27 May Communication

When research becomes value, words matter too

Technology transfer is one of those fundamental processes that often acts silently. Yet, it is the cog that allows scientific knowledge to come out of the laboratories and become something concrete: a solution, an application, a service. But if it is not told, even the most advanced innovation remains invisible.

Today more than ever, communicating technology transfer (TT) is not an ancillary choice, but a strategic step. Telling it means making it accessible, understandable, valued. It is the way in which a public research body like INFN demonstrates that the science it produces can generate social, economic and cultural impact.

Antonella Varaschin, Head of Institutional Communication and Media at INFN, clearly emphasizes this: “Communicating technology transfer means recognizing that science has an impact, and that this impact must be shared. Explaining how an intuition or a solution developed for research can become a useful tool for society is an act of responsibility towards the community.”

How does this vision translate?

Every day, the INFN laboratories see the continuous development of ideas, the improvement of technologies, the discovery and pursuit of new solutions. Many of these were created to meet needs related to fundamental physics, but find applications in various sectors – from medicine to security, passing through cultural heritage and the energy transition.

Communication, in this context, can become a strategic and effective tool to amplify what has been discovered and/or achieved, allowing to achieve objectives that are different from the purely scientific ones but equally important for the purposes of the research itself:

• Strengthening the bond of trust: by creating a common language between science, institutions and citizens, communication strengthens mutual trust and breaks down the barriers that often separate these worlds.
• Create opportunities for collaboration: communication facilitates the understanding by companies, investors and decision-makers of the real value of what happens in the laboratories, and therefore stimulates new collaborations.
• Enhancing internal awareness: communicating the activities carried out in laboratories helps researchers to recognize technology transfer as an integral and fundamental part of their work, which goes beyond scientific publication, positively impacting society.

A story that starts with the people

Communicating technology transfer requires method, vision and sensitivity. How do you manage, in practice, to transform an innovation into a story that really reaches people? With an accessible but rigorous language, capable of adapting to different audiences and contexts. We also need a narrative approach that goes beyond technical data: telling means putting stories, people, challenges at the center.

Integrating the communication of the TT into the information flows of the INFN, as well as into the broader scientific narratives, means strengthening the positioning of the institution also in terms of impact and capacity for innovation. It is also important to remember that the communication of the TT cannot be the task of a few. Everyone can be a protagonist: communicators, of course, but also researchers, administrators, industrial partners.

“Il cuore del lavoro sono le persone. Il gruppo del Trasferimento Tecnologico dell’INFN lavora fianco a fianco con il personale di ricerca e i partner, valorizzando le loro competenze non solo sul piano tecnico, ma anche umano e comunicativo. Perché il trasferimento tecnologico non è fatto solo di invenzioni, ma di relazioni”, ricorda Antonella Varaschin: “Comunicare il TT non è solo spiegare: è coinvolgere, far capire, creare connessioni”.

The commitment of INFN

With this vision, INFN invests resources and attention in communication. A commitment that translates into concrete initiatives, such as the website – updated and dynamic – where news on activities and projects are told with care and clarity, starting from their cataloguing: the “ABC of Innovation” column offers an opportunity to deepen the key concepts of technology transfer following the alphabetical order; the column “Behind the scenes of innovation“, on the other hand, offers an inside look at the INFN project. Open and tells the daily work of the TT team, from international congresses to research calls, up to updates on the sector. “From the laboratory to the world”, then, collects success stories, divided by areas of application – from electronics to medicine, from the environment to safety – and shows how the technologies developed in the INFN laboratories find concreteness in society. Finally, with “People of TT”, people are given a voice: researchers, referents, collaborators tell their paths, training experiences and daily work in the field, restoring a human face to innovation.

Social media, in particular LinkedIn, are the platform to test new formats and ways of storytelling with the aim to reach a professional audience and amplify the visibility of the activities, starting from the personal profiles of the TT team and what is shared on the INFN page. Finally, the nascent newsletter will represent a tool for dialogue with an increasingly large and diversified community.

How researchers are involved in this process? INFN organized focus groups involving them, to investigate their perceptions and needs in relation to the communication of technology transfer, with the aim of making them protagonists of these changes. In addition, INFN is working on internal training courses focused on technology transfer, which will be held in the coming months and will be dedicated to TT representatives. These moments of discussion are essential to align the communication strategy and ensure that everyone is a protagonist of this cultural change.

So, the invitation is simple. To those who work with us, to those who follow us from the outside, to those who are curious, to those who want to understand: get involved. Let us tell your story.