For universities & research centres
Make your Centre of Excellence visible to the people who fund it, join it and write about it
The Research-to-Reach System: a 90-day programme that turns strong research into work that funders, policymakers, media and students actually see.
The gap
World-class research, invisible outside academia
Written for journals, not people
Faculty write for peer review. Funders, policymakers and journalists need the same work in plain language.
Every centre on its own
Each centre builds its own channels and voice, so the institution’s strength never adds up in public.
Strong on PR, thin on digital
Press releases go out. The people who decide funding and admissions scroll straight past them.
The system
Six parts, built to stay with your team
Audience map per centre
Who needs to know about each centre’s work — policy, industry, media, students, funders — and what each needs to hear.
Research translation framework
A repeatable way to turn a paper or project into a story for each audience, without losing accuracy.
Faculty content templates
Simple formats faculty can fill in quickly, so good material reaches your team on time.
Brand guardrails
Rules that keep each centre distinct while staying recognisably part of the institution.
One flagship campaign per centre
Planned, written and shipped inside 90 days, to show what the system can do.
Training for your team
Workshops and written guides, so the capability stays with your team after I step back.
How it runs
Two phases, with your sign-off in between
Phase 1 · 30 days
Audience map and positioning
Who each centre must reach, and the position it can own.
- Conversations with centre leads and faculty
- An audience map for policy, industry, media, students and funders
- Positioning and key messages for each centre
- A written plan for Phase 2
Your
sign-off
Phase 2 · days 31–90
Build, ship and hand over
The system goes to work, and your team learns to run it.
- Research translation framework and faculty templates
- Brand guardrails across centres
- One flagship campaign per centre
- Training so the capability stays with your team
Phase 2 begins only when you are happy with Phase 1. If it isn’t right, the engagement ends there.
Proof
I’ve done this from the inside
20+
Centres of Excellence
At Ashoka University I worked with more than 20 Centres of Excellence, turning their research into stories for policy, media and the public.
I know how research centres work: the committees, the approvals, the faculty who are rightly protective of their work. The system is built for that reality.
Working together
How engagement works for institutions
A written proposal
After a first conversation, you get a short proposal: scope, phases, timelines and what your team provides.
Phased scope
Every engagement starts with Phase 1. You commit to Phase 2 only once you have seen the work.
Clear invoicing
One invoice per phase, in your institution’s name, with the paperwork finance teams expect.
Procurement support
I can complete vendor registration and supply the documents your procurement process needs.
Next step
Let’s talk about your centre
Tell me about the centre and the audience you most want to reach. I’ll reply within one working day with a few questions, or a time to talk.