There's so much research that could genuinely make the world better — healthier communities, smarter policy, a more sustainable planet. And yet, when it comes to getting people to actually listen and act on that research, we often default to explaining harder or criticising current practices. Neither of which tend to work. Dickon Bonvik-Stone joins us to share how the NØKO team found success taking a radically different approach, and how we can use the AIM framework to bring hope to our own research communications.

Dickon is a strategic communications specialist focusing on climate and social change. He spent 15 years in marketing and digital media before retraining with advanced degrees in sustainability and social change — and committing to bridging the gap between marketing expertise and the social change space. He led the communications module of UNCC Learn's Becoming a Climate Champion learning pathway, distributed to more than 1 million youth climate advocates, and created the foundational climate communications e-learning course for the Creatives for Climate community — a network of more than 50,000 marketing and advertising professionals committed to using their skills for good. He also hosts the Communicating Climate Change podcast, where he interviews experts at the intersection of communication and climate action.

In this episode, Dickon unpacks how he and the NØKO team took a different approach to communicating about degrowth economics — leading with aspiration instead of argument — and sold out a major event that brought activists, economists, public servants, and business leaders into the same room. He walks us through the AIM framework (Audience, Intent, Message) and makes a compelling case for why the most important step in any communication effort is the one most people skip.

"If you lead with the things that the changes you're promoting can actually create in society, the opportunity that they provide, people are able to follow a lot more easily." — Dickon Bonvik-Stone

This episode is essential listening for anyone who wants their communications to actually shift behaviour, not just inform.

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Why "more information" rarely leads to behaviour change — and what to do instead

The AIM framework: Audience, Intent, Message — and why message comes last

Building audience personas based on values and psychographics, not just demographics

Finding common values across very different audience segments

How the NØKO team attracted activists, economists, public servants, and business leaders to the same event

Hope-based communications: shifting from what you're against to what you're for

Why "Degrowth. It's not what you think." is a masterclass in what not to do

Show, don't tell — using aspirational imagery and video to set the tone before a single slide is shown

The tension between domain experts wanting technical accuracy and communicators pushing for clarity

Testing messages instead of guessing — and building internal support for doing so

Why working with communicators and creatives is an investment, not a luxury

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LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/dickonbonvikstone/

Communicating Climate Change podcast — https://communicatingclimatechange.com

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Dickon’s LinkedIn post that inspired this episode

NØKO

Hope-based communications with Thomas Coombes (Communicating Climate Change episode)

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard — Chip and Dan Heath

Don't Think of an Elephant — George Lakoff

Less Is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World — Jason Hickel

Houston, We Have a Narrative — Randy Olson

The Psychology of Collective Climate Action

Climate Visuals (Climate Outreach)

Episode 12: Dr Mark Boulet on behaviour change

Episode 24: Dr Jennifer Beckett and Dr Eloise Faichney on boosting engagement with marketing know-how

Episode 32: Brendon Bosworth on finding the right training approach for your team

Episode 35: Professor John C. Besley on strategic science communication

Read along here as Julie and I step through the Impact Literacy Workbook.

View the full show notes, including a summary of practical tips on the Amplifying Research website: https://www.amplifyingresearch.com/podcast/44-julie-bayley 

A/Prof Julie Bayley is one of the world's leading voices on research impact, and she's on a mission to make sure that the pathway from academic inquiry to meaningful societal change isn't just left to chance. She joins us to unpack impact literacy — a practical framework and step-by-step workbook that helps researchers find their place in the impact puzzle, and helps institutions build the culture to make it all possible.

Julie is currently the Director of Research Impact and Culture at Northeastern University London. Previously, she was Director of Research Impact Development and Director of the Lincoln Impact Literacy Institute, both at the University of Lincoln, UK. She's the author of Creating Meaningful Impact: The Essential Guide to Developing an Impact Literate Mindset, one of Emerald Publishing's bestselling books of 2023.

Julie's passion for impact is deeply personal. A blood clot in 2008 left her unable to walk without pain for ten years — until research-developed vascular stents gave her mobility back. That experience cemented her commitment to ensuring research reaches the people who need it.

Together with David Phipps (Director of Research Impact Canada and Assistant Vice President, Research Strategy and Impact at York University), Julie has developed a suite of freely available tools including the Impact Literacy Workbook and the “Are you Impact Healthy?” Institutional Health Check Workbook — practical resources designed to help researchers and institutions plan for, deliver, and evaluate impact.

"The more we put impact as an extra, a burdensome extra, the less we're going to grow it, the less change we're going to make, and the more ill-equipped our researchers will be to do it… In academia, we have the most incredible opportunity to make a difference… Impact literacy is not about being an impact expert. It’s is being able to judge where you fit into that picture." — Julie Bailey

This episode is essential listening for anyone responsible for driving or supporting research impact — whether you're an individual researcher trying to understand where you fit, a team leader building impact capability, or an institutional leader looking to create a culture where impact is genuinely enabled, not just expected.

The impact literacy model: why, how, who, and what

Walking through the Impact Literacy Workbook step by step: from framing your problem to assembling your impact plan

Why researchers should start thinking about impact much earlier than they typically do

Identifying stakeholders and beneficiaries — and why it's about assembling the right team, not listing everyone

Why jumping straight to methods ("we'll build an app") is the wrong approach to knowledge mobilisation

Co-producing impact: bringing stakeholders in as early as possible

The skills researchers need — and why you don't need all of them yourself

What a healthy impact culture looks like at the institutional level

The five C's framework: commitment, connectivity, co-production, competencies, and clarity

Using the institutional health check to diagnose priorities and track progress

Why the approach to impact in an institution is often a mirror of leadership's view of it

LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-bayley-impact

Website — https://juliebayley.blog

Impact Literacy Workbook

“Are you Impact Healthy?” Institutional Health Check Workbook

Creating Meaningful Impact: The Essential Guide to Developing an Impact Literate Mindset

Research Impact Glossary (CERCA)

Relationships for Impact framework

View the full show notes, including a summary of practical tips on the Amplifying Research website: https://www.amplifyingresearch.com/podcast/43-sofia-oliveira 

What if leaving academia isn't failure – but the path to work that actually fulfils you? Sofia Oliveira finished her PhD, spent six months applying for 140 jobs, and discovered a career in science communication that she finds more rewarding than anything she experienced in the lab. She joins us to share the real numbers behind her transition, the mindset shifts that made it possible, and how LinkedIn became her secret weapon for finding opportunities.

Sofia is a science communication and marketing specialist focusing on life sciences, biotech startups, and nonprofits. After completing her PhD in 2021 and working as a project manager at university, she made the leap to industry in 2023 – tracking every application, interview, and offer along the way. Today she's a freelancer with over 10,000 LinkedIn followers, where she regularly shares remote job opportunities to help other researchers explore their options.

"To be honest, I am much happier now than when I was back at academia, and I think that's all about it. You know, you want your career to be fulfilling and that looks different for different people. But for me, what I'm doing now, it's fulfilling." – Sofia Oliveira

Whether you're a PhD student wondering what comes next, an early-career researcher eyeing the grim odds of landing a professorship, or simply curious about what else is out there, this episode offers honest data, practical strategies, and a refreshing perspective on career exploration.

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If you enjoy this episode and want to go deeper, check out Sofia’s Career Hub on Patreon – featuring the actual CVs she used to land interviews, live Q&A sessions, and group mentoring.

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The stigma around leaving academia – and how to move past it

Sofia's job hunting data: 140 applications, 11% interview rate, 8 offers

How academic success rates (grants, professorships) compare to industry job hunting

Types of roles researchers can transition into: science communication, technical writing, project management, consulting, and more

How to identify and articulate your transferable skills

The case for applying while you're still employed

Freelance vs part-time vs full-time: finding the model that suits you

Building a LinkedIn presence that attracts opportunities (in just 2-3 hours per week)

Why treating your career like an experiment might be the most scientific approach

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LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliveira-ss

Sofia’s Career Hub on Patreon — https://patreon.com/Oliveira_ss

View the full show notes, including a summary of practical tips on the Amplifying Research website: https://www.amplifyingresearch.com/podcast/42-sarah-mclusky 

Be honest: how many meetings, workshops, or conferences have you attended that felt like a waste of your time? Dr Sarah McLusky argues that most academic gatherings fail not because of bad content, but because no one stopped to ask why they were bringing people together in the first place.

Sarah is a research communicator, facilitator, and host of the Research Adjacent podcast — and she's spent years helping teams design gatherings that build trust, spark collaboration, and leave people feeling their time was genuinely well spent. In this episode, we unpack how to move beyond inherited templates and create in-person experiences that actually achieve what you need them to.

"What makes people turn up in the room on the day is the agenda, the talks, the subjects they're interested in — that's what gets people through the door. But actually what people remember afterwards, what they take away from it, is the people that they met." — Dr Sarah McLusky

Sarah brings extensive experience helping research teams, charities, and other organisations design meaningful in-person experiences — from stakeholder engagement workshops to patient involvement sessions to team away days. She's particularly passionate about creating spaces where different voices can genuinely be heard, and where power dynamics don't shut down the very contributions you're trying to invite.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone who organises meetings, runs workshops, or plans events — and suspects there might be a better way. Whether you're rethinking your team's regular catch-ups or planning a major stakeholder engagement session, Sarah offers practical wisdom on making gatherings that genuinely matter.

LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmclusky/

Newsletter: Gathering with Purpose — https://sarahmclusky.com/gathering-with-purpose

Research Adjacent podcast — https://researchadjacent.com/podcast/

View the full show notes, including a summary of practical tips on the Amplifying Research website: https://www.amplifyingresearch.com/podcast/41-michael-wheeler 

Wish more people knew about your team’s amazing research, but worried you don’t have natural charisma or the “gift of the gab”? Never fear! Sci comms expert Dr Michael Wheeler argues that powerful communication comes down to two fundamentals: the quality of your ideas and the order in which you present them. In this episode, Michael introduces the hourglass method — a simple framework for structuring any research communication, from conference talks to grant applications to casual conversations at the pub.

Michael is a research fellow at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition at Deakin University, part of the University of Melbourne Science Communication Teaching Program, and co-host of the podcast Let's Talk SciComm with A/Prof Jen Martin.

In this episode, Michael walks through the hourglass method in practice, sharing examples from rocket scientists bursting through doors to heart disease statistics that make entire lecture theatres sit up and pay attention.

"Context before detail. If you jump straight into the detail, you're gonna lose people immediately. The way I like to think about a piece of communication is like an hourglass. You start off big picture, you provide some context, then you narrow down into the detail, and then you return to something big picture at the end as a way of having a strong finish." — Dr Michael Wheeler

Whether you're preparing for your next conference talk, writing a grant application, or simply want to explain your research more clearly to colleagues outside your field, this episode offers a practical framework and actionable advice you can start using immediately.

For research leaders, Michael's insights on building diverse communication skills can help you think about professional development for your team. And for early-career researchers uncertain about your career path, Michael’s "academic Christmas tree" philosophy offers a refreshing perspective on keeping your options open.

LinkedIn

Let’s Talk Sci Comm podcast

Deakin University profile

University of Melbourne profile

View the full show notes, including the poster Leanne and Steph collaborated on here: https://www.amplifyingresearch.com/podcast/40-leanne-rees

"I never wanted to do a PhD only for it to sit as a thesis and no one to ever read it." If you’re a listener to this show, then I’m willing to bet you’ve probably had similar thoughts about your own work. Dr. Leanne Rees’ solution? To team up with creative professional Steph Hughes to craft a compelling comic-book-style visual based on the very words of the community members she partnered with for her research. The result: a vibrant piece of knowledge mobilisation that's now spreading across international networks, hanging on hospital walls, and empowering newly injured patients to see beyond limiting stereotypes — and a collaborative model I’d love to see more researchers and creative professionals embrace.

Dr. Leanne Rees has been a clinician for more than 20 years and is a research officer at MCRI with Prof Megan Munsie in the Stem Cell Ethics and Policy team. Her PhD explored the media portrayal of spinal cord injury, drawing on her extensive experience as a physiotherapist working with people with spinal cord injuries in rehabilitation, community, and acute care settings.

Steph Hughes is a multidisciplinary creative who's worked as a professional artist and visual communicator for more than 10 years. She also works at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a radio producer and specialises in communicating complex topics to broad audiences. Her background spans commercial illustration, community group projects, and museum collaborations.

Together, they've created an illustration that transforms Leanne's research findings into an accessible visual story - one that's been endorsed by international spinal cord injury organisations and adapted into an animation featuring the voices of people with lived experience.

"It's the relationships that you build over time not to ever let go of maybe a little dream that you've had at the back of your head and it's those relationship-building opportunities that can lead you to a path of okay, now's your chance!" — Dr. Leanne Rees

Whether you're sitting on research that deserves a wider audience, struggling to translate complex findings into accessible formats, or wondering how to build authentic partnerships with creative professionals, this episode offers a practical roadmap for community-centred collaboration that amplifies impact while empowering the voices at the heart of your work.

View the full show notes, including a summary of practical tips on the Amplifying Research website: https://www.amplifyingresearch.com/podcast/39-robyn-mildon  

Imagine discovering a breakthrough that could transform lives, only to watch it sit unused for nearly two decades. Sadly, this is the stark reality that faces researchers in many fields today — for example, $200+ billion is spent annually on healthcare research, but 85% of it never results in changes to practice, and the interventions that do make it to practice often take between 15 and 17 years to do so! Dr Robyn Mildon, CEO of the Centre for Evidence and Implementation, has dedicated her career to collapsing this devastating timeline through the systematic study of what gets in the way — and what helps — when moving research from lab to field.

Robyn is a global leader in implementation science who has seen firsthand both the devastating failures and remarkable successes that can occur when working to translate research into practice.

A pivotal moment came early in her career when, despite training 800 practitioners in evidence-based programs for parents with intellectual disabilities, only 9% actually implemented them as intended. This experience deepened her commitment to implementation science and understanding not just what works, but how to make it work in real-world settings.

"There are things that are well evidenced that aren't getting implemented. Then there's things that are well evidenced, getting implemented poorly, and then there's things that are well evidenced being ignored.”

Implementation science transforms the traditional "spray and pray" method of research dissemination into a strategic, evidence-based process that ensures breakthrough research actually reaches the people who need it most. The Centre for Evidence and Implementation, which Robyn leads, operates across 18 countries and focuses on closing what implementation scientists call the "know-do gap."

They're also gearing up for their 2025 Evidence and Implementation Summit in Melbourne this October, bringing together researchers, policy makers, and practitioners with the shared goal of bridging the research-practice divide.

Why the traditional "spray and pray" approach to research dissemination fails

The systematic barriers that prevent evidence from reaching practice

How to use stakeholder engagement and implementation planning to dramatically improve success rates

Real-world case studies from healthcare, education, and social services

Practical steps researchers can take today to increase their impact

Centre for Evidence and Implementation

2025 Evidence and Implementation Summit

Robyn on LinkedIn

View the full show notes, including a summary of practical tips on the Amplifying Research website: https://www.amplifyingresearch.com/podcast/38-megan-munsie 

Instead of spending years building your own audience from scratch, what if you could partner with organisations and voices that already have your target community's trust and attention? Professor Megan Munsie has spent two decades mastering this approach — what she calls "amplification strategy" — to reach patients, policymakers, and the public with critical stem cell research insights.

Rather than standing at lecterns delivering one-way presentations, she's learned to embed herself within the very networks her research aims to serve, from patient advocacy groups to media organizations to policy circles. Her approach transforms researchers from isolated communicators into collaborative partners within established community networks—multiplying impact while making the most of limited time and resources.

Megan is a professor at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and a renowned expert in stem cell research who has dedicated her career to exploring the ethical, legal, and social implications of the field. Her amplification approach emerged from a practical realisation: "It doesn't really make a lot of sense if I'm just going to answer individual patient inquiries. So it's much more impactful if I work with those in the community who are already talking to the people I want to reach."

"It comes back to this idea of where is the best way to spend your time. What's the most impactful way to reach the audience and who can you partner with? Why would you want to start up your own YouTube channel when you could perhaps appear on something that already has a following?" — Professor Megan Munsie

Over two decades, Megan has built strategic partnerships across diverse sectors—from working with spinal cord injury peer leaders to collaborating with policy officers at the Australian Academy of Science, from appearing on ABC's 7.30 to writing for The Conversation. Her methodology centers on long-term relationship building, authentic collaboration, and the crucial insight that effective communication requires being invited into communities rather than imposing yourself upon them.

Whether you're overwhelmed by the thought of building your own social media following from scratch, struggling to connect with the communities your research aims to serve, or looking to multiply your impact without multiplying your workload, this episode offers a practical roadmap for finding and partnering with the voices that can amplify your message to the right people.

Understanding amplification strategies and how they differ from traditional outreach

Building authentic partnerships with patient advocacy groups and community organisations

Working effectively with mainstream media, policy organisations, and social media platforms

The importance of humility, curiosity, and adaptation in all stakeholder relationships

Practical steps for identifying and approaching potential amplification partners

Why starting small and learning from colleagues is more effective than trying to "conquer the world"

LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-munsie-27013136

University of Melbourne — https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/379400-megan-munsie

Murdoch Children’s Research Institute — https://www.mcri.edu.au/researcher-details/megan-munsie

View the full show notes, including a summary of practical tips on the Amplifying Research website: https://www.amplifyingresearch.com/podcast/37-phillip-dawson

Imagine having an exceptional talk in your back pocket that you can confidently deliver anywhere, anytime... A talk that consistently wows audiences and builds your reputation as a go-to expert in your field... A talk that might even turn into a book one day. Prof Phillip Dawson shares how developing repeatable talks can transform speaking from a last-minute scramble into a sustainable career-building practice.

Phillip is the co-director of the Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning at Deakin University, and he's given talks at nearly every Australian university, as well as countless institutions worldwide. What makes his approach unique is that he's developed a sustainable speaking strategy built around just 1-2 exceptional presentations that he continuously refines and reuses—a stark contrast to the academic norm of creating unique talks for every opportunity.

"If you book me to give a talk, you're going to get something good. And I just don't know if I have it in me to keep on creating brand new good things," Phillip explains. "The badge of honour is quality."

This approach evolved organically from Phillip's research practice. While working on a big project, his team developed a slide deck that kept getting requested at different venues. "Eventually it became part of my strategy on big projects to say to the team, Hey let's collaborate on making one really good slide deck for this thing," Phillip explains.

He now maintains two signature talks — one on assessment security and AI, another on feedback literacy — each refined through dozens of presentations and evolved into career-defining assets.

Whether you're struggling with speaking preparation burnout or looking to transform your occasional talks into career-defining presentations, this episode offers a practical roadmap for developing sustainable speaking practices that build your reputation while saving your sanity.

The strategic process of developing your signature talk topics

How to iterate and refine presentations through low-stakes testing

Balancing customisation with consistency across different audiences

Structuring talks for maximum impact and audience engagement

Handling difficult Q&A sessions and challenging audiences

Negotiating speaking opportunities and setting boundaries

The unexpected career benefits of repeatable excellence

https://philldawson.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/philldawson

https://experts.deakin.edu.au/14967-phillip-dawson

View the full show notes, including a summary of practical tips on the Amplifying Research website: https://www.amplifyingresearch.com/podcast/36-sarah-morton

How can we move beyond hoping for impact to systematically creating it? What tools can we use to plan for the impact we want to see in the world, evaluate whether it's happening, and tell compelling stories about the change we're contributing to? Dr Sarah Morton takes us through the Matter of Focus framework and software designed to do just that.

(We’re releasing this ep a little early, between our usual monthly drops, to coincide with the ARMA UK conference. If you’re in Edinburgh, drop by the conference to say hi to Sarah and give OutNav a try in person! We’ll be back to our regular release schedule on July 1st with a new episode featuring returning fan-favourite guest Prof Phillip Dawson — all about his approach to crafting killer academic talks.)

Sarah spent 16 years working in knowledge exchange at the University of Edinburgh before co-founding Matter of Focus. Her team's approach to impact planning and evaluation stands out for its focus on using plain language and breaking things down in ways that are really easy to understand, and they’ve developed the software tool OutNav to help make all this practical..

"I think where the approach works best is if it becomes really part of the way you work. We've got to have more of a feedback mindset because people are doing great things, but they're often not reflecting on them and people are making huge assumptions about engagement, for example, that they're engaging the people who are most important to the change that they see, and quite often they're not." -- Dr Sarah Morton

Sarah walks us through Matter of Focus' four-step process: setting out your theory of change using plain language headings, auditing what evidence you already have, identifying gaps and collecting meaningful data, and building your impact narrative over time. We explore how this cyclical approach transforms impact work from bureaucratic afterthought to strategic advantage.

The four-step Matter of Focus process for impact planning and evaluation

How to map pathways to impact using plain language frameworks

Practical data collection methods that busy researchers actually use

Moving from "broadcast mode" to strategic stakeholder engagement

Embedding impact thinking into daily research practice

How institutions can better support systematic impact work

LinkedIn: Dr Sarah Morton

Resources discussed:

Software: OutNav

Article: The Matter of Focus framework

Article: An overview of the Matter of Focus approach

Article: 3 feedback tools to help you track your outcomes and impact

Article: How to bring different voices into your evaluation

Article: 4 simple steps to start evidencing your research impact

Case Study: Using OutNav to assess the impact of the Global Kids Online research initiative

Book: How Do You Know If You Are Making a Difference? A Practical Handbook for Public Service Organisations