Simply put, animation creates impact. It is an immediately engaging, accessible, and joyful artform that can break complex ideas into digestible nuggets. Its adaptable format can engage people both intellectually and emotionally, and it can bring layers of excitement and resonance to even the most technical subjects.

So what can animation do for you as an academic?

First, animation can help to influence policy. Policymakers often have limited time and divided attention, making it difficult to convey the importance of research findings in a way that prompts action. Animation can summarise complex ideas and provide a memorable visual representation of the findings, making it easier to capture and hold the attention of policymakers and promote change. For example, this series of animations for Prof. Ayona Datta at UCL helped disseminate evidence based policy interventions on smart cities and urban futures in India and elsewhere as part of a ‘smart city asset toolkit’ that enabled communities to speak back to, and inform, smart city planners and policy makers.

Second, animation can help to promote social impact. By making research findings accessible and engaging to a wider audience, animation can help to drive awareness and promote positive change. For example, animations can be used to explain the causes and effects of social issues, such as poverty or inequality, and to promote understanding of the role that research can play in addressing these challenges. This research-led animation commissioned by Prof. Peter Hopkins at Newcastle University used participants own words to explore the challenges and opportunities presented to refugees and asylum seekers in navigating multiple forms of arrival in the UK.

Third, animation can be used to communicate scientific findings in a way that is accessible and engaging to a broad audience. By breaking down complex scientific concepts into simple visual representations, animations can help to increase public understanding of scientific concepts and research findings. This can be especially useful for communicating scientific findings to people who may not have a background in the field, such as policymakers, educators, or the general public. For example, this animation commissioned by UK Sport, helped to educate coaches and other athletic support staff to create open dialogues with young athletes about the menstrual cycle in order to demystify and destigmatise the process and support young athletes in training and wellbeing.

Fourth, animation can be used to promote community involvement in research. By making research findings accessible and engaging, animations can help to build trust and encourage active participation in research projects. For example, animations can be used to explain research methods and findings to communities, promote understanding of the potential benefits and risks of participating in research, and encourage people to get involved in research initiatives. This animation series commissioned by Dr. Susan Morgan at University of Miami educated the general public on clinical trial enrollement for experimental cancer treatments and explained concepts such as placebos, randomisation, and patient protections to encourage participation and alleviate anxiety.

Fifth, animation can help to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in research. By making research accessible and engaging to a diverse range of people, animations can help to promote a more inclusive research culture and ensure that research findings reflect the experiences and perspectives of all members of society. This can help to promote a more equitable distribution of the benefits of research and ensure that the research is relevant and meaningful to the communities it serves.  This animation, commissioned by Prof. Peter Hopkins at Newcastle University, explains the social justice concept of Intersectionality and is used in trainings not just by academics and researchers, but for academics and researchers, across the globe.

Finally, animation can be collaborative and ethically representational in ways that many forms of research cannot.  Animation can incorporate not just the thoughts and experiences of research participants, but their own hands, their own artwork, their own voices and ideas. The form of animation lends itself to iteration, giving ample opportunity for rounds of feedback and revision that incorporate participants ideas and offer them agency in their representation. And participants can even take part in the animation process themselves by creating artwork or attending animation workshops.  For example, this series of animations produced by the Storying Relationships project at Sheffield Unviersity, exploring the experiencs of young British Pakistani Muslims was produced by participants themselves who learned the software and skillsets required to make them in a 5-week workshop series.

Animation is a joyful and creative tool to add to your academic impact arsenal. It’s a format that encourages interdisciplinary collaboration through collaborative scriptwriting or shared research outputs. It can increase public engagement and awareness with niche topics. It can influence policy and create social impact by capturing the attention of the general public in ways that pressurise policymakers. It encourages open access by taking topics normally discussed behind paywalls and making them accessible to the public. It can help encourage evidence-based decision making by educating the public on social, political, health, or environmental issues. And it can bring a world of empathy through storytelling to initiatives driving diversity, equity and inclusion.

If you’re interested in finding out more about how animation can work for you, please reach out. Your stories are moving! And I’d love to help you make them heard.