When Does a Research Project Need a Communications Work Package?
More research projects are building communication into their design from the start – not as an afterthought or a box to tick in the dissemination section, but as a dedicated work package with its own budget, deliverables, lead, and place in the project structure.
This is a good development. But a full communications work package isn't right for every project. It requires resources, coordination, and a certain scale of communication ambition. Knowing when one is genuinely needed and what it actually involves can help you make a more informed decision at the proposal stage, before the budget is set and the structure is fixed.
What a communications work package is
A communications work package is more than "we'll write some blog posts and send a newsletter." It's a structured communications function embedded within a research project, with its own objectives, activities, outputs, and reporting.
In practice, this typically includes:
Strategy. A communication strategy developed at the start of the project, aligned with the research goals and grounded in a clear understanding of what the project is trying to achieve and what role communication plays in that. Not a generic plan, but one built around this project, these audiences, and these goals.
Identity. For larger or multi-partner projects, a coherent visual and editorial identity that ensures all communication looks and feels consistent, regardless of which partner produces it.
Content. Ongoing production of content across the project lifecycle. Articles, reports, summaries, social media, web copy, event materials, infographics, video – whatever the project needs to reach its audiences at the right moments.
Stakeholder engagement. Communication that supports relationships with key audiences, not just broadcasts to them. This might include regular updates for funders, stakeholder newsletters, community engagement, or policy-facing outputs.
Partner coordination. In multi-partner projects, someone needs to ensure that communication across the consortium is consistent, that messages are aligned, and that approval processes work without becoming a bottleneck.
Monitoring and reporting. Tracking reach, engagement, and – where possible – outcomes, and reporting on these to funders and partners at regular intervals. It's worth being honest here: measuring the impact of communication is genuinely difficult. Reach and engagement of, say, social media posts can be tracked. Whether communication actually changed understanding, behaviour, or policy is much harder to demonstrate. Agreeing on realistic metrics from the start saves difficult conversations later.
A communications work package lead is responsible for all of this. They may deliver some of it directly and coordinate others to deliver the rest. They are, in effect, the project's communications function.
Signs your project needs dedicated communications support
Not every project needs a full work package, but some signals suggest that communication deserves more than a line in the project plan.
Multiple partners with different priorities. When a project brings together research institutions, NGOs, government bodies, and private sector partners – each with their own communication styles, audiences, and agendas – someone needs to hold the communication together. Without that, messaging fragments, inconsistencies emerge, and the project's voice becomes muddled.
Policy-facing work. If your research is intended to inform policy decisions, communication is not optional. It's part of the mechanism by which the research achieves its goals. Policy-facing projects need communication that is strategic, timely, and built around the decision-making processes you're trying to influence.
Sensitive or complex topics. Research involving vulnerable communities, contested science, or politically charged subjects requires careful communication throughout the project – not just at publication. This includes attention to language and framing around the people involved or affected by the research, not just around the science itself. Getting the approach right from the start requires dedicated attention.
Public engagement requirements. Many funders now require meaningful public engagement, not just dissemination. Delivering genuine public engagement alongside the research demands planning, capacity, and expertise that most research teams don't have internally.
Significant funder visibility expectations. Some funders – particularly at the European level – expect regular, high-quality communication outputs as part of the grant conditions. Meeting those expectations while also doing the research requires dedicated resources.
A project that genuinely needs to reach beyond specialist audiences. If your research findings need to reach policymakers, practitioners, communities, or the public to have impact, that reach doesn't happen by accident. It requires strategy, effort, and someone responsible for making it happen.
What to include in a communications work package
If you're building a communications work package into a research proposal, here's what to think about.
Budget. Communication costs money. Those costs can include staff time, design, translation, travel to events, and developing and maintaining websites and other platforms. A common mistake is to underbudget communication and then find that the work can't be delivered to the standard required. Be realistic about what good communication costs and make the case for it in the proposal.
A dedicated lead. Someone needs to own the communication function. This might be an internal team member with the right skills, or an external consultant or agency brought in for the purpose. Either way, responsibility needs to be clear from the start.
A strategy phase. Build in time and budget at the beginning of the project to develop the communication strategy before content production begins. This is where you define your goals, audiences, messages, and approach – and it makes everything that follows more coherent and effective.
Approval processes. In multi-partner projects, agreeing on how content gets reviewed and approved before it goes out is essential. Without a clear process, content gets stuck, partners feel bypassed, and communication slows to a crawl.
Ethical considerations. Depending on your research topic, communication may need to navigate ethical questions – around participant confidentiality, sensitive language, community consent, or the representation of vulnerable groups. Build in time and expertise to handle these properly.
KPIs. Research involving vulnerable communities, contested science, or politically charged subjects requires careful communication throughout the project – not just at publication. This includes attention to language and framing around the people involved or affected by the research, not just the science itself. Getting the approach right from the start requires dedicated attention.
What if you don't need a full work package?
A communications work package is a significant commitment. However, not every project can afford one – or necessarily needs one. Smaller projects, shorter timeframes, or more limited communication ambitions may be better served by something lighter.
Here are some alternatives worth considering:
A communication strategy session. A focused half-day or full-day session at the start of the project to develop a clear communication plan that outlines your audiences, messages, channels, and responsibilities. This gives the project a coherent direction without the ongoing cost of a work package.
A communication review. Bringing in external expertise at a specific point in the project to review what's working, identify gaps, and recommend adjustments. Useful for projects that started without a clear communication plan and need to course-correct.
Support for specific deliverables. Rather than having ongoing communication support, commissioning specific outputs such as a policy brief, a plain language summary, an article or blog post, or a project website from someone with the right expertise may be a better approach. This works well when the communication needs are well-defined.
Communication is most effective when it's built into a project from the start. But if you're already mid-project, it's not too late to start improving your communications. If you want to think through what communication support might look like, Ocean Oculus can help. Find out more about our communication strategy services and get in touch.
