• Identify the target audiences for the dissemination of the results of the Action (in particular findings and recommendations), e.g. other researchers working in the field; other research frameworks; research Institutes and Academia; Standards Bodies; industry (represented by manufacturers and service providers); European level policy makers; Government policy makers, regional planners and policy makers; general public.

The COST Action is at its core aimed at a fundamental understanding of the physics of deformation in amorphous materials, and so will disseminate the scientific results of the work primarily to other researchers in academia, but also to private and public research institutions, to appropriate sectors of industry, and to the general public.

As explained in sections C.4 and C.5, there is a broad spectrum of industrial end users that will be targeted for dissemination in manufacturing sectors ranging from foodstuffs or personal hygiene products, to paints, building materials, or metallic alloys. Industries working on material processing involving both soft and hard glasses have a tradition of carrying out significant research activities in collaboration with public laboratories. This creates a situation where the researchers in the private sector have a strong scientific background which allows them to benefit directly from the scientific knowledge that will be produced by this Action, via tutorials, conferences, symposia, or various types of publications.

Of course, applied researchers working in public laboratories and ESRs involved in applied projects who participate in this Action are also targets for the dissemination of results coming from more fundamental teams, as already described in C.5.

Also the potential target audience for dissemination in academia is rather broad. It includes researchers working on flow of polycrystalline or magnetic domain materials, structural relaxation in glasses, and driven non-equilibrium systems more generally.

Finally, we anticipate that a significant fraction of the results from the European research leveraged by the Action will be of interest to the general public. The study of flow and mechanical behaviour is almost innate to humans, and indeed seeing how materials deform is one of the primary routes by which small children explore the world. Consequently the field lends itself to kitchen table science experiments.

• Describe the dissemination methods you intend to use.
• For each of your audiences you may choose several of the existing possibilities, e.g.
  • posting of general information on a public website;
  • posting of working documents on a password protected website;
  • set up of an electronic communication network (internet discussion forum, e-mail network, etc.);
  • publications: state of the art reports, interim reports, case study reports, proceedings, guidelines, manuals, final reports;
  • events: workshops, seminars and conferences organised by the MC, contributions to other national and international conferences and symposia;
  • articles in peer-reviewed scientific and technical Journals;
  • non-technical publications.

The major vectors for dissemination of this Action's results will be:

• training schools, workshops, conferences and seminars organized by the MC
• contributions by Action participants to other national and international conferences and symposia
• articles published in leading international peer-reviewed journals
• technical reports and case studies, in particular in response to projects of industrial partners
• regular progress reports and a book published at the end of the Action

A dedicated Action web site will be a key dissemination channel. It will have:

• a password protected section, reserved to Action participants, permitting them to share working documents and to edit pages (via a wikispace); this section will in particular host a database of simulation results and experimental data to aid comparisons between similar materials or flow conditions.
• a public section presenting:
  • scientific publications, in compliance with publishers' copyright restrictions, and presentation slides by Action participants
  • a reading list with document links, grouped according to areas of background knowledge with, when possible, links to preprints and final published versions.
  • regular progress reports
  • slides from all Action tutorials, schools, conferences and workshops, where possible supplemented by video of the lectures
  • material aimed at the general public, movies from simulations, to help with visualizing the nature of flow in amorphous materials, and links to kitchen-table science resources in this and related areas, including “do try this at home” experiments.
• a platform where end users both from other academic research laboratories and industrial partners can:
  • seek expertise from Action participants (e.g. via an online forum, organized by research theme and materials)
  • post job offerings.

• Describe how these dissemination methods will be used.
• Note that dissemination goes beyond publication of results.
• Take into consideration the progress of the Action as well the results of its evaluation in updating the dissemination plan during the course of the Action.

Plans for dissemination of the research carried out within the Action will be reviewed at each meeting of the Management Committee, including the kick-off meeting where the points below can form the basis for discussion. Regular reviews of the dissemination strategy are relevant given ongoing changes in dissemination channels, such as moves towards more open-access journals in the peer-reviewed literature.

We emphasize that collaborative research projects between the private and public sectors and the hiring of ESRs by industrial partners are two major vectors for the dissemination of research in Material Science. An important aspect of dissemination will thus be to target companies in relevant sectors of industry directly, to make sure they are aware of the work done by the Action. Industrial partners will also be invited to attend schools, tutorials, and symposia organised by the MC.

It is planned to exploit existing technology transfer organizations to this effect, including Knowledge Transfer Networks (KTN) in relevant subject areas and the London Technology Network (http://www.ltnetwork.org/) in the U.K., the Italian Network for Innovation and Technology Transfer to SMEs (http://www.riditt.it/), and business liaison departments in all institutions participating in the Action. Such organisations will play a valuable role in transferring knowledge accrued as a result of the Action into the industrial sector. Where appropriate, steps will be taken to protect the intellectual property of the work prior to publication and the involvement of commercial parties. This will be done with the advice of the enterprise, innovation and technology transfer departments of the institutions involved.

All members of the Action, especially ESRs, will, of course, be encouraged to present their work at national and international conferences as well as writing papers for academic journals. The support of COST will be acknowledged in all written and oral presentations. Many Action participants are experienced in giving talks to general audiences, e.g., in schools, and all Action members will be encouraged to participate in such outreach activities and to write articles for popular scientific and technical publications.