Institutions, funders, the DCVA. Each have their own corporate identity, communication style, guidelines and specific audience. When you work on a DCVA consortium or project and you have to deal with all these stakeholders, communication guidelines may not be clear. In this article you’ll find answers to frequently asked questions about communication, use of logos and corporate identity.
When a project gets funded by one of the partners of the DCVA, agreements are made about communications: where and when do you communicate with what audience and how? Of course you have also made agreements with the institution you work for. Based on those agreements, we share some guidelines with you below. Please contact us if you have any questions.
General DCVA communication
The Dutch Heart Foundation is responsible for the general communication about the DCVA. A commission of communication advisors of all partners defines the strategy and decides on content planning. Please find Nienke Wit if you might have any question or suggestion via n.wit@dcvalliance.nl
When is my consortium or project considered to be part of the DCVA?
You can read our full policy here.
Former CVON consortia that get new funding from DCVA partners, also change from CVON to DCVA.
Who communicates first?
If the coordinating funder and the DCVA both communicate about a call, the start or results of a researchproject, the coordinating funder will do this first, before the DCVA.
Who communicates to the general public and how?
Funders, independent or governmental, want to account for the investments they do. Also, they have the expertise of informing the general audience, and they have a broad network and good contacts with the press to do this. Usually, the moments of communication with the general audience are at the start of the consortium or project, and when results can be presented. Please contact your funder when results are achieved. When your institution also wants to communicate, please arrange that this happens simultaneously and with knowledge of each other’s plans beforehand. In this communication, impact of the research or project on society and patients is always leading.
- Sender: funder and partners
- Corporate identity and main logo: of the funder, except when decided otherwise
- Mentioned: DCVA, partners, especially funders and institution
Who communicates to stakeholders and how?
In high level communication between stakeholders like funders, institutions, government and companies, the DCVA takes the lead. In this form of communications, the goal of the DCVA and the specific contribution of the intended consortium or project is leading.
- Sender: DCVA
- Corporate identity and main logo: DCVA
- Mentioned: specific partners and institutions
Where and how do consortia and projects communicate with each other and with colleagues?
Of course a lot of communications are targeted at colleagues. You want to invite researchers to a course, meeting or other event. You have a vacancy or job offer. You present your research and your results at a symposium or congress. When you do so, please use the DCVA corporate identity. We offer you the use of PowerPoint slides and logos and are happy to share the style guide with you.
- Sender: the consortium or project
- Corporate identity and main logo: DCVA, with the consortium or project name added
- Mentioned: the consortium or project, DCVA, funders, stakeholders, institution
How to use websites?
Usually consortia or projects get a page on the website of the leading funder and/or the institution of the research leader. The DCVA also informs her visitors of all DCVA projects.
- Funders website: information about the impact of the consortium or project and who is leading it, why it is important and funded, start and results
- DCVA website: abstract of the research plan, who is leading the research, vacancies, announcements about meetings and courses; linked to funders website
- Website of your institution: usually about the research of the institution, please mention your funder and DCVA and link to our websites
- Other websites: please let us know of your plans beforehand and use the DCVA corporate identity
Do consortia or projects create their own corporate identity?
DCVA offers you the possibility to add the name of your consortia or project to the DCVA logo in the same style and use this as a logo in your mailings and letters and on your webpages. Only under special circumstances, it’s preferable to design a new logo. Please contact us via communications@dcvalliance.nl if you think this is necessary.
When do you use the DCVA logo, and when do you use the logo of the funder?
Not every research consortium is a DCVA consortium. A number of consortia formed and financed by the Netherlands CardioVascular Research Committee (CVON) have now been followed up in the DCVA. Others have been granted follow-up financing, but are not (yet) DCVA consortia. When do you use the DCVA logo? When the logo of CVON? When that of the funders? In all communications (presentations, posters, press releases, articles) you always use the logo and the name of the funder following the instruction of that funder (for example The Dutch Heart Foundation, ZonMw or NWO). You can only use the DCVA logo if your agreement states that you are a DCVA consortium or if you have received written confirmation of this. Use this logo in addition to the logo of the funder(s) of your consortium: start with DCVA, ‘powered by:’, followed by the funding partners. Use the CVON logo when your consortium was appointed as a CVON consortium at the time, and you are not (yet) an official DCVA consortium.
Questions
Is it unclear to you whether or not the consortium in which you participate is a DCVA consortium? Or do you have any other question about communications? Then contact the principal investigator of the consortium, or contact the DCVA via communications@dcvalliance.nl