In Horizon Europe, one of the central elements of a successful grant proposal is the Dissemination, Exploitation, and Communication (DEC) section. This section is where applicants outline strategies to ensure their project's results reach the right audiences and have a lasting impact. Here is a closer look at how to effectively navigate this crucial part of your Horizon Europe grant application.
Introduction to Horizon Europe
Horizon Europe is the European Union’s largest research and innovation program, designed to drive economic growth, address societal challenges, and enhance the EU’s global competitiveness. Understanding and effectively implementing the DEC strategies is vital for aligning your project with Horizon Europe’s strategic goals and maximizing its impact.
Dissemination
Dissemination focuses on making the project’s results publicly available to advance knowledge and enable further research. It is about sharing specific knowledge with those who can directly benefit from it, ensuring the project's findings contribute to broader scientific and technological advancements.
For whom: Scientists, industry professionals, public authorities, policymakers, and civil society.
How: Publish results in scientific journals, present findings at conferences and workshops, and share data in databases and repositories.
When: Anytime, as soon as results become available, and up to four years after the project ends.
Why: Maximize the impact of the action, allow other researchers to build on the work, contribute to global knowledge advancement, and ensure scientific results are accessible as a public good.
Dissemination involves sharing your project's results with the broader community, ensuring that the knowledge generated is accessible and used by others. A robust dissemination strategy should:
Identify target audiences: Clearly define who will benefit from your project outcomes. This could include industry players, academic researchers, policymakers, and the general public.
Outline dissemination channels: Use a mix of channels such as academic journals, industry publications, open-access platforms, and presentations at conferences to reach your audiences.
Set measurable goals: Specify metrics to evaluate the success of your dissemination activities, such as the number of publications or the reach of your media campaigns.
Exploitation
Exploitation is about ensuring that project results are used to their fullest potential. This may involve commercializing new products or services or further developing research findings. Key considerations for a strong exploitation plan include:
Define the value proposition: Clearly articulate the practical applications of your project outcomes and how they address market needs or societal challenges.
Identify stakeholders: Engage with potential partners who can help bring your project results to market, such as companies, investors, or public bodies.
Plan for sustainability: Outline how project outcomes will continue to be developed or applied beyond the project's lifespan, demonstrating long-term impact. This can include strategies such as:
Patenting: Protect innovations to safeguard intellectual property, allowing control over use and commercialization.
Licensing: Grant rights to third parties to use technology or products, generating revenue through licensing fees and royalties.
Production and commercialization: Plan for scaling up production and develop strategies for entering the market.
Technology Transfer: Facilitate the transition of innovations into practical applications through partnerships and technology transfer offices.
Sales and business development: Develop sales strategies and explore new markets for products or services.
Strategic alliances and collaborations: Establish alliances and joint ventures to make use of complementary strengths and resources.
Open access and knowledge sharing: Increase visibility and facilitate knowledge transfer through open-access publications and community engagement.
Communication
Communication involves promoting the project and its results to engage with various stakeholders, including the public, media, and policymakers. It aims to inform and engage a broad audience, ensuring visibility and support for the project's activities and outcomes.
For whom: Citizens, stakeholders, and the media.
How: Develop a well-designed communication strategy, convey clear and compelling messages, and use appropriate channels such as social media, press releases, newsletters, and public events.
When: From the start until the end of the action.
Why: Engage with stakeholders and the public, attract top experts and collaborators, raise awareness about how public funds are used, and highlight the successes of European collaboration.
Communication includes the broader engagement with society about your project's progress and outcomes. Effective communication should:
Craft tailored messages: Develop clear, concise messages tailored to different audiences, highlighting the relevance and benefits of your project.
Use multiple platforms: Use social media, newsletters, public events, and press releases to maintain visibility and engage with diverse audiences.
Measure engagement: Track the impact of your communication efforts through metrics such as social media engagement, event attendance, and media coverage.
Key differences between dissemination and communication
Communication and dissemination have a number of key differences, which are summarized in the figure below, and further discussed in the following paragraphs.
Objective:
Communication aims to engage a broad audience by promoting and raising awareness about the project and its achievements.
Dissemination targets specific audiences that can benefit from the results, focusing on sharing detailed knowledge to advance further research and development.
Audience:
Communication is directed towards the general public, including non-specialists, to build understanding and support.
Dissemination is directed towards experts and professionals who can use the knowledge for further innovation or policy development.
Content:
Communication emphasizes creating a narrative around the project, focusing on storytelling and accessibility.
Dissemination involves detailed reporting of research findings, data, and methodologies to enable replication and extension by others.
Timing:
Communication is ongoing throughout the project to maintain engagement.
Dissemination occurs when results are ready and often continues after the project ends to ensure lasting knowledge transfer.
Measuring success and impact
It is important to assess and measure the success and impact of your project by:
Setting benchmarks: Define clear benchmarks and metrics to measure the success of your exploitation strategies, such as patent filings, licensing agreements, sales growth, and partnership developments.
Regular monitoring: Implement a system for regular monitoring and evaluation to ensure your strategies are on track and adjust them based on feedback and market changes.
By integrating these exploitation pathways into your sustainability plan and understanding the distinct roles of dissemination and communication, you can ensure that your Horizon Europe project results have a lasting impact, benefiting both your organization and society at large. This strategic approach reinforces the project's relevance and contributes to the broader objectives of Horizon Europe by driving innovation, economic growth, and societal progress.
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