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How do you communicate the value of research that is designed to fail? When does the language you use become part of your communications strategy? And what is the cost of waiting until you have the full picture before you speak? In this episode of Research Unravelled, Peter is joined by Clara Zabludowsky — Chief Communications and Engagement Officer at ARIA, the UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency — who talks about the challenge of building a comms team around a model that prizes bold, long-shot research over safe, predictable results. Visit us at www.orinococomms.com | Contact me at [email protected] | Join our community and subscribe to our newsletter at orinococomms.substack.com | Tell us what you think bit.ly/orinoco-speakpipe_pod

How do you gather genuine public opinion on one of the most emotionally charged topics in recent political debate? What does it take to present contested evidence to a jury of citizens in a fair and balanced way? And how do you explain a robust but unfamiliar research method to journalists on deadline? In this episode, Jay Stone (Nuffield Council on Bioethics) and Henrietta Hopkins (Hopkins Van Mill) talk about the 2024 citizens' jury on assisted dying and what it taught them about communicating complex public evidence at exactly the right moment. Visit us at www.orinococomms.com | Contact me at [email protected] | Join our community and subscribe to our newsletter at orinococomms.substack.com | Tell us what you think bit.ly/orinoco-speakpipe_pod

Why doesn't merely explaining problems lead to action? Why is it more effective to tell a narrow story than a broad one? Is perfectionism killing your content? In this first episode of the new series of Research Unravelled Peter is joined by guest Nick Peel - the digital content and social media lead at Wellcome Trust - who talks about the work that he and his team are doing to share the organisation's stories online. Visit us at www.orinococomms.com | Contact me at [email protected] | Join our community and subscribe to our newsletter at orinococomms.substack.com | Tell us what you think bit.ly/orinoco-speakpipe_pod

If the 'holy grail' of research communications is reaching policy makers - how can we make that happen? In this episode of Research Unravelled Peter speaks with Sarah Carter-Bell from UK Parliament's Knowledge Exchange Unit about the work that she and her team are doing to facilitate sharing of ideas between academia and parliament. The conversation is full of highly valuable insights and tips for anybody looking to get their research into the hands of policy makers. Visit us at www.orinococomms.com | Contact me at [email protected] | Join our community and subscribe to our newsletter at orinococomms.substack.com | Tell us what you think bit.ly/orinoco-speakpipe_pod

The research output from universities is a unique competitive advantage - why would you not want to communicate that as effectively as possible? How can the impact of those comms activities be tracked? And how can research communicators be better supported by their institutions? In this episode of Research Unravelled Peter is joined by Alexander Buxton, Head of Strategic Communications at the University of Oxford. They discuss why the 'specialism within a specialism' of research comms matters to universities, and how those involved with research comms can ensure that their efforts are aligned with the wider strategic objectives of the institutes they work for. Episode Links  Visit us at www.orinococomms.com | Contact me at [email protected] | Join our community and subscribe to our newsletter at orinococomms.substack.com | Tell us what you think bit.ly/orinoco-speakpipe_pod

In 2022 the Science Media Centre published an insightful report on the changing role of science press officers at UK universities. In this episode of Research Unravelled Peter speaks with two people who were instrumental to the report's creation: Helen Jamison and Claire Bithell. The conversation reveals the often invisible but critical role these professionals play in building trust in science through skilled diplomacy. As universities face financial pressures, Helen and Claire emphasize that research communication isn't merely a "nice-to-have" but an essential component of the research ecosystem requiring continued recognition and support. Download 2022's CROSPO reportTake part in this year's follow up survey Visit us at www.orinococomms.com | Contact me at [email protected] | Join our community and subscribe to our newsletter at orinococomms.substack.com | Tell us what you think bit.ly/orinoco-speakpipe_pod

Why do many risk messages fail to connect with audiences? How can communicators avoid oversimplifying complex risk information while still making it accessible to audiences? What does it mean to take a "public-led, expert-fed" approach to science communication? In this episode Tracey Brown, Director of Sense About Science, talks about the charity's Risk know-how programme that was created to empower people to communicate risk effectively with their communities. Visit us at www.orinococomms.com | Contact me at [email protected] | Join our community and subscribe to our newsletter at orinococomms.substack.com | Tell us what you think bit.ly/orinoco-speakpipe_pod

What counts as a 'meaningful' engagement when involving patients and public with research? How can we elevate the voices of people with lived experience as experts? How can we support those people who agree to tell their own stories for impact? In this episode Peter is joined by Nick Hillier, Director of Communications and Engagement at the Academy of Medical Sciences, which was established in 1998 to ensure that everybody can access good health, supported by the best research and evidence. --- Help us develop a snapshot of the research comms sector today by filling out our questionnaire: https://bit.ly/3QJHKKX Get in touch with us: Visit us at www.orinococomms.com | Contact me at [email protected] | Join our community and subscribe to our newsletter at orinococomms.substack.com | Tell us what you think bit.ly/orinoco-speakpipe_pod

In these monthly extra episodes Peter is joined by co-host, Bianca Winter, to share listeners' thoughts on our main guest episodes, and to discuss the latest news and trends from the world of research communications. In this episode we... Reflect on the last guest episode with Lorraine Bridges - Head of Campaigns at the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR)Talk about Peter's recent experiments with AI tools for research comms and our upcoming 'AI Sandbox Sessions' series where we'll share our findings.Share some news from the past couple of weeks that could have big implications for the research comms sector in the UK and USA. We want this podcast to be a space of interaction and engagement for the research comms community, so we'd love to hear from you. Contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] | Join our community and subscribe to our newsletter at orinococomms.substack.com | Tell us what you think bit.ly/orinoco-speakpipe_pod | Find us on LinkedIn

What differentiates a 'campaign' from business-as-usual comms? What are the most important ingredients for running a successful communications campaign? How do you build partnerships based on trust and reciprocity? In this episode Peter is joined by Lorraine Bridges, Head of Campaigns and Deputy Director of Communications at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). She talks about the NIHR's 2023 'Shape the Future' campaign that won her and her team a CIPR Excellence Award and reflects on what goes into running an effective campaign, storytelling, relationship building and the power of setting objectives. This week's question for our listeners: Think back to a memorable campaign you've run - if you could do it again, what one thing would you do differently? ---- In the episode Peter refers to an article citing statistics related to recruitment for clinical trials. Here is a link to the source: https://bit.ly/4hwsVH9 N.B. Lorraine has since pointed out that the source is a few years old now and recruitment rates have improved since then. ---- 📕 Lorraine's book recommendation: Multipliers by Liz Wiseman Visit us at www.orinococomms.com | Contact me at [email protected] | Join our community and subscribe to our newsletter at orinococomms.substack.com | Tell us what you think bit.ly/orinoco-speakpipe_pod

A 2025 Welcome from Peter and Bianca at Research Unravelled Extra! In these monthly extra episodes Peter is joined by co-host, Bianca Winter, to share listeners' thoughts on our main guest episodes, and to discuss the latest news and trends from the world of research communications. In this episode we... Reflect on Peter's interview with Catherine Foot, Director of the longevity think thank, Phoenix Insights, Share listener thoughts and questions about that interviewUnpick a new report from the Reuter's Institute about the technology and trends that will affect the news media landscape this year - and what that means for research comms. We want this podcast to be a space of interaction and engagement for the research comms community, so we'd love to hear from you. Here's what we'd like to know in particular... How are you feeling about the use of AI in research comms at the moment? What uses would you like to explore more? --- We can't wait to hear from you! Contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] | Join our community and subscribe to our newsletter at orinococomms.substack.com | Tell us what you think bit.ly/orinoco-speakpipe_pod | Find us on LinkedIn

How can we transform the national conversation around what it means to live longer better lives? How do we avoid drowning in nuance when trying to understand complex systems? What does it take to relentlessly pursue a single issue in order to bring about change? And how can you build a coalition to bring others on board? Join Peter Barker in conversation with Catherine Foot, the Director of Phoenix Insights - a think tank set up to transform the way society responds to the possibilities of longer lives. We hope you enjoy, rate, review and share this episode - and we encourage you to join the conversation with any comments and questions! --- 📕 This week's recommendations are 'Influence' by Adam Stones and 'What We Owe Each Other: A New Social Contract' by Minouche Shafik --- Visit us at www.orinococomms.com | Contact me at [email protected] | Join our community and subscribe to our newsletter at orinococomms.substack.com | Tell us what you think bit.ly/orinoco-speakpipe_pod

Welcome back to Research Unravelled Extra! In these monthly extra episodes Peter is joined by co-host, Bianca Winter, to share listeners' reflections on the latest guest episodes, and to discuss the latest news and trends from the world of research communications. We want this to be a space where the research comms community engages and interacts with its fellow members, so please get in touch to let us know what you think. This episode features: Responses to our Ep2 interview with Catherine Gregory, Head of Communications and Content at Ada Lovelace Institute.An excerpt from a Notebook LM AI-generated podcast about the CROSPO report Here are the questions that we (and our listeners) want to hear from you about... What works well for you when communicating with policy makers? Do you provide actionable recommendations? Do you review the terms and conditions of generative-AI platforms before you use them? Have you ever decided to not use a platform because you were uncomfortable with the T&Cs?Have you tried out Google's Notebook LM podcast generator yet? If so, what are you using it for?Are you one of Bluesky's new recruits? How are you finding it so far? --- We can't wait to hear from you! Contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] | Join our community and subscribe to our newsletter at orinococomms.substack.com | Tell us what you think bit.ly/orinoco-speakpipe_pod | Find us on LinkedIn

How do you craft consistent communications in a field as rapidly evolving as AI and data? Can we shift the narrative from perceived future existential risk to actual present day harms? What's the best way of making your messages resonate with policy makers? Join Peter Barker in conversation with Catherine Gregory - Head of Communications and Content at Ada Lovelace Institute, an independent research institute with a mission to ensure that data and AI work for people and society. We hope you enjoy, rate, review and share this episode - and we encourage you to join the conversation with any comments and questions! --- 📕 This week's recommendation is a documentary called 'Daughters' available on Netflix. --- Visit us at www.orinococomms.com | Contact me at [email protected] | Join our community and subscribe to our newsletter at orinococomms.substack.com | Tell us what you think bit.ly/orinoco-speakpipe_pod

Welcome to Research Unravelled Extra! In these monthly extra episodes Peter will be joined by co-host, Bianca Winter, to share listeners' reflections on the latest guest episodes, and to discuss the latest news and trends from the world of research communications. We want this to be a space where the research comms community engages and interacts with its fellow members, so please get in touch to let us know what you think. This episode features: Reponses to our Ep1 interview with Ali Bailey, Director of Communications at the Francis Crick Institute.News about the launch of our brand new Research Comms Snapshot Report: https://bit.ly/research-comms-snapshot Here are the questions that we (and our listeners) want to hear from you about... How do comms teams gain the trust of their individual researchers, especially at larger institutes?What strategies have worked for you in engaging audiences, especially where there may be conflicting values?Do you agree that you'd like to see a more connected research comms community that spans different disciplines? If so, what would you like that community to look like? --- We can't wait to hear from you! Contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] | Join our community and subscribe to our newsletter at orinococomms.substack.com | Tell us what you think bit.ly/orinoco-speakpipe_pod | Find us on LinkedIn