Annual Scientific Report 2015

External Relations
As the role of bioinformatics in improving health and economic benefit becomes
more prominent, so the task of engaging EMBL-EBI’s diverse stakeholders takes
on greater significance. Our team handles public relations and communications
for the institute as a whole, engaging with diverse stakeholders on multiple
platforms and in person. Our goal is to convey the value of EMBL-EBI to different
audiences in a clear, comprehensible and professional manner.
We support the work of EMBL-EBI’s many ambassadors,
in particular the institute’s Directors and team leaders,
in fostering good relations with policymakers, funders,
potential collaborators and service users throughout
the world. We work with leadership to refine and
deliver key messages, and host visiting delegations of
scientists, politicians and industry representatives (12
delegations in 2015). We endeavour to raise the profile
of the EMBL-EBI brand by generating high-quality
content and disseminating it through the press, our
top-level website, social media channels, newsletters
and printed publications. We also provide editorial
and graphic design support to individuals throughout
the organisation, helping them raise awareness of
EMBL-EBI data services.
Major achievements
On the occasion of Janet Thornton stepping down as
Director of EMBL-EBI, all staff were invited to mark
the occasion in a day of celebrations on the Wellcome
Genome Campus. Our team planned and produced the
event, collaborated with staff to deliver an engaging,
visually compelling team challenge game and liaised
with an array of vendors.
We organised, publicised and created media for a
large-scale event for entrepreneurs in genomics called
BioBeat15: Translating Genomics to Biobusiness.
Supported by the Sex in Science Programme and in
collaboration with BioBeat, the programme included
over a dozen leaders in biobusiness and a keynote
presentation by Chief Medical Officer for England,
Professor Dame Sally Davies. We also organised
an event for life-science funders and policymakers
aboard the Tara research vessel in London, on its way
to climate-change talks in Paris. This provided an
opportunity to showcase EMBL’s key role in the life
sciences to an influential audience, bringing home
the central role of EMBL-EBI in managing the data
produced in large-scale, global scientific endeavours.
In 2015 we wrote and distributed over 30 press releases
and other news stories, covering breakthrough research,
new service launches and major developments. We
supported writers throughout the organisation in a
number of ways. We hosted 15 visiting journalists
and film crews, distributed press releases directly to
journalists, and signposted to news content on our
website and the EMBL news site using social media
platforms and e-mailed newsletters.
Our team is responsible for content on the main
EMBL-EBI website, and is an active participant in the
Web Content Committee. In this context we worked
with other teams on a range of projects including the
new events portal, and helped prepare for the next
development phase of the institute’s main website.
In 2015 we welcomed major funders and policymakers to an event
on board the research schooner Tara in London, where scientists
presented the major achievements of the EMBL-led Tara expeditions
and underscored the importance of sustained exploration of marine
environments.
We are a hub for information about the institute,
and work closely with the Scientific Services and the
Strategic Project Management Office to ensure we
gather and report the correct facts and figures about
EMBL-EBI. In 2015 we created and distributed print
and digital versions of the EMBL-EBI Annual Scientific
Report, and contributed to the EMBL-wide Indicative
Scheme in terms of both content and design.
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2015 EMBL-EBI Annual Scientific Report