Based on two Danish research projects focusing on the communications advisor of the future and on researchers practicing research communication, this workshop focuses on the relation and collaboration between researchers and communications advisors.
A range of opportunities and challenges face the communications advisor when aiming at collaborating with researchers - and simultaneously, researchers have a range of aims, fears, ambitions etc. when it comes to research communication.
During this workshop, we will provide findings and input from these two research projects and facilitate a joint reflection and discussion involving the participants’ own practice as communications advisors working with researchers. The aim will be to discuss ‘best practice’ of the competent communications advisor working with researchers.

Gitte Gravengaard

Gitte Gravengaard is Associate Professor, PhD, at the Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics at the University of Copenhagen. Gravengaard is the experienced communications researcher who conducts research within the areas of strategic communication, communication consultancy, research communication, journalism, and internships. She has written several peer-reviewed monographs as well as a large number of peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and conference papers. Gravengaard is the director of the research project: ‘The Advisor of the Future’, and the project ‘CEO Communication and the Future Communication Advisor’ which is a part of this key-note, is a part of this larger research project.
Gravengaard is the experienced research communicator – and also the communications scholar regarding and analysing the professional practice of the communications advisors as a cultural outsider to the industry. She offers a structured and academic approach, an updated theoretical knowledge and much experience in creating substantial research-based knowledge ensuring the solidity of the research project as well as findings and conclusions.

Anders Monrad Rendtorff

Anders Monrad Rendtorff is associate partner at the communication consulting company RelationsPeople. Also, Rendtorff is the head of communications for VL, The Danish Management Society, and network director in EGN, Executive´s Global Network.
Rendtorff is a very experienced trusted communications advisor in some of the largest Nordic companies such as Ericsson, Telia, Coloplast, and Vestas. The long-standing experience as an inhouse communication advisor along with his current involvement in a network of 4000 leaders (VL Society) and 175 communications advisors (EGN network) give Rendtorff a valuable insight in the job profile of the trusted communications advisor as well as contemporary trends and challenges within the profession.

For many years, Rendtorff has been employed as an external lecturer at Copenhagen Business School at the Institute for Management, Society, and Communication. He has written a range of articles and is the co-author on a book on research communication.

Experience, research, books or else

Gravengaard and Rendtorff has recently published a book on research communication: ‘Forskningskommunikation’. The book takes its point of departure in research within strategic communications and PR, media and journalism research, and research on research communication. Also, the book is based on a range of interviews with researchers, journalists and communications advisors from universities.
The authors present a range of tools as to how to create a strategy for research communication, how to use traditional and social media for research communication; how to collaborate with communication advisors etc.

Based on their recent research project on communications advisors, Gravengaard and Rendtorff (with K. Eiberg) publish the book ‘The Communications Advisor’ in September 2022. This book proposes a detailed description of what it takes to become a trusted communications advisor. Based on substantial research – their own research project and others’ – this book focuses on how to work strategically on becoming an effective and efficient communication advisor by analysing how experienced communication advisors think and act. Thus, this book combines research and practice as well as scholars and practitioners in a process of co-creation when setting out to describe the endeavour of becoming the trusted communications advisor.