Amplifying Research

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 

View the full show notes, including a summary of practical tips on the Amplifying Research website: https://www.amplifyingresearch.com/podcast/35-john-c-besley

Passionate about sharing your research and want to ensure your comms efforts deliver meaningful results? Professor John C. Besley shares insights from his book Strategic Science Communication, and the SCREE framework, to help you move beyond hoping for impact to designing for it. In this conversation, he reveals why many research communication efforts fall short – not because researchers aren't trying, but because they haven't been asked the fundamental question: what specific behaviour do you want to change? John and I discuss how to identify clear goals, understand the beliefs that drive behaviours, and align your communication activities accordingly. Whether you’re the director of research org, working in comms/operations, or an individual researcher, John shares practical tips that can help you start improving the outcomes of your comms and engagement today.

John is a Professor at Michigan State University's College of Communication, Arts, and Sciences, where he's spent more than 20 years researching public views about science and scientists' views about the public. His mission is to help science communicators be more effective by encouraging evidence-based and strategic communication choices.

"Often the scientists I'm talking about, if they have research that maybe they think somebody could use, they want people to use it. They want people to consider that science when making decisions. And if you want that to happen, you can just hope that it happens. Just hope for it. Or you can start making the choices that increase the likelihood that people will consider that research." — John C. Besley

The SCRREE framework emerged from John and his colleagues' recognition that while many researchers are committed to communication, few have ever been asked what they hope to achieve from their efforts. SCRREE stands for Strategic, Cumulative, Reflexive, Reciprocal, Equitable, and Evidence-based — principles that transform ad-hoc outreach into sustained impact. Through their consulting work with research organisations, they've developed a practical process that helps teams move from vague aspirations like "increasing awe and wonder" to specific behavioural goals like "getting policymakers to consider evidence in environmental decisions."

Why strategic communication matters for researchers in today's funding and impact landscape

How to identify “audience-specific behavioural goals” that actually matter for your research

The practical process of asset mapping: aligning your existing activities with your goals

Why "engagement" really means giving people time to stop, think, and form beliefs

Common mistakes like focusing only on risks while ignoring benefits, norms, and efficacy

Building trust through demonstrating expertise, caring, integrity, shared values, and openness

The importance of cumulative thinking: why one-off activities rarely create lasting change

Practical tips for researchers at any level to start being more strategic today

How organisations can better support strategic communication through hiring and infrastructure

Website — strategicsciencecommunication.com

Resources — http://strategicsciencecommunication.com/resources

LinkedIn — linkedin.com/in/john-besley

View the full show notes, including a summary of practical tips on the Amplifying Research website: https://www.amplifyingresearch.com/podcast/34-lisa-grocott

Imagine stepping into a future where your research is creating the impact you've always hoped for. That's exactly what happens in a Tomorrow Party – an innovative method where researchers and stakeholders physically experience their desired futures rather than just planning for them. In this episode, Prof Lisa Grocott explains how this approach helps close the "imagination gap" that often prevents meaningful change. By creating spaces where people collectively imagine themselves already living in their preferred futures – speaking, feeling, and celebrating as if those futures are real – Tomorrow Parties generate the emotional connection and collective hope that traditional planning methods rarely achieve.

Lisa is Professor and Co-Director of WonderLab at Monash University and an Honorary Professor of Play at Design School Kolding (DSKD) in Denmark. Born in Aotearoa, New Zealand, Lisa is of Ngāti Kahungunu descent on her mother's side, with whakapapa from the UK on her father's side.

Her approach to designing for impact draws on both her co-design practice and Indigenous knowing, and is centered on creating transformative experiences that shift perspectives and unsettle everyday norms.

"What we realized at the end of the three days together was that almost every good idea we'd come up with had been seeded in that 30 minutes of us goofing around at the beginning... We realized that every time we tried to make it look a bit more like this intentional strategy it took away from something that the guests were telling us was the most important part of it, which was this idea that they never got to practice engaging with the future with their imaginations." -- Lisa Grocott

The Tomorrow Party began as a playful exercise before a funding application and evolved into a formal methodology supported by the Wellcome Foundation Trust. Unlike traditional planning methods that use scenarios or economic models, Tomorrow Parties invite participants to speak and act as if they're already living in futures 1, 3, or 5 years ahead. As Lisa describes it, participants don't just envision these futures cognitively – they actually feel them, creating emotional connections that drive genuine motivation and action.

Whether you're looking to align your research team around impact goals, engage meaningfully with diverse stakeholders, or simply break free from ineffective planning approaches, this episode offers a practical methodology you can start using immediately. Lisa walks us through the three-act structure of a Tomorrow Party and shares powerful stories of transformation – from Aboriginal community leaders finding their voice to cynical academics surprised by their own capacity for hope – demonstrating why this playful yet profound approach might be the missing element in your impact strategy.

How researchers can use imagination to bridge the gap between knowledge and meaningful action

The origins and evolution of the Tomorrow Party methodology

How emotional engagement and "felt experiences" create more memorable and motivating visions for the future

The connection between imagination, hope, and collective action

How to host your own Tomorrow Party to align teams, engage communities, or develop partnerships

Why unsettling established perspectives is critical for transformation

How to transform the feeling of possibility into practical action

Ways to keep the energy and vision of imagined futures alive in daily work

WonderLab (Monash University) -- https://www.monash.edu/mada/research/project/wonderlab

The Tomorrow Party -- https://tomorrowparty.org

View the full show notes, including a summary of practical tips on the Amplifying Research website: https://www.amplifyingresearch.com/podcast/33-mike-schafer

How is generative AI transforming the way research is communicated and understood by different audiences? Prof Mike S. Schäfer gives us a state of the union on the rapidly evolving world of AI and science communication.

Mike is a professor of science communication, the director of CHESS (Centre for Higher Education and Science Studies), and head of the Department of Communication and Media Research at the University of Zurich.

"In science communication, dialogue often, by many, is seen as the best way of doing science communication, but the challenge is having a dialogue with people who are not interested in science to begin with... It's difficult to scale up if you actually want to do face-to-face dialogue. And AI is great at that." -- Mike Schäfer

Whether you're a research leader looking to build your team's communication capacity or an individual researcher seeking to develop your skills, this episode offers practical advice on making training work for the long term.

How the general public is increasingly using tools like ChatGPT to get answers about science

The characteristics of early AI adopters and concerns about digital divides in AI literacy

How AI hallucinations and "pink slime" could impact scientific knowledge

The ways that ChatGPT and other models conceptualise and communicate science

Practical applications for researchers to experiment with AI in their communication efforts

The future of AI in science communication and the importance of keeping "humans in the loop"

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

CHESS — https://www.chess.uzh.ch/en.html

View the full show notes, including a summary of practical tips on the Amplifying Research website: https://www.amplifyingresearch.com/podcast/32-brendon-bosworth 

Looking to implement communication training that creates lasting change? Communication specialist Brendon Bosworth shares practical insights on choosing the right trainer, designing effective programs, and embedding communication skills in your research team.

Brendon Bosworth is a science communication trainer and principal consultant at Human Element Communications. He works with leading international organisations, research institutes, and universities including the UN Environment Program, FAO, and the University of Cape Town to make research on topics of global concern more accessible to non-specialists.

"My encouragement here is to really make science communication part of your mandate and your vision so that it's woven into the institutional way of doing things right from the start." -- Brendon Bosworth

Whether you're a research leader looking to build your team's communication capacity or an individual researcher seeking to develop your skills, this episode offers practical advice on making training work for the long term.

Linked In — https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendonbosworth/

Human Element Communications — https://www.humanelementcommunications.com

View the full show notes, including a summary of practical tips on the Amplifying Research website: https://www.amplifyingresearch.com/podcast/31-cameron-mcknight 

Looking to run events that researchers actually want to attend? Cameron McKnight shares practical insights on building sustainable research communities and running events that deliver real value.

Cameron McKnight is a PhD candidate at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, where his research focuses on modeling mitochondrial diseases using CRISPR-edited human pluripotent stem cells. He's also a passionate advocate for building better research communities, having led several successful programs designed to support researchers at all career stages.

"In the end, all of this is volunteer work for scientists. We don't get paid to run these events... But if you're going to do it, you're better off making a huge effort and changing it more dramatically." -- Cameron McKnight

From scheduling that works for busy researchers to documentation that ensures long-term success, Cameron offers practical advice you can start implementing today to make your research events and communities more impactful.

Why research networks and collaborations are crucial in modern science

Common pitfalls in running research events (and how to avoid them)

Practical strategies for organizing sustainable events on a budget

How to build consistency and continuity into volunteer-run programs

Making events accessible and valuable for all participants

Simple tools and systems for effective event organization

Building communities that extend beyond single events

The importance of proper handover documentation

Linked In — https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameron-mcknight-78740b44