Leader
Dr. Erik Toonen, Hycult biotechnology bv

Objectives of this work package

• To raise public, scientific and industrial awareness of the EU-funded project and create a lasting impact in the research fields of autoimmunity and inflammation.
• To facilitate networking and mutual communication both to the scientific community and the general public
• To manage the processes for the capture and the protection of intellectual property, including optimized treatment strategies and newly developed research or diagnostic tools.
• To ensure most efficient exploitation of project results and to achieve highest possible benefit for scientists, industry and the European society with the ultimate goal of developing new treatments that are tailored to the specific needs of individual patients.

Description of the tasks

Dissemination, exploitation and communication activities are of major importance and an integral part of the RELENT project. This work package is implemented to ensure the rapid dissemination and smooth transition of the research results to clinical practice and to spread results to the largest possible audience outside the consortium. 

Dissemination
All results generated within RELENT are published in Open Access journals to ensure fast access and high quality peer reviews. Presentations on scientific conferences and poster presentations will also allow early distribution of results to the scientific community.
Very important to the RELENT Consortium is also the dissemination of project results and information to the wider public. The project website contains news based on the latest research publications by the participating centres and by other research groups. Project updates are distributed via social media channels (Twitter, LinkedIn and Research Gate).

Exploitation
An Innovation and Exploitation Advisory Panel (IEAP) ensures that results of RELENT are communicated and disseminated as swiftly as possible while foreground with innovation/exploitation opportunities will remain protected. The IEAP will provide support to the scientists regarding intellectual property rights (IPR) management and business opportunities. For commercial exploitation, commercially applicable outcome shall be translated by the involved SME partners.

Communication
It is very important for RELENT, as a collaborative project, to develop a strong corporate project identity. The first steps to this were designing a project logo and setting up a project website, paving the way for an effective PR strategy of the project. Project flyers and posters are designed about the project and its progress to inform the scientific community and general public. The website also links to the social media appearances of RELENT on Twitter, LinkedIn and Research Gate, which facilitates easier access and interaction.