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Communication Planning in Solutions-Driven Research
Citation:
Rudman, A., Katherine Canfield, K. Mulvaney, AND C. Ridley. Communication Planning in Solutions-Driven Research. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-20/411, 2021.
Impact/Purpose:
This report details the communication planning process for the Nutrients Solutions-Driven Research (SDR) Pilot project, a research project being implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development with the objective of piloting a SDR approach to address excess nutrients on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It is designed to serve as a transferable guide to inform the future design of communication plans for other research projects actively engaging with internal and/or external stakeholders. This report provides methods, templates, and recommendations for building a communication plan that ensures stakeholders are identified and included throughout the research process. In addition, we propose ways to evaluate the success of the communication approach at the end of the project.
Description:
This report documents the approach used to create a communication plan for an engagement-intensive research pilot at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development. The research pilot aims to support agency partners and stakeholders in meeting their nutrient reduction goals in impaired waterbodies on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The communication planning process and methods used for this pilot, the Nutrients Solutions Driven Research Pilot (Nutrients SDR Pilot), can be applied when designing communication efforts for future research projects. The methods and strategies presented in the report are derived from a collaborative process to develop a project-specific communication plan for the Nutrients SDR Pilot focused on partnering with stakeholder organizations to investigate solutions to reducing excess nutrients on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The report details the process of creating this plan, including setting goals, identifying stakeholders, analyzing relevant stakeholder involvement, implementing a targeted communication strategy, and evaluating the effectiveness of communication efforts. The approach outlines methods and considerations for preparing a communication plan in the context of the Agency and its community of stakeholders. The materials presented in this report are for agencies and organizations who conduct research or work with communities to develop and implement a communication plan focused on effectively engaging stakeholders throughout the entire research process. Users of this report will need to adapt the tools presented here to the context of their organizations and research questions, as appropriate, to add value to specific research activities. The underlying tenets of the Nutrients SDR Pilot’s implementation and communication efforts were trust building, consistent two-way communication, targeted updates, flexible timelines, and openness to iteratively updating the stakeholder network. This is a pilot research effort: the scientific research as well as the communication tools are experimental. As the different communication tools, including the methods for planning that are outlined in this report, are implemented, important lessons for adaptation may become clear. These methods have been developed and applied to further best practices in communication and engagement for stakeholder-centric research, and many of these methods are valuable tools for application in future research efforts focused on meeting community needs that require extensive community engagement and communication.