212 Chapter 7 Gaining skills towards policy-relevant research with societal impact Given the policy focus of this thesis and the ambitions to conduct research with societal impact, several efforts were undertaken to make the evidence it would generate more relevant to policy-makers. This set of initiatives is briefly described below, along with some accompanying learnings. Adapting research outputs to policy-focused dissemination Among all the findings in this thesis, those of Chapter 3 are probably the most policyactionable. These results were, therefore, chosen to be communicated through a dissemination strategy created to bring them further to decision-makers. This strategy included preparing materials to share the findings in an attractive, straightforward and quick manner. In collaboration with a science communication consultant, the study was translated into a “mini-story” format. This content was portrayed in several forms, including an social media “carousels”, and animated Graphic Interchange Format (GIF) and a video with the my own voice-over (Figure 2). These evidence products were shared in personal and institutional websites and social media channels and sent directly by email to a list of relevant researchers and policy-makers. The reaction to the dissemination efforts was very positive. It resulted in several additional opportunities to communicate and discuss the findings directly with fellow researchers interested in conducting further research on the topic, a presentation of the study to the research-policy consortium (ST-RAW), and an interview with a specialised media outlet (Zorg+Welzijn). More importantly, the study was cited in the quality standard on transition to adult care1 of the Federatie Medisch Specialisten, informing the implementation plan. Preparing the content and engaging with the science communication consultant was an enriching experience. It took me out of my comfort zone towards a less conservative and more bold and impactful way of conveying results. The creation of this dissemination strategy did not come without its costs, both in monetary terms and due to the time invested. But these were valuable investments to translate research into an impactful message that brought the paper closer to societal impact. The time and budget to invest in dissemination activities should be accounted for in PhD trajectories aiming to deliver societal impact. Additionally, junior researchers should be incentivised to develop the skills to communicate their results to non-academic audiences better. 1 Kwaliteitsstandaard Jongeren in transitie van kinderzorg naar volwassenenzorg, available in Startpagina - Jongeren in transitie van kinderzorg naar volwassenenzorg - Richtlijn - Richtlijnendatabase
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