cfm?pg=event-070207

� German EU Presidency FP7 launch event: Europe on its way to the top (Jan. 2007) ~1600 participantswww.ec.europa.eu/research/press/2007/pr1501en.cfm

� CER 2005 (Nov. 2005)- major conference on European Research in 2005, ~3000 participants- media briefings on EU funded research projects & results- participants’ forum + exhibition- proceedings published with Springer, Berlin (2006)

www.ec.europa.eu/research/conferences/2005/cer2005/index_en.html

Guide to communication and media relations

� defining key messages;

� establishing target audiences and selecting the appropriate media;

� preparing and supplying

information to the press;

� building good relationships with

journalists;

� evaluating results;

� maximising the exposure of news

stories and press articles, and

� tapping useful Commission

resources

online version:

www.ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/science-

communication/index_en.htm

also available: Communicating Science - a scientist's survival kit

Communication case histories

Practical examples (online/in printed guide):

• CHOPIN - childhood obesity

• EPICA – ice coring in Antarctica

• ASSET - plastic bridge

• WAVE DRAGON – power from the sea

• Bridging the Gap – science webcasts

• Bringing the science & public spheres together – Natural History Museum

• Engaging activities with researchers –Techniquest Teacher Scientist Network

Information

� General information on research:www.ec.europa.eu/research

� General information on the EU Research Framework Programmes:www.ec.europa.eu/research/fp7

� Information on research programmes, projects and FP call documents:www.cordis.europa.eu/fp7

� General information requests:www.ec.europa.eu/research/enquiries