Policy engagement is a goal for many researchers.
Demonstrating the value of your research to inform policy change is an essential way to generate research impact.
But how do you do it?
We were invited to scribe a session between parliamentary officials and university academics recently to address this question (you can see the scribed outputs here).
One comment that stuck out to us about how to get your research in front policy makers, was the ‘Wedding Cake Approach’
Policy makers are often trawling the internet and social media for experts on their area of policy interest. This means that researchers need to be VISIBLE and VOCAL about their research, and regularly, to be found and invited to give evidence.
One parliamentarian used the analogy of ‘it’s like eating a wedding cake’:
‘You eat crumbs first’ - or you’ll read a researcher’s tweets to get a sense of their expertise first
‘Then you’ll try a slice’ - you might go on to read a blog post or brief research summary
‘Then you’ll dive into a whole tier’ - you then want to read an extended research overview or key recommendations
‘Finally you’ll end up demolishing the whole cake’ - then you might go on to read the whole research report itself.
What does this mean for researchers?
This means that you need to have a visible online presence where you are sharing your research, recommendations and thought leadership REGULARLY, in ACCESSIBLE WAYS and in DIFFERENT FORMATS and lengths.
This ensures that you are VISIBLE and VOCAL enough for policy makers to find you and start a conversation.
Want more help to do this?
Take a look at our FREE ‘Adapting Research Communications for Social Media’ guide to make your research tweet worthy
Read our ‘How to Make a One Page Research Website’ blog to create a visible shop window for you and your research online
Take a look at our database of FREE visual resources to help share your research in visual, engaging ways
Take our course Infotopia to create your own, impactful infographics to present your work in bitesized, engaging chunks to improve that visibility