Creative approaches to communicating research
Creative approaches to communicating researchDoing it
differently!
Gillian SouthgateSept 2014
Creative warm up!
Take a piece of paper, write your name at the top and where you
are from then draw what you do professionally on one side and your
favourite thing on the other. Now pass your paper to the person on
your right. OK using your information sheet introduce the person on
your left. Tell us their name where they are from, what their job
is and what their favourite thing is.2
NHS Research & Development NwThe NHS R&D NW team run a
creative communications programme of work looking using creative
arts to communicate key health research messagesThe programme is
experimental and offers the opportunity for the team to try out
different ideas and work with a range of artists.Successful
creative ideas are developed and adapted to be used in our main
programmes such as the visual minutes and comic strip.Workshops are
also offered to the wider R&D community on topics such as
animation, comic strip, film making and creative writing. Full
details of workshops are available on our website
www.researchnorthwest.nhs.uk
(Please note this is an interactive workshop, flex your creative
thinking..)
Academic process of communicating research
Not forgetting paper and poster presentations as well!!
AdvantagesPeer-reviewed journals are publications in which
scientific contributions have been vetted by experts in the
relevant field.
Peer-reviewed articles provide a trusted form of scientific
communication.
Peer-reviewed work isn't necessarily correct or conclusive, but
it does meet the standards of science.
(http://undsci.berkeley.edu/index.php)
Poster and paper presentations can reach an audience that wont
necessarily read a paper a journal.
DisadvantagesTime to write up
Time from submission to publication
Restricted audiencel
Lack of real evidence that peer review actually works: Editorial
peer review, although widely used, is largely untested and its
effects are uncertain (Journal of the American Medical Association
2002)(It is important to understand that it is saying that the
evidence to support peer review has not yet been produced, not that
there is evidence that peer review does not work)
Being creative can:-Help your research reach a wider
audienceDoesnt need to use jargon or scary languageCan be quicker
than waiting for your paper to be publishedCan have a more powerful
impactCan simplify the key messageIs fun to doCan be done as a team
or as an individualCan be tailored according to available
resource
Examples..
Creative writing, poems, songs and musicPictures, photographs
,collages and comic stripsPlays ,films and podcasts other digital
mediaAnimation, puppets, mime and dance
It can be:-Serious, sensible and informativeFunny, slapstick,
childlikeVisual, auditory, tactile Hi tech, low tech, Clever,
silly.
Creative Communication..
Using creative techniquesIdentify key messageThink about your
audienceColleagues, patients, adults/children, medics, board
members, international, national, etcIdentify resources Time,
finance and expertise- build costs into bidAre you doing it or
employing someone else?Consider process of disseminationE.g social
media restrictions on NHS networks, YouTube, LinkedInNews letters,
patient infomercial, posters, pictures, Be creative, take a risk
and have fun!
Egs. Apps and
websitesWebsites:-MakeBeliefsComix.comMarvelKids.com's Create Your
Own ComicPixtonToonDoonApps:-Comic LifePerfect
CaptionsEpisodeVoiceAnd many more.
NIHR New Media Competition Sept/March
Communicate the clinical/applied health/social care research
that you are involved inEnthuse audiences about the research that
you are involved in (the target audience may be for example
patients, researchers, colleagues, your friends and family,
children, the elderly, the general public)Get creative and use your
media skills to get the NIHR message about research out.Win
prizesYou should be either:a member of the NIHR Facultyhave
recently completed your NIHR funded research.a patient/member of
the public involved in NIHR
researchhttp://www.nihr.ac.uk/our-faculty/new-media-competition.htm
Celia Kitzinger (University of York) and Jenny Kitzinger
(Cardiff University) Co-Directors of the Coma and Disorders of
Consciousness Research Centre and joint winners of the ESRCs
Outstanding Impact in Society Award, 2015
running into the office last week carrying a bundle of eight
foot bamboo poles, along with a picnic blanket, an iron and a bag
of sand, we reflected on the changing role of the academic.our
unwieldy baggage was just part of what was needed for the shadow
puppet play that lunchtime a collaboration with the play of light
theatre company translating research on family experience of coma
into a puppet performance for an audience of medical students, care
home workers, and lawyers
weve been collaborating with a wide range of artists to ensure
that our research findings are accessible beyond academia. the
performances, poetry, music, and art developed through such
collaborations bring the research findings into dialogue with
creative artists inviting imaginative engagement and seeking to
open out the debate about the vegetative or minimally conscious
state..
Celia Kitzinger (University of York) and Jenny Kitzinger
(Cardiff University) Co-Directors of the Coma and Disorders of
Consciousness Research Centre
Get involvedNot everyone is going to feel confident or skilled
enough to perform creatively in video but having a go and
experimenting helps you to identify what the possibilities are and
in future to think more creatively about how you disseminate your
work.
Quick creative challengeYou have 15 minutes to work together in
small groups of 3-5 and create a poem, a collage, a sketch, a song
or any other creative idea you may have to communicate why you do
research to the group. Keep it simple e.g., research saves lives,
research is fun, research helps people, saves money etcBe prepared
to share it and /or perform it with the group at the end of the
session!!Jo will be filming it on her iPhone ( as she has completed
our iphone film making course!!)
What nextHave a go..NHS R&D NW would be delighted to see
what you do, Please send us any photos, films songs poems etc. Dont
forget to enter the NIHR media competition too!
The NHS R&D NW Creative Workshop Programme is available on
our website.www.researchnorthewets.nhs.uk
Gillian Southgate Assistant DirectorNHS Research &
Development North West Contact:- Tues, Weds, Thurs, 9am-5pm (
Please note that I do not work Mon and Fri.)Direct Dial Tel: 0161
935 8430Mobile: 07825143562Email:
[email protected]:
http://www.research.northwest.nhs.ukTwitter: @NHSNWRDLinkedin: NHS
North West Research and DevelopmentTo know more about our
programmes of work visit
http://www.youtube.com/user/NHSNorthRandD
A devolved regional NHS function hosted by Salford Royal NHS
Foundation Trust
