Public Awareness What is it? Why do it? How to do it? Presentation by ILRI Public Awareness team ILRI Komms Klinics session Nairobi, 10 July 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

What is public awareness at ILRI? 1.As a service INCREASE SUPPORT FOR—AND IMPACTS OF—ILRI-PARTNER WORK Raise intellectual and financial support for livestock research for development, particularly that conducted by ILRI and its strategic partners, and help widen and deepen the positive impacts of ILRI and partner work. 2. As a unit at ILRI A 2.5-person unit whose main responsibility is to help the institute and its staff do the above.

What public awareness is not about at ILRI? A central unit that manages/controls relations with the general public to build ILRI’s brand for better sales marketing. ILRI PA Project Public ILRI PA Project Public

What public awareness is about at ILRI? Staff at all levels sharing/engaging with targeted interested publics to influence policy, change mindsets, empower communities, put research into use, raise funds, change behaviour....

Examples of public awareness products PRINT Brochures (project snapshots) Corporate reports (institutional overviews) Posters (message-driven) Exhibits (displays and handouts) News releases ONLINE Blogs for stories (Wordpress) Films/Photofilms (YouTube/Blip.tv) Images and image collections (Flickr) Slide presentations (Slideshare) OTHER Speeches at events Media interviews Fundraising campaigns

Importance of story What drives effective public awareness at ILRI is story married to evidence Examples--- from conversations to single statements and photo captions to summaries to articles to news releases to opinion pieces to essays to still images to films. Only humans tell stories. We are wired for story-telling. And for learning through listening to stories.

Importance of quality What makes an organization stand out is: 1.the quality of the products it produces--- from its science products to its publications to its communications to its brand 2.the closeness of the marriage of what it does and how it communicates what it does. Examples of high-quality products married to high-quality communications Delia Grace’s report to a donor on zoonoses becomes major media story African Development Bank concept notes become high-profile VIP donor briefs Stories from the field become powerful photofilms Syntheses of research findings become corporate reports

Importance of relevance What gives an organization staying power is its relevance Xerox PARC research lab lost its innovations to Apple computers Kodak filed for bankruptcy this year The revolution that truly put ‘public’ in ‘public awareness’ 1984 Apple computer and LaserWriter printer. How that has changed how we ‘go to work’.

New trends in public awareness Engaging publics and policymakers rather than informing them Personal learning and knowledge management ‘Working out loud’ all along the way Co-creating messages, facilitating discussions CHANGE AHEAD

Examples of effective ILRI public awareness Blog: Livestock Markets Digest Book: ILRI Mapping Climate vulnerability and poverty in Africa Opinion pieces: by Carlos Sere (Globe &Mail, Herald Tribune, New york times, The independent, The Guardian, SciDevNet) Communications campaign: Like that which was part of the research project from the beginning: IBLI Pro-poor advocacy: incorporated in research project: SDP

3 things to start doing today to get public attention Talk among yourselves, to your neighbor, to your team what’s happening, e.g. event, workshop, new paper coming out. Share what you have (slides, photos, scientific posters) using social media. Ask your Comms team to help you get attention for your work. Talk to us. Create with us. Use us.

More about Komms Klinics Visit our Komms Klinics training wiki: training.wikispaces.comhttp://ilri- training.wikispaces.com Find out more and contact Tsehay, Ewen or PeterTsehayEwen Peter Find answers to communication questions: comms.wikispaces.comhttp://ilri- comms.wikispaces.com Find out about the activities of ILRI’s communication team:

International Livestock Research Institute Better lives through livestock Animal agriculture to reduce poverty, hunger and environmental degradation in developing countries ILRI

Reflection: What should be 1-2 priorities for you, your team, ILRI to get our work better known publicly Think for 3 min about this – put your own priority on a colour card Discuss this around your table (groups of 4-5) for 10 min maximum Capture your results on a flipchart sheet Share your key insights back with us (1. Addis, 2. Nairobi) min