38. Amplification Partners: Prof Megan Munsie on leveraging established networks and voices to multiply your impact

View the full show notes, including a summary of practical tips on the Amplifying Research website: https://www.amplifyingresearch.com/podcast/38-megan-munsie 

Instead of spending years building your own audience from scratch, what if you could partner with organisations and voices that already have your target community's trust and attention? Professor Megan Munsie has spent two decades mastering this approach — what she calls "amplification strategy" — to reach patients, policymakers, and the public with critical stem cell research insights.

Rather than standing at lecterns delivering one-way presentations, she's learned to embed herself within the very networks her research aims to serve, from patient advocacy groups to media organizations to policy circles. Her approach transforms researchers from isolated communicators into collaborative partners within established community networks—multiplying impact while making the most of limited time and resources.

Megan is a professor at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and a renowned expert in stem cell research who has dedicated her career to exploring the ethical, legal, and social implications of the field. Her amplification approach emerged from a practical realisation: "It doesn't really make a lot of sense if I'm just going to answer individual patient inquiries. So it's much more impactful if I work with those in the community who are already talking to the people I want to reach."

"It comes back to this idea of where is the best way to spend your time. What's the most impactful way to reach the audience and who can you partner with? Why would you want to start up your own YouTube channel when you could perhaps appear on something that already has a following?" — Professor Megan Munsie

Over two decades, Megan has built strategic partnerships across diverse sectors—from working with spinal cord injury peer leaders to collaborating with policy officers at the Australian Academy of Science, from appearing on ABC's 7.30 to writing for The Conversation. Her methodology centers on long-term relationship building, authentic collaboration, and the crucial insight that effective communication requires being invited into communities rather than imposing yourself upon them.

Whether you're overwhelmed by the thought of building your own social media following from scratch, struggling to connect with the communities your research aims to serve, or looking to multiply your impact without multiplying your workload, this episode offers a practical roadmap for finding and partnering with the voices that can amplify your message to the right people.

 

Our conversation covers:

• Understanding amplification strategies and how they differ from traditional outreach

• Building authentic partnerships with patient advocacy groups and community organisations

• Working effectively with mainstream media, policy organisations, and social media platforms

• The importance of humility, curiosity, and adaptation in all stakeholder relationships

• Practical steps for identifying and approaching potential amplification partners

• Why starting small and learning from colleagues is more effective than trying to "conquer the world"

 

Find Megan online:

• LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-munsie-27013136

• University of Melbourne — https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/379400-megan-munsie

• Murdoch Children’s Research Institute — https://www.mcri.edu.au/researcher-details/megan-munsie