Getting Beyond the Bubble: Measuring Effectiveness of Outreach Activities for SSbD-Related EU Projects

28/05/25 1 Getting Beyond the Bubble: Measuring Effectiveness of Outreach Activities for SSbD-Related EU Projects Caitlin Ahern, Barbara Ebner, Beatriz Alfaro Serrano, Matiss Reinfelds, Johanna K. Scheper, Andreas Falk BNN (BioNanoNet Forschungsgesellschaft mbH; www.bnn.at) 28/05/25 2 Using social media to get the message about Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design to the "outside world" "Top-performing" post but delivers no content High engagement, but only from consortium members 28/05/25 3 Problem How do we shape communication & dissemination activities to reach beyond our bubble to bring SSbD to new audiences? Effective scientific communication is essential for maximizing the societal impact of scientific research. Stakeholder engagement: Engaging with e.g. industry and the general public, to get project results to them. •Big emphasis in Horizon Europe! Lack of clear guidelines and data –> relies on intuition, trial and error, Esp. with complex or abstract topics such as Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) 28/05/25 4 Presentation Outline •Communication Toolbox •Methodology •Quantitative results •Conclusions •Recommendations & Next steps 28/05/25 5 Communication Toolbox Which tools are available to us? (BNN uses...) •Project website •Public lectures & workshops •Public science events •Articles in newspapers / magazines media engagements •Social media -> nobody outside our bubble has reason to visit the site -> attract attendees outside your bubble, but difficult to follow up -> hard to track reads -> only those already interested sign up 28/05/25 6 Communication Toolbox Which tools are available to us? (BNN uses...) •Project website •Public lectures & workshops •Public science events •Articles in newspapers / magazines media engagements •Social media -> nobody outside our bubble has reason to visit the site -> attract attendees outside your bubble, but difficult to follow up -> hard to track reads -> only those already interested sign up For this study, we are taking one tool (LinkedIn) for ease of measurement, to determine which type of posts are most effective at gaining visibility from audiences outside our "bubbles". 28/05/25 7 Methodology Tra c k i n g v i e w s a n d w h o is b e h i n d t h e m •Looked at LinkedIn accounts of 4 projects where we are in charge of Communication & Dissemination, in which S(S)bD plays a role •Tracked over 6-month period (e.g. 1 Nov 2024-30 April 2025) •Measured impressions and Click Through Rate oCTR = (Number of Clicks / Number of Impressions) x 100% •Analyzed audience viewing the top-rated posts (5 highest impressions & CTR) oImpressions – Audience – Industry - subtracting "research services" and "higher education" •Categorized into type of post (e.g. publication, upcoming event, content with graphic / photo, etc.) 28/05/25 9 Results H o w m a ny p e o p l e a r e s e e i n g o u r p o s t s a n d c l i c k i n g to f i n d m o r e i n fo ? Impressions of posts in last 6 months (n=34) CTR of posts in last 6 months (n=34) 28/05/25 10 Results B u t d i d we g e t o u t s i d e o u r b u b b l e ? Industries reached outside of "Research services" and "Higher education", per type of post (n=34) Photos of real people! 28/05/25 17 Finally M o re i nv e s t i ga t i o n n e e d e d ! People are paramount! Use photos of real people at real events, bundled with content you want to get across, and use those people in the images as ambassadors to share with their own bubbles Merging bubbles, step by step impactful posts that so we can bring SSbD closer to industry and the general public These projects have received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement n° 101177608 (PLANETS), n° 101138475 (SSbD4Chem and from the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement n° 953152 (DIAGONAL) and 953183 (HARMLESS). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. 28/05/25 18 28/05/25 1919 Caitlin Ahern Scientific Communication & Dissemination BioNanoNet Forschungsgesellschaft mbH (BNN) 8010 Graz, Austria caitl[email protected]t bnn.at LinkedIn: BNN - BioNanoNet Stay in touch! Subscribe to our QUARTERLY digital magazine for sustainable technologies!