How to spread your own innovations Taco Brandsen Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Introduction Everything prior to dissemination is preparation But: often not part of academic training Understanding professional communities is the key to effectiveness Now: highly personal recommendations

Academics Various tribes with rituals, sacred places and gods Where do you belong? Conferences: quality varies highly; considerable risk of disappointment

Criticisms / questions for all situations “Have you read... ?” “This was already studied extensively by [....] How does your work relate to their findings?” “Why have you not also done [another theory or method] ?” Imply that the methodology is not strict enough

Conferences Take time to find the right audience(s) Build sustained relationships Invest in presentations: it’s all most people will ever see

Journals Increasingly important The terrors of peer review and “impact factors” Choose journals carefully Never submit to more than one journal simultaneously

Talking to practitioners Many different views whether and how to do this Different approaches: (1)Parallel universes; (2) Cooperation in output; (3) Cooperation in agenda-setting What is lost in translation?

Effectiveness? Research on research: quality matters less than timing and interests Taxonomy often more appreciated than analysis

Effectiveness among practitioners Respect great variety of views and needs Become familiar and identifiable Use the dissertation as a database

Recommendations for all situations “We need more research / data” “We need more money” “We need to define our goals / concepts more clearly” “We need improved communication / dialogue with stakeholders”

Conclusion Don’t start thinking about dissemination at the end Take your time to build an audience