COMMFABNET

"Communication of Food, Fisheries, Agriculture and Biotechnologies research – a network to support EU-funded research projects"

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The effective communication of research results of EC funded research projects to end users is hampered by a number of factors including • Lack of confidence and communication skills within the scientific community • Inherent difficulties in effectively reaching out to the media and other multipliers with research results Poor dissemination of research results significantly reduces the potential project impact on European competitiveness and the quality of life of EU citizens.

CommFABnet addresses these challenges in the FP6 Food Quality and Safety and FP7 KBBE programmes with an innovative range of activities to • establish a large network of communication managers • identify and exchange best practice in the communication of research results to target groups • provide training to scientists in communicating research results • address target audiences including the general public, SMEs, policy makers and young people

CommFABnet comprises a consortium of organisations expert in the effective communication and dissemination of research results who demonstrate essential complementarity in successfully reaching different target groups. CommFABnet is led by Karolinska Institutet who has initiated and maintained the informal CommNet network of communication managers in the food safety research since 2006. This highly relevant experience will be fully exploited in the design and implementation of CommFABnet’s activities.

CommFABnet will increase and channel the information flow from research projects towards the target groups. The exchange of best practice and training events for the CommFABnet network of communication officers and managers will result in a European community of communication managers highly proficient in the effective communication of research results to a range of target groups and other stakeholders. The result will be a significantly enhanced impact of the research results on European competitiveness and on the quality of life of EU citizens'

Introduzione (Teaser)

An EU initiative set up a vast network of European science communicators to ensure food-related research does the most good by reaching out to inform the general public and other target groups.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Much scientific research intended to inform decision makers, and/or the public, does not reach its intended audience. Helping to facilitate this transfer was the EU-funded http://www.commnet.eu (COMMFABNET) project.

The overall aim was to establish a large network of communication officers and managers, each involved in food-related research funded by the EU. The network grew to incorporate projects in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and biotechnologies, namely the 'Food, agriculture, fisheries and biotechnology' (FAB) programme.

Project partners targeted European industry, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as policymakers and young people. It also scaled up a pre-existing informal network of EU knowledge-based bio-economy (KBBE) communicators.

The project made tremendous progress in its second year. The team continued to build and extend the existing network, significantly increasing the number of participants over the previous year thanks to mass mailings and communication activities targeting the KBBE community.

Team members adopted a customised communication approach to reach out to the key target groups. Three training sessions were carried out for scientists. Several video news releases were circulated, and 40 articles on KBBE projects were published in various media channels catering to the general public.

To address the industry, SMEs and policymakers, the 2nd Bioeconomy Forum was organised in 2013 with the participation of high-level speakers and panellists. The CommNet PR Desk was launched, the first edition of the CommNet Innovation Catalogue was distributed, and the inaugural Business Dialogues supporting 12 KBBE projects were carried out. For young people, educational material on bio-economy issues was made available, e-seminars were held and the FAB Education Awards were launched.

COMMFABNET enhanced the channels of communication flow amongst the necessary stakeholders, helping to foster European business and innovation. The project outcomes should raise the quality of life of EU citizens, and help improve European competitiveness through innovation.