Horizon 2020 – Dissemination During the Lockdown

The pandemic affects all of us in one way or another and projects funded by H2020 are no exceptions. The European Commission has introduced different measures to ease the difficulties beneficiaries are facing as a result of Covid-19. (See our article here.)

Even though project implementation may have become slower and no major in-person dissemination events can be planned in the foreseeable future, it does not mean that communicating about your project needs to be put on hold altogether. It is time to be creative to find ways to reach your audience. More than ever, people go online to find the information they need so it is important that your Horizon 2020 project’s website is up-to-date and provides all the content your target audience may be interested in.

A lot of project websites simply use public information from their description of action, starting with the abstract and finishing with a short description of the work packages and deliverables and a list of the participants. The public-facing website of your project could be and should be more than that to help your audience understand why your project matters and why it was a good idea from the donor organization to provide public funding for the implementation of your project.

Here are some key points that can help you create an engaging website for your EU-funded project:

• Start with clear navigation – make sure the information is structured and can be found easily.
• Use the language of your target audience – remember that the use of English is not as common as it is in the world of science and research. Consider translating content into other languages as well.
• Do you want your page to be found by search engines? Make sure that your website is search engine friendly.
• Provide content that is relevant.
• Your home page needs to provide a summary of what your project is about.
• Using pictures goes a long way in telling your story.
• Keep your website up to date – do not let posts/articles hang around if they are no longer relevant.
• Make it easy for visitors to contact you.
• Keep forms simple.
• Make sure you comply with the requirements as regards acknowledging funding from the EC.

Check out my services for further information on how I can help you set up engaging, multilingual websites.