What is your role within FLASH-COMP?
I am the Managing Director of Insight Media, which is the Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation partner in the FLASH-COMP consortium. Our objective is to maximise the impact of the project through targeted and measurable communication and dissemination activities, as well as to ensure the most efficient exploitation of results and maximise their commercial potential. We also aim to enhance coordination and synergies between the FLASHCOMP project and other EU-funded projects and national programmes to maximise joint impact.
Can you please update us on your recent activities and work done so far?
One of the main activities we have been working on so far has been the stakeholder analysis, which has involved extensive desk research to identify key stakeholders in different groups such as industrial end users, policy decision makers, standardisation bodies, academia, and media. This database will encompass every audience which we think would benefit from hearing about the FLASH-COMP project’s work or which might enable its progression. This will then be used by us to shape our communication, dissemination and exploitation strategy, allowing us to tailor messages to each group and ensure that the results achieved by FLASH-COMP will generate significant impact in terms of attracting the interest of the main stakeholders and users involved.
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Other than this, we have also developed the brand of the project, built and maintained the project website, set up and run the social media channels (and provided social media training to the rest of the consortium), designed and sent out the quarterly project newsletter, and are currently in the process of developing a short explainer animation.
“Our work is pivotal in that it takes all of the hard technical work done by the other partners and tries to make sure it has the biggest possible impact in the real world.”
How does your work link with other work being done in the project and how are you working with other partners?
One of the great aspects of being the dissemination and exploitation partner in a research project is that you get to work with all the other partners in the project! It is really important for us to maintain oversight over every aspect of the project in order to ensure we can talk about it in a succinct and compelling way to all different types of audiences, whether that be explaining the detailed technical aspects to potential industrial users, or giving a broader brushstrokes telling of the project that appeals to the general public and focuses on the wider benefits to society.
Currently, we are running a series of Q&As with various members of the consortium to tell the story of the project’s ongoing progress from different perspectives. In fact, you are reading one of these Q&As right now – we didn’t want to miss out on the fun!
How does your work contribute to the overall aims and objectives of FLASH-COMP?
Our work is pivotal in that it takes all of the hard technical work done by the other partners and tries to make sure it has the biggest possible impact in the real world. We want to get as many potential industrial users applying FLASH-COMP technology in their businesses, helping to reduce the amount of waste and emissions they produce and therefore helping Europe move towards a greener future.
What do you hope to achieve through your participation in FLASH-COMP?
Like always, we want to ensure that we carry out our task of fully maximising the impact of the project as much as possible. Without a concerted effort to do this, it is easy for research to get lost or ignored, so we feel a great responsibility in the work we do, both to our fellow partners in the project and to the wider public who have funded it and want to see results delivered in the tangible form of a better environmental future for our planet.
Is there anything else you would like to say about the project so far?
We love being part of a project that aligns with our values, playing a part in Europe’s green transition and helping in a small way to build a better future for us all. We also love being part of a project that is full of so many interesting and enthusiastic people – it makes the whole experience far more enjoyable!