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Welcome to a slightly unusual 
episode of Under the Microscope 

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podcast. 
My name is Pranav Dikshit Sagar 

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and I'm your host. 
I'm also the founder of The 

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Science Talk, where we empower 
and enable scientists to share 

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their stories in digital spaces 
with confidence and ease. 

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In today's solo episode, I'm 
going to give you 3 foundations 

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of a successful outreach 
strategy for a research project.

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So most scientists have 
something powerful to say, but 

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when it comes to how to say it 
or where to say it, especially 

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beyond their academic circles, 
many scientists get stuck. 

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The truth is that a successful 
outreach strategy is an 

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accidental, it's intentional, 
it's repeatable, and it's almost

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always rests on three 
foundational pillars, Define and

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align, craft the message, and 
choose the channels and format. 

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And today I'm going to walk you 
through how we applied structure

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for the Contour project, which 
was a year long global science 

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outreach campaign following the 
journey of a quantum light 

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source across 12 labs in 12 
months. 

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So the first foundational pillar
is define and align. 

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This includes who is this for 
and why? 

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Now before jumping into videos, 
press releases or podcasts, ask 

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who do we want to reach? 
What do we want them to feel? 

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And who else can help us amplify
this? 

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For Contour, this meant building
an audience genuinely interested

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and curious about quantum 
science, not just the 

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specialists working in the field
of quantum science and 

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technology. 
The second, the goal was putting

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the spotlight on the scientists 
and the labs contributing to the

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campaign. 
Third, was partnering with 

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science societies and 
universities globally to boost 

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credibility and reach. 
After that comes crafting the 

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message, which is essentially, 
what's the story you're telling?

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By this point you already know 
who you are speaking to and why,

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and now it is time to articulate
the what. 

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What do you want to tell them? 
What is take home message for 

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them? 
For Contour, our narrative was 

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simple but powerful. 12 months, 
12 laps, one source. 

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We followed the journey of a 
quantum light source and the 

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people behind it. 
We wanted audiences to see both 

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the technology and the human 
stories driving quantum research

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forward. 
And now the third foundational 

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pillar to choose the channels 
and the formats. 

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Once your story is clear, it's 
time to get it out there 

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strategically. 
Different audiences hang out in 

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different places, and the same 
message can take on many 

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formats. 
In Contour, we used podcast, 

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videos, visuals, press coverage,
website, social media, physical 

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media as well like stickers, 
posters, conferences, 

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newspapers. 
The same story reached 

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policymakers, students, and the 
public in different ways. 

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Without diluting the message. 
This is very, very important. 

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Without diluting the message. 
These are the three foundations 

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of a successful outreach 
strategy for a research project.

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To summarize, first, define and 
align the audiences. 

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Who is it for and why? 
Second foundational pillar is to

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craft the key message, which 
essentially is what's the story 

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you're telling? 
And the third is to choose the 

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right channels and formats. 
Let me tell you this, these 

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pillars are the foundation, but 
how you execute them depends on 

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your topic, timeline, goals and 
audience. 

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Whether it's a one day event or 
a year long celebration like 

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Contour, the process remains 
grounded in the same strategic 

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structure. 
So the bottom line here is 

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whether you are building an 
outreach campaign from scratch 

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or contributing to a larger 
dissemination work. 

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Coming back to these three 
foundations, audience message in

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format can bring much needed 
clarity and direction. 

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That's the approach I take in my
work, helping scientists and 

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innovation driven teams turn 
complex ideas into content that 

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resonates. 
Remember, it's not about being 

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everywhere. 
It's about showing up with 

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purpose and making your work 
accessible, relatable, and 

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memorable. 
I hope this was useful. 

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If it was, do share it with your
friend or your colleague and use

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these foundational pillars and 
ways of thinking when you are 

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working on your next science 
communication, dissemination, or

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outreach strategy. 
And if you're planning an 

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outreach initiative or looking 
to integrate podcasting or 

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strategic content into your next
proposal or project, I would 

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love to help the outreach 
strategy as you shared. 

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Well, that's the same framework 
I bring to the projects I 

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support, whether it's a podcast,
production, research, 

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dissemination, or a campaign 
designed for institutes or 

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consortia. 
Thank you for listening and I 

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will see you in the next one.