Abstract-In the era of big data, for science gateways (SG) and
cyberinfrastructure (CI) projects to have the greatest impacts, the tools
need to be widely adopted in the scientific community. However, diffusion
activities (community engagement to spread the tools) are often an
afterthought in some SG/CI projects. We warn against the fallacy of 'If You
Build It, They Will Come'. Projects could be intentional in promoting tool
adoption. We identified five external communication practices based on an
analysis of 20 interviews with administrators, developers, users, and
outreach educators working in CI across the US. The practices include
raising awareness of the innovations, engaging in educational outreach,
building relationships with trust, networking with the community, and
keeping a track record of persistent documentations. While exploratory in
nature, the findings can be used as a guideline for project to promote SG/CI
diffusion. The paper serves as evidence to justify a bigger budget from
funder for diffusion activities to increase adoption and broader impacts.