Dennis Meredith, with more than four decades' experience in research communication and science writing, can meet your communication needs. Author of Explaining Research, he offers expert, cost-effective research communication workshops, talks,  and consulting to help you address a wide range of issues and problems. And as a writer, he brings the expertise of preparing thousands of news releases and feature articles on science and engineering.

Communication Workshops

Dennis gives talks on such topics as how to define, target, and reach important audiences in the vastly altered media and communication landscape of today. His talks include practical guidance on how to use Web sites, social media, and other outlets effectively, and how to create compelling text and multimedia communications.

He can also address more conceptual issues, such as the culture of communication among scientists, and between scientists and their lay audiences; and how that culture impacts the advance of science and technology. For example, he contends that science lacks a culture of explanation that hinders scientists' and engineers' careers, as well as the health of their fields.

Dennis brings to his news release, feature, and Web writing decades of experience communicating such fields as molecular biology, medical sciences, engineering and astronomy for leading research universities and foundations. See this sample of his news and feature articles.

His news releases can clearly and concisely explain research advances at your institution to media and other important audiences. And his Web and feature articles can vividly portray the excitement of your research to your readers.

• Is your research communication program optimally organized and managed?
• Are you getting the most return on your communications investment?
• Are your news releases, Web site, and other products as compelling and effective as they can be?
• Do they reach the right targets, not only media but other important audiences?
• How will you make the most of that major news story?
• How will you cope with that research communication crisis?

Dennis's flexible consulting and editing plans can address these issues and more. His cost-effective program features no-cost development of a consulting plan to meet your needs.

Custom Consulting Plans
For institutions seeking strategic communication planning or solutions to broad problems or issues, here are the steps to developing a custom consulting plan:

1. Initial discussion of project, problem or issue. Cost: free
2. Formulating draft consulting plan, budget and deliverables. Cost: free
3. Refining consulting plan, budget and deliverables. Cost: free
4. Executing consulting plan and implementing solution. Cost: consulting fee plus agreed-upon expenses.

Research Communication Enhancement Packages
Dennis also offers comprehensive communication enhancement packages for institutions that need a broad review of their research communication program and a guide to improvement. For example:

The consulting package offers a comprehensive communications analysis and a detailed roadmap to improvement.

The prosulting package involves helping the institution develop its own self-analysis, which can produce a realistic set of goals and programs that take advantage of the staff's insights into the institution's organizational and budgetary capabilities and constraints.

The Enhancement Consulting Package can comprise

• Critical audit of all research communications.
• Interviewing designated administrators, managers, and staff members about their research communication program.
• Interviewing representatives of key audiences.
• Producing a comprehensive report analyzing the institution's research communication capabilities, challenges, and opportunities. Also, the report will outline steps to implement recommended changes, including launching new programs and products and improving existing ones.
• Long-term follow-up phone and e-mail consulting to help implement report recommendations.

The Enhancement Prosulting Package can comprise

• Initial consulting for managers on how to develop a self-analysis of capabilities, challenges, and opportunities. This self-analysis will also include recommendations for new programs and products and improvements on existing programs.
• Critical audit of all research communications.
• Interviewing designated administrators, managers, and staff members in the context of the self-analysis.
• Interviewing representatives of key audiences in the context of the self-analysis.
• Working with managers and staff to refine self-analysis and guide its implementation.
• Long-term follow-up phone and e-mail consulting to help implement self-analysis recommendations.

News Release Editorial Tune-Up
News releases are the most important product of a research communication program. The news release editorial tune-up seeks to enhance the quality and impact of an institution's news releases and the capabilities of its writers. Dennis will edit an agreed-upon number of releases during the production process and use that editing as a mentoring tool to coach the writers to enhance their reporting and writing skills. He will also advise on photography, video, podcast, and illustration possibilities.

Hourly Consulting
To address narrower questions, Dennis also offers phone and e-mail consultation, as well as editorial/mentoring services, at a rate of $150/hr. Minimum is 30 minutes, which can be used in segments over a month.