BlueHealth Communications

Science communications for a Horizon 2020 research project

BlueHealth was a pan-European research initiative funded by Horizon 2020, investigating the links between blue environments, climate and health.

After four years, BlueHeath needed a final year communications strategy to be designed and delivered, to promote the final work of all nine international partners.

With a core focus on engagement, research impact and maximising publicity, I delivered a cross-channel strategy. This work included a large website development project, the creation of the BlueHealth Toolbox resource, and the delivery of an international webinar in collaboration with SEArica and the European Marine Board.

BlueHealth website

As the BlueHealth project entered its final year, the team needed to create a legacy for the project. Working with internal colleagues and a superb web developer, we rebuilt the site to house 25 complex scientific research investigations that were both user friendly and shareable. Once live, the research projects landing page received over 8000 page views in six months. From January – July 2020 the BlueHealth website received 31,500 page views in total.

BlueHealth Toolbox

The BlueHealth Toolbox was a collaborative resource created by BlueHealth partners. I project managed the copywriting, design and dissemination of the resource, which provided a platform to market each of BlueHealth’s individual research assessment tools to targeted networks of urban planners and decision-makers.

The Toolbox received a total of 825 web page views in 3 months, with readers spending an average of 1.53 minutes on the page. After the launch, the Toolbox generated 7% of all website views, providing a great opportunity to drive new traffic to the site.

Content and media highlights

Alongside writing blogs, web content and social media, I also delivered regular press releases to be disseminated by the University of Exeter. Top stories included Green Prescriptions and Mental Health and Coastal living linked with better mental health which featured in more than 40 news outlets across more than 120 countries. This research inspired the Guardian’s article about blue spaces which was shared more than 28,000 times. Here is a link to more press highlights.