Summer 2006
From the Chair
Science in school
How to communicate for business success
Science communication -the African way
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Stempra newsletter
How to communicate for business success
If you want to change the world with your idea then your need to build a reputation as an expert in your field, as Stempra members heard at the 2006 AGM.
Nigel Clarke, a director of Advanced Transport Systems Ltd (ATS), told members that communications was an essential part of any business plan which relied upon a change in people’s perceptions for its success. But rather than hitting your target audiences for the first time with the revolutionary new idea, it is vitally important that your key scientist first becomes established as a regular and reliable media commentator on the topic you aim to challenge.
That is why Martin Lowson, the University of Bristol engineer behind ULTra, the radical transport system being developed by ATS, has become an established commentator on UK transport issues.The company has recently received a massive £7.5m investment from BAA to develop its transport system for Heathrow airport, much of which Nigel puts down to the established authority of the behind-the-scenes ‘boffin’.
“With ULTra we are looking to influence the strategic transport decision making process at different levels,” said Nigel.“ To do this we have to establish a position of authority on transport issues, which is why we wheel out the professor to talk to the media about UK transport issues whenever they arise. “This helps build our influence in the sector, and helps spread the word of the concept we are introducing, the system we are developing and the company itself.”
Through its small in-house operation, the company has also developed a neat way of mapping its target audiences, rating their overall importance and developing ways of reaching them with their messages. This helps break the overwhelming challenge of generating a revolution in public transport into more manageable bite-sized chunks. His advice for communications professionals is to work a bit more closely with the suited knowledge transfer types – it might just help change the world.
www.atsltd.co.uk
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