Public Participation in Developing a Common Framework for Assessment & Management of Sustainable Innovation WP 10 Communication and Dissemination Milestone MS20 Communication Strategy Version 1.0 Authors Futures Diamond Monika Popper The University of Manchester Rafael Popper, Guillermo Velasco Martinez, Effie Amanatidou, Joe Ravetz With contributions from Applied Research and Communications Fund (ARC Fund) and Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI) The CASI project has received funding from the European Union s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no [612113]
Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 4 CHAPTER 2: PURPOSE 8 CHAPTER 3: AUDIENCE 10 3.1. MAIN GROUPS OF STAKEHOLDERS 10 3.2. WHY SHOULD THE AUDIENCE BE INTERESTED IN SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION (SI)? 11 3.3. WHO IS LIKELY TO BE THE AUDIENCE INTERESTED IN SI? 13 3.4.WHAT SI PRIORITIES WILL FRAME CASI COMMUNICATIONS? 15 3.5.WHAT TYPES OF INNOVATIONS WILL BE COMMUNICATED? 16 CHAPTER 4: EXTERNAL CHANNELS 18 4.1. ONLINE INTERACTION 18 4.1.1. CASI WEB PLATFORM 18 4.1.2. SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS 20 4.1.3. WEBINAR FOR WIDER SOCIETAL LEARNING AND PARTICIPATION. 21 4.2. FACE- TO- FACE INTERACTION 21 4.3. VISUAL INTERACTION 21 4.3.1. PROJECT LOGO AND BRANDING 21 4.3.2. TEMPLATES FOR ONLINE AND PRINTED MATERIALS 24 CHAPTER 5: INTERNAL CHANNELS 25 5.1. ONLINE INTERACTION 25 5.1.1. WEBSITE 25 5.2. CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS) 26 5.3. FACE- TO- FACE INTERACTION 27 5.3.1. CONSORTIUM MANAGEMENT MEETINGS 27 5.3.2. CAPACITY- BUILDING WORKSHOPS FOR THE CONSORTIUM PARTNERS AND THE COUNTRY CORRESPONDENTS 27 CHAPTER 6: QUALITY AND EFFECTIVENESS 28 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION 30 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The CASI project is implemented within the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy, which aims to achieve smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth. Within this strategy, sustainability was identified as a priority aspect of economic growth for the European Union. Sustainability has three major dimensions - social, economic, and environmental. Europe, along with the rest of the world, faces serious challenges on all three dimensions. While many of the challenges are global in scope, remedies may, in some cases, be specific for the European continent, or even for particular Member States. Since the proposed action, Public participation in developing a common framework for assessment and management of sustainable innovation (CASI), has been developed in order to address the grand challenge - Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials the project focuses on technological and social innovation aiming to improve the environmental sustainability of our economies, while at the same time considering the economic and social aspects of sustainability. Furthermore, it actively promotes public engagement and involvement in the RTDI system by ensuring the commitment of a broad spectrum of societal stakeholders into project s implementation. This document constitutes the Communication Strategy of the CASI project. It is an evolving strategy for all partners, guiding the internal and external communication of the project and serving as a guideline to assess progress. The strategy identifies a wide range of stakeholders, including organisations and individuals that may sponsor, support, be involved or benefit from sustainable innovation initiatives. The document then proposes potential channels for external communication with target audiences, as well as internal communication among the CASI consortium. 3
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION The main objective of the CASI project is the development of a methodological framework for the assessment and management of sustainable innovation through wider public engagement in the European research, technology development and innovation (RTDI) system. It will define the context of sustainable innovation, as well as introduce sustainability as an objective of innovation diffusion through social and market opportunities. The project represents an EU- wide cross- sectoral partnership on innovation- related challenges and considers not only the impacts of social and technological innovation, but also the types of actors involved and their inherent interests. It thus effectively integrates the perspectives of civil society, SMEs, industry, policy stakeholders, and leading academics. This collaboration investigates the scope of sustainable innovation as a societal phenomenon and enables the elaboration of an assessment framework of sustainable innovation practices, whose application can be successfully integrated into public policy developments. CASI will further explore the impacts of innovative practices, as well as of specific technological and social innovations, vis- à- vis the persisting challenges of climate change adaptation and resource depletion, and the societal effects thereof. Thus it will make a more thorough inquiry into the balance between the social, economic and environmental impacts of innovations, and will help determine the scope and priorities for national and EU policy- making. The work plan of the CASI project spans a period of 42 months (i.e. 3.5 years), and is structured into the following 11 work packages: 4
Ø WP1 Management. This work package establishes the management structure and internal management procedures. A Steering Committee was established as an oversight mechanism of the project, as well as an Advisory Committee and a Network of country correspondents to expand the geographical outreach of the project. Ø WP2 State- of- the- art. WP2 lays the foundation for the rest of the project. It involves a state- of- the- art report on research and innovation related to the grand challenge Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials. Review, analysis and mapping of sustainable innovation initiatives have been carried out in 2014 to establish a conceptual theoretical framework, complemented by empirical cases gathered across Europe, and provide a section on working definitions and approaches on sustainable innovations. This WP is closely interlinked with WP3, WP4, WP5 and WP6. Ø WP3 Dialogue and Participation. WP3 runs in parallel with WP2 and goes beyond it, aiming to build a common understanding of sustainable technological and social innovation, as well as a common approach concerning the societal challenge Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials among the CASI partners and country correspondents. It will further enhance the dialogue among consortium partners, country correspondents and relevant stakeholders across Europe on sustainable innovation and environment- related issues through involvement of citizens in research and innovation policy- making, and identifying topics for future research. Ø WP4 Common Framework for Assessment and Management of Sustainable Innovations (CFAMSI). The objective here is to develop a common framework for assessing the sustainability of innovations, i.e. their advantages, disadvantages, relevance, benefits and risks, particularly their social, environmental and economic dimensions, taking into account general public concerns. For this purpose, an online survey will be launched in the first quarter of 2015. CFAMSI will be consulted later in 2015 with relevant stakeholders in the 12 participating countries. Ø WP5 Pilot projects on testing and validating CFAMSI. In order to avoid collecting irrelevant and useless data, the CASI partners will conduct a pilot testing of CFAMSI. CFAMSI will be applied to a number of technological and social innovation cases gathered in WP2, so as to (a) identify shortfalls and (b) propose adjustments/corrective changes to the assessment methodology. 5
Ø WP6 Management of sustainable innovation. WP6 runs in parallel with WP5. The partners will work with the case studies actors involved in WP5 (technology or social innovators) in order to verify and introduce the requested or suggested changes in the final version of CFAMSI. Ø WP7 Policy Watch. This WP aims to establish a common interface for easy monitoring of EU and national policy cycles in order to enable the streamlining of sustainable innovation measures into organisational, national and European strategic and policy planning processes. Throughout this WP, partners will be engaged in producing policy briefs and annual policy reports focused on sustainable innovation (2015, 2016 and 2017). The immediate output of this WP will serve as input for the elaboration and advancement of policy recommendations within WP8. A natural outcome is the European Network on Sustainable Innovation Policy Watch. Ø WP8 Policy Recommendations. Activities are focused on developing specific policy recommendations for stimulating wider societal engagement in sustainable innovation activities, for their assessment and improved public management, targeting different levels of governance. Ø WP9 Heritage. The main challenge is to ensure that stakeholders in Europe, both within and external to the consortium will benefit from CASI s outcomes. Several approaches are employed so that the overall sustainability will be ensured beyond CASI s formal duration. Ø WP10 Communication and dissemination. All communication and dissemination approaches to be applied during the project are listed in this communication strategy aiming to raise awareness among all groups of stakeholders as to why it is necessary for them to interact, exchange ideas and participate in the process of sustainable innovations assessment, as well as aiming to reach all targeted audiences. Ø WP11 Evaluation. This WP responds to the requirement of the call to establish the systems for internal and external evaluation for ensuring that project progress and results are in accordance to the work plan and meet the objectives of the Science in Society programme. 6
This Communication Strategy document one of the formal milestones of WP10 focuses on providing a strategy for the involvement of target audiences and defining adequate channels for communicating with such audience. The document will be revised continuously and adapted accordingly to ensure the effectiveness of the strategies. Rather than being a simple add- on, the CASI Communication Strategy is an inseparable part of the project, reinforcing the engagement with interested audiences in both the production and delivery of the CASI products and outcomes. By combining ideas and examples and developing best practice elements and analytical frameworks, the CASI project through the present Communication Strategy will aim to meet the needs of various stakeholders in their interaction with CASI while acknowledging different motivations, concerns and interests. The Communication Strategy document is structured as follows. Section 2 provides an explanation of the purpose of developing communication channels within the context of the CASI project. Section 3 focuses on identifying stakeholders that may be interested in making a contribution into the project and/or benefit from the participation, or from the project outcomes. Sections 4 and 5 describe ways in which external and internal communication will be supported by various online and face- to- face communication channels. Section 6 outlines responsibilities allocated to project consortium partners, as well as to country correspondents. Section 7 then explores how to best measure the effectiveness of selected channels and the quality of content used and generated throughout the project. 7
CHAPTER 2: PURPOSE The strategies outlined in this document have the purpose of: Ø Mobilising stakeholders and promoting public participation in the process of sustainable innovation (SI) assessment CASI mobilises 19 partners from 12 EU countries and 16 country correspondents from the remaining 16 European countries, thus covering the whole EU28. Furthermore, as part of the project s participatory approach, CASI seeks the support of the wider public audience in assessing SI initiatives through directly targeting SI actors falling into the following four categories: innovators, sponsors, supporters and beneficiaries of SI, as explained in Section 3. Therefore, the strategies will draw the attention of target audiences and promote active mobilisation of a wide range of stakeholders and mutual learning. Ø Publicising/disseminating SI- relevant information over the course of the project CASI partners are expected to produce several reports, policy briefs and other publications focused on sustainable innovation issues, which will be publically available on the project s website as well as promoted through other channels (e.g. websites of partnering organizations, social media accounts) that are to be defined within the communication strategy report. Ø Increasing awareness and encouraging action the CASI project responds to and addresses the Horizon 2020 grand challenges of climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials. Therefore, the strategies shall consider ways of contributing to the debate, while the messages should pronounce how sustainable innovation can benefit the wellbeing of citizens 8
while preventing environmental degradation resulting from economic and peoples activity. Ø Obtaining relevant inputs a set of strategies aimed at gathering input and feedback from project partners and involved stakeholders would be designed to ensure sufficient generation of content (e.g. mapping and assessing SI cases, online survey on sustainable innovation, expert and stakeholder workshops) and effective feedback mechanisms. Ø Achieving sustainability of CASI beyond the project funding in order to ensure that project outcomes would outlast the project life, the strategies would take a longer- term view, considering trends in different areas when identifying opportunities and delivery mechanisms. The current strategy will contribute to the development of the CASI s sustainability strategy later in the project implementation. 9
CHAPTER 3: AUDIENCE 3.1. Main groups of stakeholders The CASI project will interact with the following types of stakeholders: Ø Innovators, who will be invited to contribute by sharing information about their innovations especially those selected for WP2 Mapping activities, as well as their views about the issues to be discussed in WP5 workshops later in the process of piloting and developing a management and assessment framework of SI; Ø Funders/Sponsors of SI, who play a key role at the early stages of the innovation process, by providing the financial means during the design, prototyping, testing and development phases. They will also be called to share information and data about their activities in the mapping stages of the project as well as give their perspectives in identifying, supporting, managing and assessing SI; Ø Supporters/brokers (intermediaries), who facilitate the positioning, dissemination and diffusion of innovations. This may include sustainability experts from the academic and research communities, as well as other innovation and technology brokers enabling the uptake, sustainability and transferability of innovations. Ø Beneficiaries, these can be either direct or indirect beneficiaries. Direct beneficiaries include private sector beneficiaries and societal stakeholders who may be either innovators themselves or direct beneficiaries of different types of innovations. Policy- makers are more indirect beneficiaries as they can contribute to the wider uptake of results by using the assessment framework for policy- formulation purposes or spreading the methodology for the engagement of society in this and other areas in the policy formulation cycle. 10
Apart from the different types of interactions that need to be reflected in the CASI Communication Strategy the diverse types of stakeholders need to be considered too. These can be civil society organisations, international/european/national or regional policy- making bodies, business actor; or research and education actors. The differences in the types of stakeholders are not that important in relation to the organisation structures they apply but much more in relation to the different perspectives, motivations and interests they are governed by. Adding to the above layers of consideration, stakeholders may also vary in terms of their scope of reference i.e. local, regional, national or international. While certain types of innovations, such as technological innovations, meet no geographical barriers, other types such as social or governance innovations may be primarily attached to the local or regional levels. Thus the scope of action of the various stakeholders also needs to be taken into consideration in the Communication Strategy. Within the above framework, identifying the audience for the CASI project can be guided through the following questions, which are further elaborated in the following sub- sections: Ø Why should the audience be interested in sustainable innovation (SI)? Ø Who is likely to be the audience interested in SI? Ø What SI priorities will frame CASI communications? Ø What types of innovations will be communicated? 3.2. Why should the audience be interested in Sustainable Innovation (SI)? Any communication strategy should be built around the uniqueness, significance and practicality in use of the product(s) or service(s) to be enabled by the specific project. At the same time, however, the gaps and weaknesses also have to be acknowledged. CASI is no exception to this. Ø Firstly, the theme of sustainability lends itself to various actions of exploitation sometimes under the name of corporate social responsibility (CSR) that lack real commitment to sustainability. Ø Secondly, every research and technology development (RTD) field has some possible benefit for sustainability. Thus drawing the boundaries in the thematic scope of the study is extremely hard. Ø Thirdly, Sustainable Innovation (SI) is difficult to define as it includes very different things (from a corporate product range to a local environmental action group). 11
With this vagueness and weaknesses in mind, we propose that the unique, significant and practical, essential contribution of the CASI project is in three things: Ø SI for system level transformation, e.g. not just a new product, but more of a whole socio- technical- cultural system change. Ø SI which is controversial and/or disruptive: e.g. if there is system level transformation, there is almost certainly some negative impacts, ethical challenges, different views for or against. Ø SI that includes participation and deliberation to promote and mobilize positive transformations, and explore/resolve controversial and disruptive issues (as far as possible). Table 1: Links with CASI Objectives CASI Objectives Relevant products & communication channels Relevant audience 1. Development of a working definition of sustainable innovation. 2. General public concerns & participation on social impact. 3. Best practices in sustainable innovation management. 4. Framework for assessment and management of sustainable innovation. 5. Recommendations on innovation management & sustainability goals. SI Definition, which takes into account the EU emphasis on Climate Action, Resource Efficiency and Raw Material priorities. CASI Library Sustainability at economic / business / social / ecological levels. CASIPEDIA with detailed analysis of 168+ SI and the potential to further analyse 200+ additional SI cases. CFAMSI Common Framework for the Assessment and Management of Sustainable Innovation. CASI Policy Blog & Policy Briefs Annual policy reports Policy recommendations reports Sustainability at economic / business / social / ecological levels. CASI partners & Country Correspondents as well as the academic and research community (all actors). Society actors, policy- making actors, business actors. Policy- making actors, society actors, businesses and society actors Policy- making actors, academic/research community. Policy- making actors, businesses. 12
3.3. Who is likely to be the audience interested in SI? As already noted the different interests and roles of the various stakeholders in CASI have to be taken into consideration. This is further elaborated below. Ø General Public (beneficiaries) For the public, there is often strong interest in sustainability actions, but the process or management of innovation is not generally a public issue. However this comes to the foreground with controversial issues: e.g. GMO food, fracking energy, and driverless cars. To represent & mobilize the public, or especially communities at risk, there are many types of NGOs, activists, intermediaries, and analysts. The general public will be both, a recipient of the knowledge produced in CASI, as well as contributor, mainly through taking part in Citizens Panel Meetings (Task 3.4) and inputs into the CASI portal (e.g. blog posts, comments, etc.). The communication means and format have to abide by certain features. For instance, social media may be utilised in targeting the public at large more than other stakeholders; the reports or flyers etc. should be in plain language; the use of journalists may be advantageous in this regard. Ø STI / RTD / R&I community A huge quantity of R&I is going on in many specialist areas. It is difficult to draw a line around SI versus R&I in general. Sustainable innovation is more significant in certain cases, for example controversial issues involving ethical or distributional questions, e.g. GMO food, or disruptive technologies, e.g. Uber taxi systems. The R&I community will be both a co- producer of the knowledge to be produced in CASI as well as a recipient of the results. The communication means and format can follow conventional avenues like conferences, academic journals, etc. More professional media like Linked In can be added also. Ø Social entrepreneurs / community groups / NGOs They are interested in examples of social enterprise models and could also be interested in practical guides, e.g. how to do SI. 13
Social entrepreneurs may be direct contributors in CASI (esp. in the mapping stage) but may be included also among the experts to be consulted in the later stages of the project. Potential social entrepreneurs (community groups, NGOs, citizens) The communication means and format can follow suggestions made for the general public. However, more professional means can also be applied, e.g. use of e- mailing lists, and professional on- line forums / groups, publication of newsletters, or short case studies reviews, interviews with social entrepreneurs, etc. Ø Research policy makers and sponsors This group includes R&I regulators and public sector agencies at regional / national or international levels. Interested in scientific advances and especially implications of SI and impacts on economy, society, environment, policy, etc. Interested in Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) / grand challenge agendas, which highlights the possibly most unique contribution of CASI, of system level transformation. Although this group will be called to contribute with sharing information and data in the mapping stage of the project, they will be mostly valuable in contributing to the definition and uptake of the recommendations of CASI on innovation management and sustainability goals. Caution needs to be paid in relation to the communication means and format to be applied in this case. Short policy briefs focusing on specific issues each time would be more usable than long, academic reports. Suitable events to attract policy- makers would be special workshops, symposiums or policy conferences. Ø Research sponsors and intermediaries This group includes public or private investors, professional institutions media, and other intermediaries. Interested in scientific advances, which raises the issue of breadth and vagueness in the definition of SI. Interested in RRI / grand challenge agendas, which highlights the possibly most unique contribution of CASI, of system level transformation. This group may be called to contribute to creating the assessment and management framework that will be of major interest to them as it will support the funding decision- making process. They can further be called to help with the definition and uptake of the recommendations of CASI on innovation management and sustainability goals. Similarly to the policy- making target group they will appreciate short and focused briefs disseminated on- line or presented and discussed off- line in special meeting and workshops. 14
Ø Other MML projects financed by DG Research and Innovation The CASI Consortium will try to establish cooperation with other relevant MML projects such as: PACITA Parliaments and Civil Society in Technology Assessment; SIS CATALYST Children as Change Agents for the future of Science in Society; EJOLT - Environmental Justice Organizations, Liabilities and Trade; GAP 2 Bridging the gap between science, stakeholders and policy makers, Phase 2: Integration of evidence- based knowledge and its application to science and management of fisheries and the marine environment, as well as with the new MMLAPs from the same call. 3.4.What SI priorities will frame CASI communications? Given that the CASI project is a Mobilisation and Mutual Learning (MML) initiative funded by the European Union, the project communications will be framed by the EU Horizon 2020 grand challenge focused on Climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials. Within each of these priorities the project will study and communicate SI developments in some 22 areas, which are encompassed by the 2014-2015 Workprogramme of the Grand Societal Challenge Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials of Horizon 2020. SI Priority 1: Climate Action 1. Climate change projections and scenarios models 2. Climate change adaptation solutions 3. Climate change mitigation solutions 4. ICT systems for assessing and predict climate action 5. Promoting a climate action by sustainable lifestyle 6. Adaptation and mitigation innovations for preservation & management of cultural heritage assets 7. Supporting & monitoring the effectiveness of climate action eco- innovation policies SI Priority 2: Resource Efficiency 8. Biodiversity examination & understanding 9. Water imbalances 10. Strategic intelligence for resource efficiency policies & citizens participation in decision- making 11. ICT systems for assessing and predict natural resources availability and trends 12. ICT systems for improving resource efficiency 15
13. Promoting a sustainable lifestyle for a resources efficiency improvement 14. Supporting & monitoring the effectiveness of resource efficiency eco- innovation policies & green economy transition SI Priority 3: Raw Materials 15. Long term assessment on raw materials availability 16. Raw materials exploration, extraction, processing, recycling technologies 17. Alternative raw materials 18. Societies awareness on raw materials shortage 19. ICT systems for assessing and predict raw materials trends 20. Eco- solutions to reduce raw materials consumption 21. Promoting raw materials challenges by sustainable lifestyle 22. Supporting & monitoring the effectiveness of raw materials policies 3.5.What types of innovations will be communicated? Apart from the targeted priority areas, the content and means of communication will also consider the following types of innovations: Ø Product innovation is the introduction of a good that is new or significantly improved with respect to its characteristics or intended uses. This includes significant improvements in technical specifications, components and materials, incorporated software, user friendliness or other functional characteristics; as well as relevant process innovations for the implementation of a new or significantly improved production or delivery method. Ø Service innovation is the introduction of a service that is new or significantly improved with respect to its characteristics or intended uses. It can include significant improvements in how it is provided (for example, in terms of their efficiency or speed), the addition of new functions or characteristics to existing services, or the introduction of entirely new services. Ø Social innovation is a new solution (products, services, models, markets, processes etc.) that simultaneously meets a social need (more efficiently and effectively than existing solutions) and leads to new or improved capabilities, assets and/or relationships. Ø Organisational innovation is the implementation of a new method in organizational practices. Organisational innovations can be intended to increase performance by reducing administrative or transaction costs, improving workplace satisfaction, gaining access to non- tradable assets or reducing costs of supplies. Business model innovation refers to new ways of providing product or service offerings to customers and end users that were not previously available. 16
Ø Governance innovation implies new forms of citizen engagement, new democratic institutions, new public and user participation in service design and delivery, and the use of public boards to govern certain choices, e.g. new political arrangements in local/national governments, changes in the organizational form and arrangements for the planning and delivery of public services. Ø System innovation is a set of interconnected innovations, where each is dependent on the other, with innovation both in the parts of the system and in the ways that they interact. This is rarely achieved through a single organisation or sector, but involves a complex interaction of public policy and reforms to legislation, changes to business cultures and practices, as well as shifts in consumer attitudes and behaviour. Paradigm innovation implies changes in the underlying mental models which frame what organizations or communities do. Ø Marketing innovation is the implementation of a new marketing method involving significant changes in product design or packaging, product placement, product promotion or pricing. Marketing innovations are aimed at better addressing customer needs, opening up new markets, or newly positioning a product on the market, with the objective of increasing sales. 17
CHAPTER 4: EXTERNAL CHANNELS The external communication aims at maximising outreach to end users (i.e. pre- defined target audiences as well as the general public) and achieving transparency in the way projects activities are being performed. 4.1. Online interaction 4.1.1. CASI web platform Internal as well as external communication will be supported by and channelled through the CASI web- based virtual platform, which will serve as the main communication tool. The platform, launched in May 2014, is being developed by Futures Diamond who is responsible for general website management and technical support, while all project partners would be feeding the platform with content. The portal will provide a number of mass media, one- way communication instruments, as well as interpersonal, two way communication channels. Ø One- way communication instruments include: CASI Library featuring CASI publications (e.g. EU and national level policy briefs; reports from citizens and experts meetings) and other relevant publications of interest for the CASI community. CASI news featuring project- relevant internal and external news. CASI calendar featuring upcoming project s and other SI- relevant events. Online survey questionnaire to gather stakeholders contributions and insights on pre- defined questions that relevant and aligned with project s needs. CASI e- newsletter designated module used to send newsletters to a list of subscribers. 18
Notifications informing users of new posts, comments, and other updates that are relevant to content/activities created or followed by them. FAQs providing answers to most frequently asked questions. Key static pages such as About informing portal s visitors about project s team, objectives, methodology, etc. Social Media sharing buttons the social media sharing buttons have been used across the site in order to allow users to share the content of news, events and documents, as well as encourage more natural and seamless interaction between users. Ø Two- way communication instruments include: CASI online policy blog a one- stop knowledge hub for policy- makers, citizens and other stakeholders, allowing them to follow and share their opinions on major strategic and legislative developments across Europe. CASI tutorials online educational guide and online training package CASIPEDIA for the mapping and displaying of mapped SI cases where edit rights can be shared with other users to aid the co- creation and assessment of content. Help and Contact - shall the users have the need to ask questions that have not yet been addressed under the FAQs section, or contact the CASI team for any other reason, they can do so using the contact form on the Help and Contact page of the portal. Furthermore, the following functionalities, when integrated across the site will allow users to freely and naturally interact with each other, while effectively building an online community. Any information available on the site, and of interest to users, can be easily shared, promoted, commented on and disseminated to a broader audience, thus increasing the impact of project, its outcomes and activities. Share (e.g. news, events, documents) Invite (e.g. to co- produce content) Follow (e.g. Content; Users) Comments Messaging (One- to- one Files/Messages) Group (Files; Messages) Rating (SI- related options, e.g. up to 5) 19
Registration of Users to the CASI Platform Most content on the CASI portal is to be publically available, however, in order to create a community of identifiable contributors, some content would be available to registered users only. Users are able to create a new account or use their existing social media accounts such as LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter for their convenience. Registered and logged in users can then access and edit their individual profiles, and most importantly, contribute to the mapping of sustainable innovation cases, online policy blog, etc. 4.1.2. Social media accounts The Social Media Sharing Tools with shortcuts included across the portal allow users to share the website content (e.g. news, events, articles, documents, etc.) over the social media- related portals, which include the following: Ø CASI LinkedIn group Sustainnovation at https://www.linkedin.com/groups/sustainnovation 8154824?home=&gid=8154824&trk=anet_ug_hm The CASI LinkedIn group was established in order to reach and engaged with stakeholders who are linked to and interested in sustainable innovation issues. LinkedIn can be used to promote and invite stakeholders to attend events, consultations, etc. Ø CASI Facebook community Sustainnovation at https://www.facebook.com/casi2020 The Facebook community was launched in order to allow the general public, alongside other stakeholders, to join the group and access up- to- date information about the project and project s activities. Ø CASI Twitter account - CASI2020 at https://twitter.com/casi2020 CASI Twitter account was established to further promote the project and its outcomes. A hashtag campaign is to be launched, including branding hashtags for project marketing, content hashtags for event, news, publications, etc. Such would allow the linking of relevant trending topics and help building relationship with targeted audience. 20
4.1.3. Webinar for wider societal learning and participation. A two- day web- based seminar is planned in order to increase the knowledge and capacity of stakeholders (incl. businesses, policy- makers, civil society organisations and the scientific community) in terms of sustainable innovation issues and practices. The webinar will be held in English and recorded sessions would then be available on the project s website as well as disseminated through other communication channels (i.e. social media, YouTube, etc.) 4.2. Face- to- face interaction Face- to- face interaction is considered an important and effective way of eliciting and disseminating information in the context of the CASI project. For this reason, various face- to- face interaction opportunities will be promoted and organised throughout the project, in the form of: Ø Events/conferences Ø Stakeholder Mutual Learning Seminars (MLS) Ø Citizens panel meetings Ø Interviews and working meetings with innovators Ø Workshops Experts workshops National stakeholder workshops Ø Policy conference in 2016 in Brussels 4.3. Visual interaction 4.3.1. Project logo and branding The design of CASI logo and branding is both smart and simple, bringing a positive experience while searching, reading and creating any type of content, be it on the website or printed documents. With the high level content that CASI has to offer, it is essential to provide a comfortable and clean user interface. As most of the project content will be textual, presenting it along with the large, nature- inspired images brings the desired balance. Ø LOGOTYPES - concept and construction Two logotype options were proposed by Futures Diamond and were voted on by all project partners via doodle poll. Both alternatives were based on the idea of bringing the 3 basic CASI pillars (i.e. climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials) into the core of the logotype. The design of the winning logotype and possible usage is presented below. 21
1 = raw materials 2 = climate action 3 = resource efficiency Image implementation on logotype Background implementation on logotype 22
Logotype implementation on background Image and logotype treatment - expressing the 3 CASI pillars using images related to them. 23
4.3.2. Templates for online and printed materials Various project related templates using CASI logo and branding elements will be produced in order to further promote the project as well as ensure consistency of deliverables within the project. Different aspects will be considered and weighted before printing of project materials, which will be useful for CASI events and conferences; otherwise online version in PDF format should suffice. The following templates will be produced: Ø CASI policy brief templates in A4 Ø Project deliverables template Ø E- newsletter template Ø Project leaflet in A5 Ø ID badges for CASI events Ø Internal project meeting template 24
CHAPTER 5: INTERNAL CHANNELS 5.1. Online interaction Online tools will be used to ensure effective communication between project partners; manage knowledge- based resources; and reduce costs. 5.1.1. Website Ø File manager project partners can manage project relevant documents and deliverables via the file manager. The information will be organised around the 11 work packages with various sub- folders representing the different tasks within each work package. Ø Notifications project partners will be notified of any activities within the portal, which are to be displayed on the notification board of their user profile. Ø Events calendar all project and other project relevant events will be added onto the event calendar on the CASI portal, including venue and organiser s details. Figure 1: Elements of the file manager including notifications, calendar, mapped cases, blog posts and documents uploaded by partners. 25
5.2. Content Management System (CMS) The content of the CASI website can be updated/edited by WP10 administrators through Diamond Frame, an integrated Content Management System (CMS). The CMS allows WP10 members with administrative rights to modify/delete/add content items (including pages, sections, subsections). The html editor is then used to customise item details. Content is organised systematically by modules, content items and content parts, while common management tools are used to ensure content is managed consistently. Figure 2: Diamond Frame Content Management System (CMS) At the early stages of the project, Futures Diamond would be responsible for coordinating content management activities and implementing partners requests in a timely manner using provided content. Within the dashboard section of the CMS there is a contact form to support (see below), which the partners can also use to send any technical request to the IT team. 26
Figure 3: Content Management System - Dashboard 5.3. Face- to- face interaction 5.3.1. Consortium Management Meetings The Consortium Management Meetings (CMMs) are held 3 times per annum, for each year of the project according to a pre- agreed schedule. In total, there will be 11 CMMs organised by partnering organisations in a respective country, gathering together members of the consortium to discuss work progress and management issues. Additional meetings may be held online if required. 5.3.2. Capacity- building workshops for the consortium partners and the country correspondents Three separate capacity- building workshops, one for project partners and two for country correspondents were organised in the first 6 months of the project, based on regional proximity of participating countries. Background information and training materials focused on the issues of sustainable innovation, climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials, had been developed beforehand by a working group composed of four project partners. 27
CHAPTER 6: QUALITY AND EFFECTIVENESS Ø Each partner (Project management units/wp leaders/task leaders) should assume responsibility for quality assurance of their own content in order to meet quality expectations for specific types of outputs in terms of fitness for purpose and compliance with agreed project standards and objectives. The partners would also be responsible for the dissemination of project deliverables of public nature. Ø WP11 leader will be responsible for the overall quality control and evaluating progress of project deliverables as well as dissemination activities. Ø CASI Steering Committee an oversight mechanism of the project, including one representative of each consortium partner acting as a work package leader and chaired by the project coordinator. Ø CASI Advisory Committee a committee made up of experts in the fields of environment and innovation, providing methodological advice to project partners throughout the project. Ø CASI Network of country correspondents representing non- consortium Member States to ensure European coverage, country correspondents would gather information required for the implementation of the project as well as disseminate or provide contacts for the dissemination of project results and relevant information in their respective countries. Ø CASI editorial team to review certain project outcomes and deliverables such as policy briefs, project reports, etc. 28
Ø Starting from the second year of the project (about three weeks before each CMM) project partners would need complete an excel template to report on their dissemination activities (i.e. dissemination of public nature deliverables such as policy briefs, the use and activities on CASI social media accounts and contact details of stakeholders reached, which would also help us grow an internal database of contacts for further dissemination). Table 2: Towards an assessment of quality and effectiveness of the CASI Communication Strategy What to measure? Channels: are the CASI social media accounts, newsletters. etc. effective (in terms of reach, visits, hits, etc.) and appropriate (e.g. in terms of likes, feedback, comments, recurrent visitors) for the content? Content appropriateness: is the audience receiving the information they want and need? Content quality: are the moderation mechanism in place and effective? Voice: are there adequate feedback channels and opportunities for individuals to have a say? How to measure? Trends in website visits, downloads and other activities (e.g. comments on the blog). Follows on CASI social media accounts Survey of end- users Feedback Number of people asking for feedback or more information Number of references in scientific publications Participation in project events and seminars Speaker evaluations from conference presentations As mentioned above, the strategy is an evolving document; therefore it is essential that any success and shortcomings are recorded in order to learn how the strategy might be improved. The Strategy must be revised, if it does not produce desired results. 29
CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION Communication and dissemination activities are crucial to ensure successful interaction between a broad range of societal actors. The CASI communication strategy has identified potential stakeholders, as well as internal and external channels to reach the audiences. However, the strategies are not set in stone and will be reviewed and further developed as the project evolves. Updates will depend mainly on the outcomes of the mapping process as well as other project activities. 30
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