Promoting accessibility in research communication

A common challenge that research institutions face is disseminating research results to the right audience in an accessible manner, says Figen Eker, news service director at AlphaGalileo. “In the age of digital media, we have access to so much information. But this doesn’t necessarily go with a good understanding of subjects covered by research articles, especially if the information is complex,” says Eker.

AlphaGalileo is a research news service that helps research institutions streamline research communication by connecting them with bona fide journalists. Founded in 1998, AlphaGalileo’s initial focus was promoting Europe’s research achievements, but it soon expanded its scope to improving research communication internationally.

AlphaGalileo has a database of 7,400 journalists who have registered with the platform after a thorough application process. It uses a set of targeted keywords to publish research news and send alerts to its registered journalists based on their specific interests. “The news goes to those who are interested in the subject, so they can write about it,” says Eker. This enables press offices to target their content directly to the journalists most likely to be interested. 

“It’s the same with the region,” says Kate Bourne, director of technology at AlphaGalileo. When journalists sign up, they choose the countries or regions that they’re interested in so the information they receive is curated for those regions. The platform also supports multilingual content to enhance global reach and enables press offices to post their research news releases in as many languages as they choose. 

AlphaGalileo’s vision is to make research accessible to diverse audiences across the world. “We work with press offices and communication officers instead of researchers directly. This helps to simplify the process because their job is to make complex research topics more understandable and accessible for people who are not experts in that field,” Eker says. “We help people understand the advances in research and the practical implications that can result from it.”

Eker says that the solutions AlphaGalileo offers can be summed up using two words: effectiveness and reliability. The platforms support institutions to improve efficiency in research communication. “We try very hard to keep everything streamlined and simplify research news in an overwhelming world of information,” says Bourne. 

Another key feature of the platform is reliability. While researchers and press offices have access to a wide range of technological tools and platforms to share their research, this can be overwhelming. Adding to this challenge are concerns about false and inaccurate information, especially with the rise of modern technologies such as social media and AI.

“With all of this technology at our fingertips, there’s also the responsibility to make sure that the information being put across is correct,” says Bourne. “What’s great about our service is that the press releases are coming directly from the source – from the institutions that are doing the research – disseminated through us directly to the journalists,” she concludes.

Find out more about AlphaGalileo.