On 28-29 May, 2014, the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) ran a workshop on Formulating Policy Communications Strategy. Participants who attended the workshop came from a range of specialisms such as research, public relations, knowledge services and advocacy. Organisations represented included: BIGD; BRAC University; and Practical Action Bangladesh.

The workshop objectives were broken down into two parts. The first part aimed to provide workshop participants with a basic understanding of communications, including its functions, and how to address communication failures. The second part looked at the channels and tools used in research communications, and how to use them most effectively. The workshop format was designed in a simple yet accessible format to aid participants understanding communication types, channels and tools.

The workshop was warmly received by participants who responded with applause to the workshop presentations. Several participants stated that the workshop would help them to provide more focused communication efforts in the future. Key lessons coming out of the workshop were:  that presentations for communications events should be simple, uncluttered and informative; capture ice-breakers on presentation slides; and finally, successful presentations require preparation.

BIGD are sharing their workshop presentation which was designed by the BIGD communications team. Part One of the presentation was prepared by Shakil Md. Faisal, and presented by Ekram Hossain. Part Two was prepared and presented by Sameeah Zahangir.

Showcase exhibit: BIGD presentation on communication channels for research

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This post has been produced as part of the Think Tank Initiative’s Policy Engagement and Communications (PEC) programme. However, these are the author’s personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of TTI. You can find all ongoing outputs related to this project via the PEC mini-site on Research to Action. To get updates from the PEC programme and be part of the discussion sign-up to our RSS or email updates. You can also follow our progress via Twitter using the following hashtag #ttipec.

Feature image courtesy of Grant Hutchinson/Flickr.com.