Communication guidelines for European research infrastructures: engaging with stakeholders in Latin America

This guideline document aims to provide European research infrastructure (EU RI) Communication Officers and other RI stakeholders with tools and recommendations to develop communication strategies to effectively engage with Latin American stakeholders. It was designed to serve as a roadmap for developing context-appropriate communications with Latin American stakeholders, in view of increasing RI visibility to target audiences and to make RIs more ‘findable’ on the web (and on their respective websites, with clear information regarding international collaboration or other opportunities).

Developed as part of the Horizon 2020-funded RI-VIS project (https://ri-vis.eu), the document is based on a survey, which was filled out by 26 respondents from: Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Uruguay. The main takeaways from the survey include the desire for collaborative approaches, including, but not limited to, staff exchanges and training, and the need to consider limited funding opportunities when reaching out to potential targets. It does not seem realistic to consider Latin American stakeholders as another (future) potential market for EU RI services, whereby services would be paid for at full market cost; alternative, more collaborative approaches, based on local context and needs, may thus be more appropriate.

Some respondents indicated difficulty knowing how to reach out to EU RI stakeholders and ensure timely follow-up. This highlights the need for EU RIs to have appropriate outreach strategies in place, with pre-identified contact points and a process for responding to inquiries (in addition to seeking collaboration).

Check out the complete document here!