The present deliverable aims at introducing the overall engagement approach that the FIDAL project will follow, which lays down the foundations of the Dissemination and Communication Strategy and related action plan. The main purpose of this document is to ensure that the project outputs and tangible outcomes are widely disseminated to the appropriate target audiences, at appropriate times along the project lifecycle, via appropriate tools and channels, and that those who can contribute to their development, evaluation, uptake and exploitation can be identified and encouraged to proactively interact with the project on a regular and systematic basis. 

The deliverable first considers the engagement process as a whole, presenting the most fundamental concepts and detailing the objectives for engaging with the outside world. Such engagement process is very complex and has to take place at different levels and moments, with different stakeholders and through different mechanisms. This implies the need for a thorough mapping of the stakeholders, a detailed definition of key messages to be shared with the right stakeholders and the identification of tools currently available to interact with them. It also requires taking into account when to use these tools and with which purpose.

This document will also serve as a reference framework for evaluating the impact of communication and dissemination activities carried out until the termination of the project, also reflecting best practices and lessons learnt during the execution of the project. Therefore, the document also details the monitoring tools and mechanisms that have been set-up to measure the impact of the Dissemination and Communication activities carried out, and to enable the early identification of any possible deviation that may occur when the strategy unfolds. 

Finally, it is to be noted that this deliverable should serve as a guideline to the Consortium for the Dissemination and Communication activities to be carried out in the context of FIDAL.