Research Unravelled

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 peter@orinococomms.com | 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 peter@orinococomms.com | 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 surveyVisit us at www.orinococomms.com | Contact me at peter@orinococomms.com | 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/3QJHKKXGet in touch with us:Visit us at www.orinococomms.com | Contact me at peter@orinococomms.com | Join our community and subscribe to our newsletter at orinococomms.substack.com | Tell us what you think bit.ly/orinoco-speakpipe_pod

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/4hwsVH9N.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 WisemanVisit us at www.orinococomms.com | Contact me at peter@orinococomms.com | 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 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 peter@orinococomms.com | 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 - a brand new podcast where we take a deep dive into the impactful world of research communications.In particular we’ll be exploring the complexity that lies at the heart of this particular field and hearing from communications experts about how they navigate and overcome or unravel that complexity.Research Unravelled is hosted by Peter Barker and brought to you by Orinoco Communications - the creative agency that specialises in working with research organisations.