Download Communications topics - College of Agricultural Sciences | | Oregon

College of Agricultural Sciences strategic intent conversation
Communications
September 11, 2013
11:30-1:30, ALS 3005, lunch provided
Communication is more than just talk. It cuts across almost everything we do in the
College of Agricultural Sciences.
This is an opportunity to consider communications within the College and how it affects
research, teaching, Extension, and building relationships within and beyond OSU. What
new directions should we take for a more strategic approach to communications?
To focus our conversation, I’ve included some initial thoughts at the end of this note and
the following three questions to guide our conversation:
Questions
1. If our goal is to increase the public understanding of CAS science and its relevance to
people’s lives and livelihoods, what strategies and technologies should we consider?
Why is this important? Should this be a priority?
2. If our goal is to report the broader impacts of CAS accomplishments to decision makers
(both internal and external to OSU), what strategies and technologies should we
consider? Why is this important? Should this be a priority?
3. If our goal is to teach communication skills to CAS students that are required for
successful professional careers, what strategies and technologies should we consider?
Why is this important? Should this be a priority?
For those participating in the face-to-face conversation, please be ready to speak up
with your thoughts and ideas. For all others, you may email your responses to me by
September 16, at [email protected]
CAS strategic intent conversation:
Communications
Thoughts to stimulate the conversation, and one clarification…
Communication cuts across almost everything we do in the College of Agricultural
Sciences:
• Communication is a core requirement for all contemporary, large, integrated projects
emanating from USDA/NIFA, NIH, and NSF. Successful grants require effective
communication, and the current large, multi-disciplinary federal grants have the
explicit requirement of outreach communications.
• Communication is an essential competency that we require of all our graduates, but
currently we do not teach it. The ability to communicate clearly and credibly will
prepare our students to articulate the importance of their work as scientists, managers,
and decision-makers of the future.
• Communication skills are in demand by CAS faculty who find that their scientific
training has not prepared them for situations that call for engaging with non-scientific
audiences. Clear communications can help faculty explain the relevance of their work to
the public who pays for it and whose lives are affected by scientific advances.
• Effective communication is essential in building partnerships across campus and across the
globe. Colleagues from different disciplines may have difficulty identifying opportunities for
collaboration if each speaks in his own specialized language. Poor conversation skills can lead
to misunderstandings, missed opportunities, and, possibly, damaged relationships.
• Science literacy is required of a democratic society where people are asked to make choices
about global issues (such as climate change and biotechnology) and local issues (such as water
quality and food supply). Effective science communication helps people understand the
consequences of their choices regarding a host of issues that face us in the 21st century.
• With newspapers reducing their staffs and expert science journalists being cut from
mass media, the responsibility for in-depth, credible science communication is left to
public research universities. Science communication, created to increase the public
understanding of science, is education—not marketing.
And so we make this distinction between communications and marketing: Communication
translates the important discoveries and contributions made by research, teaching, and
outreach; Marketing repurposes that communication to increase awareness and participation
among specific groups. If you do a good job at communications, then marketing will be much
easier.
Therefore, we have planned two strategic intent conversations. They each will be
attended by different groups of people with different questions to consider. Not all the
topics listed in the following table will be covered in each strategic conversation, but
outlining the differences will help focus each conversation.
Communication strategies and skills,
September 11
Marketing and brand identity,
September 25
• Develop strategies to increase the public
understanding of CAS science
• Build relationships with critical stakeholders
and markets
• Develop strategies for reporting broader
impacts of CAS accomplishments
• Develop a meaningful brand identity and apply
it across programs, departments, and stations
• Develop science communications courses,
internships, and degree options
• Develop effective student recruitment
materials
• Identify the needs and interests of critical
audiences, both internal and external
• Repurpose news and accountability reporting
as marketing messages
• Provide communication training for CAS
scientists, educators, and administrators
• Engage students to describe the student
experience and opportunities
• Continue to hone skills for more effective
meetings and conversations
• Develop a statewide strategy for social media in
marketing
• Increase the use of new media and emerging
technologies in communications
• Integrate CAS brand identity with OSU
marketing
• Integrate departments and branch station
voices into CAS identity
• Provide marketing tools for departments,
programs, and branch stations
• Integrate CAS stories into OSU communications
• Apply new media and technologies in
marketing