by Allison Stevens - examples of communication work completed for development research in universities in South Africa.

1. MANAGED A POLICY BRIEF SERIES
Designed a standard format; worked with researchers to edit research into two pages; disseminated
briefs

2. MANAGED AN ‘INFORMATION SHEET’ CAMPAIGN
This campaign set out to contribute to public debate about key health care issues in South Africa.
Conceptualised standard format and length. Worked with a professor to come up with the structure
of each information sheet. Edited and designed final products. Disseminated information sheets.
Later, the campaign was extended to Ghana and Tanzania and the products were given out at a
policy workshop in Ghana. Received a Marketing Advancement & Communication in Education award in
2011 for this campaign.

3. WORKED WITH EXTERNAL PROVIDERS TO PRODUCE PROMOTIONAL
FLYERS

4. CONCEPTUALISED, WROTE & DESIGNED RESEARCH PROJECT FLYERS

5. COLLATED E-NEWSLETTERS

6. REDEISGNED EXISTING WEBSITES AND INTRODUCED NEW WEBSITES
Overhauled existing institutional website, restructured information, added new pages (e.g., media
coverage), added new web capabilities (e.g., blog, news, RSS feeds). Worked with researchers and
providers to design project websites.

7. INITIATED SOCIAL MEDIA PROJECTS
A Facebook page for the organisation, and a Twitter account for a research project

8. DESIGNED PROMOTIONAL POSTERS

9. PREPARED MATERIAL TO DOCUMENT THE UNIT’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY

10. CREATED POSTERS TO MARKET POSTGRADUATE COURSES

11. ASSISTED TO ORGANISE A PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBIT IN LONDON
Got permission from government authorities and went with a fieldwork manager and a professional
photograph to take photographs of key research sites in the Western Cape, South Africa. Some of
these photographs were displayed at a research conference in London.

12. BLOGGING
Wrote blogs for Research to Action to share my work experiences and get feedback from other
researchers and communication officers. Example articles:
Interview with Biomed Central’s Publishing Director Deborah Kahn
Inside BioMed Central at the 3rd Open Access Africa conference
Out of Africa: Non-academics need more open access awareness
Open Access: Reflections from the field of research communication
Researchers need training in social media: Try the coaching approach
Some impacts of communication are so elusive: Facebook and beyond