The EIT Health communications strategy workshop took place in Barcelona on 7-8 July. It was held at the offices of P.A.U. Education, which has been awarded the EIT Health communication services contract until the end of 2015.
The workshop aimed to begin defining the new key messages for EIT Health, and to define and agree on how communication should evolve over the next 18 months. A more specific strategy was also decided for the next six months, to be further developed and implemented by P.A.U. Education.
The workshop used creative methods to generate ideas. For example, to create the communications timeline, the participants separated into small groups to answer questions such as ‘In 6 months, EIT Health will be_________? 12 months after that (2016), EIT Health will be_________?’
All ideas were received by the other group members in a positive and respectful atmosphere, helping to ensure that participants freely shared their thoughts. The group also discussed topics such as building trust with EIT Health partners, and framing key messages for the different target groups.
The target groups themselves were a key topic of discussion, as there are many diverse groups to communicate with at specific moments throughout the timeline. These groups include researchers, policy makers, citizens, entrepreneurs, EIT Health partners, industry stakeholders and more. The workshop addressed how to best communicate with each one of them.
After two full days of strategic planning, the participants agreed upon the next steps to be taken to put the planning into action, defining who would do what, by when. The coming weeks and months will begin to reveal the results of this careful and creative planning.
