In the latest episode of Behind SafeTouch: Meet the Consortium, we speak with Aletta D’Cruz from Martel Innovate, the partner leading dissemination and communication for the SafeTouch project.
Funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme, SafeTouch aims to revolutionise hygiene through the development of smart, self-decontaminating microfilms for high-touch surfaces in hospitals, public spaces, and transportation.
Martel Innovate’s role in SafeTouch is to ensure that the project’s research, its people, and its purpose reach the right audiences at the right time. As Aletta explains, that work begins long before final results are available.
“Early communication is crucial. It sets the tone, it builds visibility, and helps us connect with the right communities from day one.”
Rather than waiting until the technology is fully developed before communicating, Martel’s approach is to build awareness and engagement as the project evolves. This means shaping the narrative alongside the research, so that stakeholders across healthcare, industry, and policy understand what SafeTouch is working toward and why it matters.
Central to this strategy is making the project’s work accessible and relevant beyond the research community. Whether through video interviews, website articles, events, or social media, the goal is to translate complex science into content that resonates with the people who will ultimately be affected by it.
“It is about the technology with real-life meaning, and we want to spotlight that throughout the project.”
For a project developing a new approach to surface hygiene in hospitals and care facilities, the human dimension is what connects the science to its purpose. The patients, healthcare workers, and care home residents whose daily environments SafeTouch is designed to protect are ultimately the reason the project exists. Communicating that connection clearly is what Martel’s work is built around.
Watch the full interview with Aletta to learn how Martel Innovate is building SafeTouch’s visibility and stakeholder engagement from the ground up.
This interview is part of the Behind SafeTouch: Meet the Consortium video series, where we introduce the people and expertise shaping this innovative project.