Engaging audiences

Engaging audiences in our research

Presentation by Ewen Le Borgne and Tsehay Gashaw

ILRI Komms Klinics sessionAddis Ababa, 6 June 2012

The Komms Klinics approach

• Away from (just) tools, into communication processes

• Six broad communication areas

• Tools are still part of the picture

• Awareness raising and hands-on training sessions

• More trainers, more trainees

The Komms Klinics approach

Overview

1. What is it?

2. Why engage?

3. Where and when?

4. How?

5. With whom?

6.| What more?

1. What is engagement?

• Ongoing exchange, conversation, interest, action

• Motivated by one or both but fuelled – progressively it becomes important for both

1. What is engagement?

1. What is engagement?

• Hopefully leading to greater outcomes

• 1+1=3

1. What is engagement?

2. Why engage?

2. Why engage?

WIIFM?

What’s in it for me?

2. Why engage?

Bigger picture

And a wider skillset

2. Why engage?

Better questions

2. Why engage?

Better atmosphere

More trust!

2. Why engage?

Long term, sustainable results

Or targeted short results

Research uptake

3. Where and when?

3. Where and when?

At effective meetings and events

3. Where and when?

In the field

3. Where and when?

In online conversation spaces

Using social media

3. Where and when?

Everywhere

3. Where and when?

When?

3. Where and when?

When?

All the time!

4. How to engage?

4.How to engage?

You: Remain authentic

Give credit

Share!!!

Keep it fun

But focused

4.How to engage?

Them: Listen

Be receptive

Be sensitive

4.How to engage?

Them

You

You Them

= =

Them You

4.How to engage?

You & them: a culture of engagement

Clarity

Trust

Time & relentless efforts

Collaboration & compromise

Honest broker/ process facilitation

4.How to engage?

Activities:

4.How to engage (in practice)?

Designing participatory meetings, events, processes

4. How to engage (in practice)

4.How to engage (in practice)?

Using open, social, engaging tools, soliciting

feedback

Social

Media

4. How to engage (in practice)

4. How to engage (in practice)

4. How to engage (in practice)?

4. How to engage (in practice)?

4.How to engage (in practice)?Sharing your work

(work out loud)

4.How to engage (in practice)?

4.How to engage (in practice)?

4.How to engage (in practice)?

Doing research differently (innovation, action research, MSPs)

4.How to engage (in practice)?

5. With whom?

5.With whom?

Your team?

5.With whom?

Your partners?

5. With whom?

Farmers?

5.With whom?

Policy-makers, donors?

5.With whom?

Via multi-stakeholder platforms?

A quick summary perhaps?

Summary

• Engage because it matters for sustainable results

• Engage on the scale

• Through meetings and social tools

• Throughout activities (all the time!)

• With authenticity, time, trust, continuous efforts, a careful process

• With various parties, from team to MSPs

6. What’s more?

Resources

• This session on the ILRI training wiki

• Examples of (events and more) on the ILRI Maarifa blog

• Engaging policy makers

• ODI’s approach to engagement

• Social learning examples in the workplace

• The approach of ‘Working out loud’

• Engaging stakeholders (pt. 3) in ‘Food security and global environmental change’

• How livestock do research and with whom determines what their science achieves (ILRI Clippings)

More about Komms Klinics

• Visit our Komms Klinics training wiki: http://ilri-training.wikispaces.com

• Find out more and contact Tsehay, Ewen or Peter

• Find answers to communication questions: http://ilri-comms.wikispaces.com

• Find out about the activities of ILRI’s communication team: http://infoilri.wordpress.com

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Animal agriculture to reduce poverty, hunger and environmental degradation in developing countries

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