Our webinar delved into successful project communication and interaction. The session was a return to Kaskas’ roots, as the company originally began as a creative science communication agency.
Maria Ruuska, founder and CEO of Kaskas, kicked off the session with an introduction to the basic principles of planning project communication. Mari Taskinen, Research Coordinator at the University of Turku, shared effective practices from the JuRe-STN project.
Ruuska emphasized how communication enhances a project’s impact:
“At Kaskas, we believe communication is the engine of a project’s impact – never just decoration”, she stated.
A communication plan is the compass of project communication
Both Maria Ruuska and Mari Taskinen highlighted planning as the most crucial element of successful project communication. The communication plan should be grounded in the project’s impact goals.
Taskinen pointed out that a good plan facilitates project management, frees up resources, and provides clarity for project operations.
“The time spent on planning at the beginning will pay off during the project”, she emphasized.
Ruuska underlined the importance of involving all key stakeholders in the communication planning process. Each partner organization or work package should have at least one participant in the planning. This builds commitment, shared understanding, a common direction, and clear ground rules among partners.
“The time spent on planning at the beginning will pay off during the project.”
– Mari Taskinen
The plan should clearly spell out who does what and when. A good communication plan also includes prioritization – the goals shouldn’t be too numerous, and target audiences must be precisely defined.
“Be concrete when identifying communication audiences. ‘The general public’ is not a target audience”, Ruuska emphasized.
Face-to-face engagement still matters for key stakeholders
Mari Taskinen stressed that when planning project interaction, the most important stakeholders should be engaged as early as the application phase.
To motivate stakeholder participation, the project team must clearly communicate what the stakeholders stand to gain from the collaboration.
“When we succeeded in organizing an event in cooperation with the media in the JuRe project, we managed to attract members of parliament and even the Chancellor of Justice”, Taskinen shared.
There are many ways to engage stakeholders. Both Taskinen and Ruuska emphasized that in-person meetings are especially important for core stakeholder groups.
“Be concrete when identifying communication audiences. ‘The general public’ is not a target audience.”
– Maria Ruuska
Both speakers also highlighted the value of stakeholder feedback. Ruuska noted that this feedback can be invaluable when communication efforts face challenges. Taskinen described how the JuRe project conducted a round of stakeholder interviews after the first year:
“The interviews were eye-opening – we received truly valuable feedback”, she reflected.
Collaboration, reusable content, and existing channels save resources
So how can you maximize project communication with limited resources? Ruuska and Taskinen both stressed the benefits of collaboration and leveraging existing channels. Established networks and partner channels often reach target audiences more effectively than newly created ones.
Support for communication can also come from sister projects. The JuRe project, for example, shared themes and stakeholders with its sibling projects, making joint communication practical and efficient.
The speakers also emphasized repurposing communication content. Ruuska and Taskinen shared examples of how a single scientific publication can serve as a foundation for various content formats – saving costs and reinforcing consistent messaging.
“Avoid isolated communication efforts. For instance, one report can be adapted into a blog post, LinkedIn updates, infographics, an op-ed, and even interviews or a podcast”, Ruuska said.
Taskinen explained how JuRe-STN produced accessible summaries of key academic publications, which were then used in multiple contexts.
When setting up new communication channels or planning activities, quality over quantity is key. It all comes back to thoughtful planning. When communication content and channels are designed with the project’s impact goals and key audiences in mind, success is much more likely.
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Do you need expert support with project communication? At Kaskas, we master the entire process – from planning to execution. Don’t hesitate to get in touch!