Funder Submission Period Communication Top Tips
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How to introduce and refer to the Researchfish platform & Submission Periods
It’s useful to make the distinction that Funders ask researchers to report their outcome and output data and determine the timing and policies around this; Researchfish is the tool which Funders have chosen to use to collect this outcome information.You could also:
- Refer to the submission period as the ‘[Funder Name] Outcomes Collection
Window/Submission Period’
- State in communications ‘This email is being sent to you by [Funder name]’ in all communications to researchers regarding Researchfish.
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Include why you are asking researchers to report, and what the data will/will not be used for
Provide information on why researchers are being asked to report and what the information will be used for and where, this improves compliance rates and the quality of the data submitted. You can include organisation/funding-specific examples, as well as links to general guidance about this hosted on the platform: How is the Information Used by My Funder?
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Language
When reminding researchers about their reporting requirements if your organisation imposes sanctions, we advise using soft language and an explanation for why those principles are in place and emphasizing the importance of output reporting and the value of this information.
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Frequency
Be mindful that researchers may be receiving submission period notification and reminder emails from multiple sources (both Funders and Research Organisations) for more than one award. Our Communications Guide and suggested timetable is available here.
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Timing
Optimum days of the week to send communications are Monday - Thursday, and where possible avoid the end of the day. Around the UK multi funder submission period a shared communications calendar will be uploaded to the support page for Researchfish funders, to allow you to see when organisations are scheduling their communications.
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Length
Keep emails (especially reminders) concise and provide links to more specific guidance hosted in the Researchfish platform or on your organisation’s website wherever possible.
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Guidance
The more specific or tailored your guidance can be the better. If you have your own guidance either hosted in the Researchfish platform or on your organisation’s website- be sure to remind and point researchers to this in communications. Hosted on the platform is a ‘Tips to Optimise Your Researchfish Submission for Both You and Your Funder’ guide.
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Additional Questions
Try to manage researcher expectations around reporting, i.e if they will be asked to complete any mandatory additional questions. This may increase their reporting time so it's important to explain why this data is so important to collect.
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Support
Clarify where researchers should send their questions. Technical support queries about the platform will be handled by the Researchfish Support Team (support@researchfish.com). Queries related to the award or requirements to submit should be directed to the Funder, include the contact email for this and ensure your details are up to date on the ‘Our Community’ page.
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Thank you’s and follow-ups!
We always advise following up with researchers to thank them for submitting their valuable data, this is also another opportunity to share examples of where the data will be used, and remind researchers that they can login and keep their Researchfish account up to date at any point throughout the year.