Making real-world impact with your open science initiative using evidence based digital marketing skills
Presenter: Bethan Iley
PhD. Researcher, Queen’s University Belfast and Finance administrator & OSPARK Coordinator, OLS
Workshop Abstract
Open science initiatives are becoming more widespread across the island. However, awareness and uptake can be slow to garner, both within and beyond one’s institution. To facilitate community engagement, many open science initiatives would benefit from the skills of “multipliers” who will effectively promote their projects, activities and services. However, marketing, communications, and outreach are skills which are rarely taught in the open science context.
This interactive workshop, hosted by OLS (Open Life Science Ltd) and the Digital Research Academy as part of the OSCARS funded Open Science Promotion and Advocacy for Research Knowledge (OSPARK) project, will help participants make their open science initiative, project, service, or infrastructure more visible. Together, we will explore how to authentically communicate value, tailor content to your audience, and experiment with different formats. This will involve a short talk on digital marketing, communications, and outreach, followed by the chance to apply this knowledge using a workbook. We will then hold a facilitated discussion activity which will help participants identify examples of best promotional practices in open science, barriers to engaging in marketing and communication activities, and potential ways for communities to overcome these barriers. Please bring a digital device such as a laptop.
About
Bethan Iley recently completed her PhD in Social Psychology at Queen’s University Belfast. She now works at OLS (Open Life Science Ltd), a non-profit dedicated to capacity building and diversifying leadership in research worldwide, as the OSPARK Coordinator and Finance Manager. The OSPARK project is funded through Open Science Clusters’ Action for Research and Society (OSCARS) and aims to develop a training programme on evidence-based marketing and communication skills for open science advocates. In her free time, Bethan runs an online science communication project focused on psychology and metascience with over 3,000 followers.