Meetings and Events, 2006 Annual Meeting Highlights and Next Steps [VISION Public Information Network]

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2006 Annual Meeting Highlights and Next Steps

The National Eye Institute’s (NEI) VISION Public Information Network annual meeting on March 6–8, 2006, attracted more than 50 Network members to Charleston, SC. Meeting registrants, including 10 new members, gave the meeting high marks for program content, speakers, and meeting facilities. Meeting highlights included three scientific presentations at the Storm Eye Institute and a tour of their research facilities.

Meeting topics included healthcare marketing and branding, new communication technologies, employee communications, and NEI funding opportunities. On the last day of the meeting, participants met in small group sessions to discuss future collaborative efforts. Three workgroups will lead these efforts and focus on topics of interest to Network members.

Member Communications Workgroup will begin meeting via conference call to explore the causes of and challenges to increasing communications between scientists and public affairs officers. The group will consist of Network members, NEI and National Institutes of Health (NIH) staff, and representatives from academic medical centers and public affairs offices.
Marketing Workgroup will establish a new LISTSERV to facilitate ongoing communications about marketing-related topics. The NEI will invite Network members to join this special marketing LISTSERV. Workgroup members will initiate online discussions within the next few months.
Teleseminars Workgroup will host an upcoming session, Creating Your Own Media Materials, presented by Network member Bob Shepard, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Bob will discuss how he has enhanced media coverage of UAB research results by producing and providing the media with b-roll, soundbites, and video news releases (VNRs).

The NEI created the Network 11 years ago to help communicate vision research results to the public through its grantee institutions. A recent evaluation study supported by the NIH found that the Network facilitated well-coordinated media coverage of research results and produced consistent messages. In addition, the evaluation revealed that reporters overwhelmingly quoted multiple sources, including the grantee institution, NEI, and NIH.

For more information on the NEI’s VISION Network, go to www.visionnetwork.nei.nih.gov.