2️⃣Eye opening

How can we boost the visibility of our community-led action?

This section highlights key methods that can be collectively developed with the Citizen Observatory participants and creatives to enhance visibility. A creative communication strategy and strategically utilising different communication channels, both online and offline, can effectively promote our community-led action and help us to both, engage in our local context, and potentially tap into broader networks such as the Distributed Design Platform.

Remember, a multi-faceted creative approach is key to increasing visibility. Your community-led action can reach a broader audience by combining a strong social media campaign, connecting to existing creative networks, offline communication efforts and online digital presence.

Why is it relevant?

Visibility helps create awareness and generate interest among community members, potential participants, and stakeholders. It allows for effective communication of the community-led action's objectives, benefits, and unique features, ultimately attracting more individuals to engage and participate. Increased visibility leads to broader support, collaboration opportunities, and potential partnerships, further enhancing the action's success.

How can this be done?

This section provides a range of tools that can serve as guides and sources of inspiration for enhancing the visibility of your community-led action that can be collectively developed with creatives and artists. Whether you are seeking guidance on social media campaigns, offline communication in the neighbourhood, establishing an online digital presence, or connecting with the communication channels of the Distributed Design Platform, these resources will equip you with insights and tools to make your action more visible and impactful.

Digital Presence

Based on the Citizen Sensing Toolkit from the Making Sense Project, digital presence tools can take different forms: sometimes it can be a dedicated website, but in other cases this might not be necessary and already existing platforms such as blogs, Instagram or Twitter can be used to boost the visibility of the action campaign. Regardless of the platform used, the aim is to document the ambition of the community, the progress towards the goals, as well as the most important collective events and outcomes. Creative practitioners are important team members who can support creating creative and purposeful online presences. A digital presence can serve as a good reference for explaining the community efforts, but also recruit new participants.

Citizen Sensing: A Toolkit (page 120)

Outreach: Amplifying your actions and open calls through the Distributed Design Platform

Organisations and groups can leverage the extensive reach and visibility of the Distributed Design Platform channels to effectively share their actions and open calls with a diverse audience. Your CO can gain the opportunity to showcase your work, connect with a global community of designers, makers, and creatives, and attract potential collaborators by submitting your open calls and community-led actions to the platform. Through the platform's communication channels, such as its website, social media accounts, and online exhibitions, CO’s can effectively promote their activities, projects, and open calls to a wide range of target audiences.

Get in touch with [email protected] to amplify your action.

Communication Handbook

The Communication Handbook is a basic, helpful guide developed by Fab Lab Barcelona | IAAC. Drawing from their expertise in design, dissemination, communication, and outreach for education, research, and innovation projects, this handbook offers valuable insights and practical advice for those seeking to engage with communities, stakeholders, and audiences in purposeful projects through communication channels. It includes tools such as defining the narrative, defining target audiences, communication channels, and social media statistics.

Fab Lab BCN Communication Handbook

Useful resources

Communication in Citizen Science – A practical guide to communication and engagement in citizen science - SCivil

This guide provides useful approaches and offers different methods for engaging volunteers and communicating effectively your citizen science project.

WeObserve Cookbook

I want to achieve impact with Citizen Observatory results by communicating the Citizen Observatory results effectively. This section of the Cookbook provides relevant content and tools for communicating your Citizen Observatory, such as good practices, papers and guidelines, among others.

You may also be interested in...

• Our section on working with creatives

• Where can we find local creatives to work with?