Tag Archives: communications

University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)

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The Challenge: CISL had a groundbreaking report on its hands that outlined a practical pathway to building effective insurance schemes for those vulnerable to climate risk. The authors wanted to ensure it had a tangible policy impact – specifically at the Third Financing for Development Conference (FFD3) in Addis Ababa in July 2015.

Our Approach: We supported CISL in writing a policy brief that summarised the report’s key findings, which we recommended releasing at the International Insurance Summit in New York, which industry leaders and key UN decision makers would attend. We released the policy brief to journalists under an embargo that lifted during the report author’s presentation at the IIS.

Outcomes: Media coverage that hit during the week of the policy brief launch was read and commented on by influential leaders in the insurance industry, and an in-depth BBC article was read and praised by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. Following media attention, Dr Ana Gonzalez Pelaez, co-author of report, was invited onto a high level panel at the FFD3 conference, to present her findings and recommendations. The full report went live in conjunction with her panel session and to date the report has been covered by The Guardian, Reuters, Inter Press Service, SciDev and Devex, in addition to the BBC.

The Malabo Montpellier Panel

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The Challenge: The Malabo Montpellier Panel seeks to influence European and African donors on effective ways to support poverty reduction through investment in sustainable African agriculture. Its bi-annual reports provide evidence and analysis of key topics such as soil management, climate change, energy, innovation and livestock. Their aim is to reach senior policy makers and key stakeholders, beyond just the scientific community, and demonstrate how and why they may provide agricultural support.

Our Approach: The Marchmont team has worked with the Malabo Montpellier Panel (and its predecessor) since 2011 to elevate their visibility and influence. Ahead of each report, Marchmont prepares a detailed outreach plan, including media materials, story angles, case studies and external news hooks. We then conduct embargoed media outreach ahead of each launch date and positioning panel members via the drafting of opinion editorials.

Outcomes: The Panel’s report launches have been covered extensively over the years by top-tier global outlets and a wide range of African and specialist outlets as well. A sampling of this coverage has included the Guardian, BBC, Reuters, Financial Times, Deutsche Welle, Xinhua, CNBC Africa, Christian Science Monitor, Thomson Reuters Foundation, The Conversation, Forbes Africa, Quartz Africa, Euractiv, Voice of America, El Pais, CGTN, SciDev, Inter Press Service, AllAfrica, Jeune Afrique, Business Daily Africa, The Africa Report, Devex and Food Tank along with multiple interviews with the BBC and CNBC Africa.

The German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ)

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GIZ infographic

The Challenge: For policymakers, supporting agricultural development can be daunting task– both in terms of what agriculture is expected to achieve for development and also the conditions under which it takes place.

Our Approach: The German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) tasked our team to help shape the content of a comprehensive guide for policymakers that they had written in partnership with the Overseas Development Institute. The report aimed to capture the policy areas where consensus exists as well as where debates and uncertainties still remain lies in which interventions work.

Outcomes: We worked with the report authors to craft new messages for the report; restructured and edited it; and then translated and designed it (view the full report here). We also produced an infographic (English and French versions) to help with the report’s later outreach both online and in workshops throughout Africa.