Download - Digital Engagement Strategy
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
1/24
Digital Engagement
Department of Health
April 2010
E-Communications & Publishing
Communications Directorate
Skipton House
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
2/24
Digital engagement
2
Table of contents
page
1. Executive Summary..................................................................................................................3
2. Digital engagement: opportunities and tools..........................................................................3
3. The context of digital engagement for DH ..............................................................................5
4. Digital engagement: DHs strategic objectives ........................................................................6
5. Why engage digitally at all? .....................................................................................................6
6. How to make the decision to engage in digital channels ........................................................6
7. Why is a Departmental approach to digital engagement necessary?.....................................7
8. Relationship to other initiatives...............................................................................................9
9. Defining a digital engagement approach.................................................................................9
10. When and where to engage ..................................................................................................11
11. Implementation considerations.............................................................................................12
12. Evaluation ..............................................................................................................................12
Annex 1: Digital engagement in relation to social media .....................................................................14
Annex 2: Example initiatives .................................................................................................................15
Annex 3: Implementation guidance ......................................................................................................18
Annex 4: a Framework for Digital Engagement in DH...........................................................................20
Annex 5: Glossary of terms ...................................................................................................................21
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
3/24
Digital engagement
3
1.Executive Summary1.1. This document describes digital engagement (DE) and social media1, sets out the context
and background to their use in the Department of Health, and develops a framework forthe future development of digital engagement. DE already exists within the Department,
has been used with varying degrees of success, and is going to become more prevalent
with changing demographics and emerging technologies.
1.2. DE brings new opportunities to engage audiences in their health and healthcare in better(and often cheaper) ways and allows more to be achieved with engagement enabled by
digital technologies, usually in combination with other media.
1.3. In addition, the outside world is engaging with DH (and topics relevant to DH) in digitalchannels in any case, using blogs
2, comments on media sites, social networks and more.
Having an approach and supporting materials to respond to this is important.
1.4. The document presents criteria that can be used to assess whether, and how, DE maydeliver benefits, along with guidance on terminology, strategic principles, operational
practice, and examples of use. Annexes include a detailed Glossary of Terms, and further
guidance on the application of DE in practice.
1.5. A simple set of strategic priorities forms the heart of the document. The relationshipother relevant strategies and initiatives across government, and within DH, is described in
this paper.
1.6. The document focuses on engagement in the context of digital communications. Theterm digital is also used to describe other technology applications, such as informatics,technology for remote monitoring and patient self-service, and many other examples.
These uses of the term digital are not within the scope of this document.
1.7. This document is owned by the e-Communications and Publishing team (ECP) within theCommunications Directorate, and is hosted online, via a Quickr (Digital Engagement). It
forms the Departments contribution to the Permanent Secretary, Government
Communications objective of an approach to Digital Engagement in place for all
departments by the end of March 2010.
2.Digital engagement: opportunities and tools2.1. The capability to digitally engage already exists. Active discussions are happening in social
media. Comment threads exist in forums and blogs. Fan pages, groups, forums and lists
already exist in relation to particular audiences. The common characteristic of these
examples of engagement is that they involve conversations. Engagement moves
communication beyond the transmitting of information in one direction or other, and
into conversational territory, where information flows faster and more fluidly. Annex 2
provides some examples of DH experience in these areas.
1The relationship between these terms is discussed in more detail at Annex 1.
2This and other terms are described in the Glossary at Annex 5.
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
4/24
Digital engagement
4
2.2. Digital engagement is relevant to DH policy leads, campaign managers, marketers,commissioning policymakers, internal communicators, press officers and in most other
areas of Departmental activity.
2.3. DH has a range of its own channels available to support digital engagement, including: an external corporate website: http://dh.gov.uk a public-facing website, NHS Choices: http://nhs.uk Delphi, the Departments intranet: http://delphi.dh.gov.uk/delphi/index.htm Commslink, an internet-based network restricted to communications professionals
across the NHS: http://www.nhscommslink.nhs.uk/
a YouTube channel for video content: http://www.youtube.com/departmentofhealth(as does NHS Choices: http://www.youtube.com/nhschoices) each channel having a
different content focus
a Flickr stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/departmentofhealth/ several Twitter accounts: one for the Department as a whole
http://twitter.com/dhgovuk; others with specific objectives, styles and content
its own presence within other public-facing sites, such as the Care and Supportcontent within Directgov
Facebook pages for relating to different policy areas and campaigns a Civil Wiki page: http://wiki.gsi.gov.uk/index.php/Department_of_Health the capability to host blogs on its internet and intranet sites, with features such as
commenting and moderation available
online member communities and forums as an example, the Social Marketersnetwork, sponsored by DH (http://socialmarketers.net)
DH also has the ability to engage in other channels outside its own control, where there is
value to be gained from doing so. It is a rich and complex environment.
2.4. To give a sense of scale to these channels, the following tables shows examples of metricsassociated with them.
Channel Example metric
DH website (dh.gov.uk) 850k visitors/month
NHS Choices website (nhs.uk) 9m visitors/month
Delphi, the DH intranet 170 pages updated/month
Commslink 3,700 users
YouTube DH channel: 322 subscribers ;
156,000 views
Flickr 189,903 views
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
5/24
Digital engagement
5
Channel Example metric
Facebook Example: HPV page has 2,500+ fans
Twitter @dhgovuk 2364 followers
3.The context of digital engagement for DH3.1. Before considering digital engagement in more detail, the characteristics of DHs
communications context are worth noting:
3.2. Widespread general interest: health matters are of interest and relevance to a wideaudience, with many individuals ready to engage. This differs from, for example,
international trade, science or agricultural policy matters. Everyone is a healthcare
stakeholder.
3.3. Diverse audiences: DH audiences include managers, medical professionals, othergovernment departments, the general public, media, social care stakeholders, patients,
special interest groups and its own staff. Different audiences also have different
capabilities to engage, and some use intermediaries to do so. This wide variety means
that this overall approach to digital engagement is necessarily set out at a high level.
3.4. Overlaps between health practitioner and patient interest: whilst the principal focus ofsome communication activity may be on healthcare professionals, the nature of health
issues means that it is always likely that this information will be consumed by a lay
audience to some extent. Further complication occurs where communications areintentionally targeted at mixed lay and specialist audiences, and where they are delivered
through intermediaries.
3.5. Existing areas of interest: from healthcare consumers to healthcare professional groupsto the pharmaceutical industry strong networks and online forums of interest already
exist (parents is a good example). These groups are better versed in engaging digitally
than government. As with large organisations generally, government has some catching
up to do in practising effective digital engagement.
3.6. Fast-moving, unpredictable and high-impact content areas: issues ranging from newdiseases (such as pandemic flu), to treatment concerns, to health scares (real orperceived), can frequently appear with a combination of little notice, high public interest,
and potentially high impact on health outcomes. Emergency communications as a whole
are an area of both challenge and opportunity for digital engagement. The real-time
potential of digital communication to be flexible and responsive in real-time can be very
well suited to emergency situations. An example might be the healthcare implications of
a major terrorist attack requiring rapid communication with a broad, geographically
dispersed audience.
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
6/24
Digital engagement
6
4.Digital engagement: DHs strategic objectives4.1. We will use DH-hosted tools and channels, as well as external channels, to listen and
respond to our audiences, and to give them opportunities to interact with us and each
other online, where there is benefit from doing this.
4.2. We will ensure, through evaluation, that our digital communications are effective andmaximise the use of DH communications resources.
4.3. We expect a consistent set of operational principles (described in detail in thisdocument) to be adopted and applied to the practice of digital engagement, and for
this to become seen as a core communication skill rather than a specialist discipline.
4.4. We expect digital engagement (and the use of digital communications generally) tobecome seen as part of overall communications planning in all media. Digital
engagement does not have to represent a revolutionary change it is a natural
extension of, and support to, engagement in other channels.
5.Why engage digitally at all?5.1. Digital engagement is a strategic choice, rather than a box to be ticked as part of
communications planning. It serves in two broad contexts:
5.2. Firstly, digital engagement offers the opportunity for planned interaction with new,specific audiences, using channels that enable feedback and responsiveness to an extent
unachievable using traditional media. Changing patterns of channel use in certain
demographics in favour of digital channels mean that digital engagementopportunities are continuing to increase over time.
5.3. Secondly, digital engagement around public services happens, whether planned or not.Peer-to-peer networking, the creation of interest groups, and the ability of social
networks to spread messages virally and quickly are all examples of digital engagement.
By not participating, DH misses opportunities to counter misleading information, to
influence debate or to interact with audience sectors who increasingly view digital
channels as their native environment. Issues that surface in digital channels can readily
cross over to more traditional media at speed, giving widespread attention to matters
previously of only niche interest.
5.4. An approach to digital engagement does not start from the presumption that moreopenness is always better or digital engagement is the answer to every problem.
Neither should it dictate how specific areas of communication could be conducted. This
will be a factor of objective, audience, content and media. Instead it reflects
opportunities and risks of digital engagement as an enabler of better communication, and
provides how to proceed where it is advantageous.
6.How to make the decision to engage in digital channels6.1. Digital engagement is not currently a standard part of communication planning in DH.
Current DH practice, experience and expertise vary widely across directorates. Nor, forreasons set out in this paper, should it necessarily feature in allcommunications
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
7/24
Digital engagement
7
planning. However, the disposition of audiences to engage in digital channels does show
a general increasing trend, and DH will and should become more active in its practice.
Some examples of DH digital engagement can be found at Annex 2.
6.2. Indications that digital engagement should form part of the communications mix include: An understanding of the audience. In terms of its demographic is it young, old,
technology-literate?
An understanding of theplatforms that are being used do they have a particularculture or pre-existing user community? A recent government crowdsourcing of
images used Flickr; falling foul of Flickrs active professional photography community
who reacted to the seeming amateurisation of their market.
An opportunity to co-create. Is the subject being communicated one whererepresentation, creation and amendment can genuinely be offered?
A need for openness and scrutiny. Is the historical or broader context of the topicsuch that openness and engagement may be particularly appropriate? (A non-DHexample would be the crowdsourcing of ideas for a new approach to MPs expense
processes).
An appetite for some level of risk. Digital engagement can offer the unexpected.Platforms that arent under direct control always have the potential to be used for
purposes that werent predicted.
Ability to think laterally: some of the most successful digital engagement has comeabout by taking an indirect approach to a topic. Leicester City Council achieved a very
high level of engagement on Facebook by operating a fan page for Leicester as a city
rather than the Council as an organisation. Similar, a current DH example about
social care recruitment is exploring whether its Facebook page could focus on moregeneral recruitment conversations, rather than just solely on social care as a theme.
Resource availability: from staff with the right skills, to enough time to cope with thework arising from engagement, to a commitment of resource for the whole life of a
period of engagement. Communicators at all levels (and the policy teams they work
with) need to be aware of the principles of digital engagement not just those at the
front line of communication.
6.3. If most of the conditions in 6.2 can be met, these provide good indications thatproceeding with digital engagement will have value.
7.Why is a Departmental approach to digital engagementnecessary?
7.1. Digital engagement, particularly that involving social media, changes the way wecommunicate. It is:
Far more widely distributed: all those involved, whether as public service providers oras users, have the potential to publish on a very wide scale
Direct: digital engagement has the potential (for better or worse) to redefineintermediation in communication often removing intermediaries entirely, but also
creating new challenges for those without access to digital services
Real-time in nature: feedback and reactions are often immediate
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
8/24
Digital engagement
8
Unpredictable: events and conversations frequently cross between channels inunexpected ways e.g. a face-to-face experience may lead to a user-generated video
being uploaded to a blog, whose comments then become the subject of a traditional
media news story. In 2009, the story of a London Underground worker who abused a
passenger was on the front pages of national newspapers the day after he was caught
on another passengers video camera and the content uploaded to social networks.
Viral: social media are capable of transmitting onward messages at very great speed,reaching an exponentially increasing audience; if things go wrong, they can go very
wrong, very quickly; and cross channels in doing so, often into traditional mass media.
The story of a death initially (and incorrectly) thought to be linked to HPV vaccination
reached a large audience very quickly through the passing on of links to the story
through social media.
Complementary to traditional media: DE can often deliver most benefits when used inassociation with traditional media
New: not yet embedded into ways of thinking or working; meaning that somemistakes are inevitable, and a great deal of duplicated learning may occur
Increasingly popular: as a personal preference for a communication channel Inverted: in the relationship between the experience and expertise of practitioners:
more junior officials may be more skilled in the use of social media than those more
experienced and senior in a policy area
7.2. All these factors combine to make DE complex, requiring sound underpinning principles.DE does not provide a solution to every problem. Traditional communications and the
expertise accrued in using them have a very strong role to play. But the increasing
potential of DE, whether as an intended part of communications, or as a consequence of
other events, means that an appreciation of DE is now an essential part of policy
planning.
7.3. As an example of this, Eurostar service failures in December 2009 exposed the lack of adigital engagement approach. Eurostar had a social media policy based on using social
media to deliver marketing messages. But in the event of an operational crisis, the
resulting storm of negative feedback showed that digital engagement is now an essential
consideration for any organisation facing a large public audience.
7.4. Any long-term digital engagement approach carries a significant caveat thetechnologies and media involved change rapidly. In the early years of public participation
on the internet it was easier to track and manage engagement monitoring a fewsignificant forums and blogs, and having an understanding of the most popular social
networks, was achievable without a large commitment of resources.
7.5. At the start of 2010 this landscape is showing signs of change. As ever, the popularnetworks and forums are in flux, but there are new strategic issues at play with the rise of
geolocation where the place where data was generated (or which it references) is at
least as important as its content and utilities which make it easier to participate in
numerous channels at the same time. Cross-platform identity services also support
engagement between parties in which content can cross easily between media and
platforms. For example, a Facebook log-in can now be used to register on other sites,
meaning that content can be created and those sites, and automatically update pages in
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
9/24
Digital engagement
9
Facebook at the same time. This makes monitoring and management of online activity
more difficult.
8.Relationship to other initiatives8.1. The Power of Information Taskforce was commissioned in 2008 by the Cabinet Office,
and reported in 2009 with a series of recommendations on digital engagement3.This
document is an extension of that guidance, tailored for the Department of Health,
bearing in mind the Departments priorities and role.
8.2. This document covers the business use of social media for digital engagement not theuse of social media in a personal capacity. The Cabinet Office has published guidelines for
civil servants using social media through the Central Office of Information (COI)4.
8.3. The overall cross-government engagement strategy, as set out by Cabinet Office anddocumented by COI, sets out to:
Communicate where people are present
Put information in the places where people go already Participate where people are present, particularly through forums, wikis and blogging Deliver access to online services where people goCreate better user experiences for government services
Enable people to find the information and online services they require by having fewercommunication channels and focusing them around audience needs
Bring relevant information together into one place on government sites rather thanacross several sites, saving users time and effort
Create a consistent high-quality experience through a dedicated set of standardsEnable non-governmental bodies to reuse information
Help non-governmental bodies to build new services by structuring information sothat they can combine public data with private data
Avoid replicating what is already being undertaken by non-governmental bodiesThese general objectives have been used to develop more specific principles relevant to
the work of the Department, set out in section 9.3 below.
9.Defining a digital engagement approachAn identifiable relationship to overall organisational strategy
9.1. For Department of Health, this means an alignment of DE to the overall strategicobjectives of:
Better health and well-being for all: helping people stay healthy and well;empowering people to live independently; and tackling health inequalities.
3http://poit.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/poit/
4http://www.coi.gov.uk/guidance.php?page=264
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
10/24
Digital engagement
10
Better care for all: the best possible health and social care that offers safe andeffective care, when and where people need it; and empowering people in their
choices.
Better value for all: delivering affordable, efficient and sustainable services;contributing to the wider economy and the nation.
...and values:
We value people: We care about people and put their health and well-being at theheart of everything we do.
We value purpose: We focus our actions and decisions on achieving our shared goals. We value working together: We work together as one department and with our
partners and stakeholders.
We value accountability: We take responsibility and are open to challenge.9.2. Good digital engagement must demonstrate relevance and contribution to the delivery of
these objectives, and be practised in line with these values.
Underpinning strategic principles
9.3. As important as the relationship to organisational strategy are the principles that supportall engagement in practice, strategic and tactical:
a. Set objectives for all planned engagement activities, and be clear in the desiredoutcomes from unplanned, responsive activities.
b. Build a business case quickly and adjust it in the light of experience it may not beright first time. Build in agility to the process of developing the business case quickturnaround may be more useful than a perfectly-formed product.
c. Be consistent: across different channels, over time, and across topics/campaigns/themes.
d. Have a recognisable tone of voice.e. Be realistic about where and to what extent DH can engage on a particular issue: if
content is taken and embedded in thousands of third-party sites, all of which could
then feature follow-up comments and discussions, it will be unrealistic to interact in
all of them.
f. Be clear about the audience being engaged, and why. Engagement works best whena communitys character and needs are understood, and particularly if it has been pre-
engaged in other channels (including non-digital).
g. Leaving is harder than arriving if you have to close a channel, plan the exit carefully.For example, a Twitter channel set up as part of an overall campaign may have an
intentionally fixed lifespan. Prepare for its closure so that those involved in
conversations arent taken by surprise. Above all, dont abandon a channel and leave
it publicly visible and unattended.
h. Similarly, co-production sets a tone for future activity. Once audiences haveexperienced co-production in a particular policy area, it may be hard to revert to
previous approaches.
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
11/24
Digital engagement
11
i. Remember the effectiveness of DE as complementary to traditional media plandigital activities as part of an overall approach.
j. Follow the code for civil service online participation.k. Dont think of the channel first and then try to find a use for it.l. Ensure that channels are accessible and suited to the needs and capabilities of those
engaging in them.
m.Prepare for the unexpected run scenarios to test DE. Be creative in: what couldhappen if... thinking.
n. Measure and evaluate engagement activities.o. Be prepared to rethink established metrics and role of existing assets, notably web
sites. Engagement involves being where the conversation is, not necessarily bringing
others to a destination.
p. The best place for engagement may not be DHs place.q. The best organisation to lead co-production may not be DH. For example, a third
sector partner may provide a more effective setting.
r. Be aware of the skills required: beginning DE without them is likely to fails. Approvals processes and timescales from non-digital channels are unlikely to be
suitable for DE
t. Take risks if nothing ever goes wrong, it may be a sign that genuine DE is lackingu. Dont ignore digital engagement, whether planned or not it wont go away
10. When and where to engage10.1. This refers to active choices of channels as well as decisions made in response to
feedback from monitoring and listening.
10.2. There are three basic approaches available in planning where to engage; approacheswhich can be used in combination:
On ones own channels bringing the conversation to you On other sites taking the conversation to where the audience is, and where
conversations are happening anyway
Through allowing content to be used elsewhere providing the ingredients forengagement to take place, anywhere; e.g. allowing content assets to be embedded in
third-party blogs
10.3. An example of using these approaches in combination would be the hosting of a webcontent where direct feedback can be left, also containing embedded video content (i.e.
content appearing in the site itself), which can either be viewed in situ or by linking back
to an external video hosting site (such as youtube.com). The content is also made
available for other, non-government, sites to take and use, allowing further engagement
to take place on those sites.
10.4. Such an approach has benefits and drawbacks. By offering content in numerous settings,different audiences and communities can be reached. However, there is a corresponding
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
12/24
Digital engagement
12
increase in the workload required to monitor, and especially, participate in, the
numerous conversations that ensue. Effective use of monitoring tools, such as a social
media dashboard, can offset this to some extent.
11.
Implementation considerations11.1. Resourcing: one of the most significant strategic issues to consider is the impact on
traditional resourcing models that DE may bring. Large-scale interaction, 24 hours a day,
on hundreds of sites covering dozens of topic areas maybe possible in theory. But this is
unlikely to be achievable with realistic resources.
11.2. Instead, engagement opportunities can be prioritised: in a recent exercise, ECP workedwith the QIPP team to review 40 recent stories, in digital channels, mentioning topics
which might have relevance to the QIPP agenda. The stories were reviewed for the
degree of relevance to QIPP, and the impact which the topic might have on the delivery
of QIPPs objectives. This led to a balanced choice for each story on whether engagementwas appropriate, and if so, in what channel.
11.3. The use of social media is becoming better understood. More is known about the natureof building communities, managing interaction and reacting to the unforeseen. Social
media tools are, by and large, free of up-front costs, although they do of course incur
significant amounts of management time in their establishment and operation.
11.4. As DE continues to grow in volume which seems likely so the use of smarterresourcing approaches should be explored. For example, rather than having a dedicated
social media manager for each project it should be possible to deliver operational
economies by specialising and sharing such skills across a number of projects.
11.5. Quantifying resourcing for digital engagement requires the establishment of clearengagement goals and monitoring frequencies. Passive monitoring can be conducted
with very little resource, once initial tools have been set up, but once response has been
entered into, an ongoing resource commitment needs to be established. For planning
purposes it may be useful to distinguish between set-up resource (establishing a
strategy, choosing platforms, preparing content, building a community or network) and
operating resource listening, responding, escalating.
11.6. Accessibility: in both the technical sense (provision for users of different capabilities) andthe network sense (any form of connection to digital platforms such as the Internet). It is
not the role of an approach to DE to define future infrastructure provisions, but clearlywe must bear in mind the realities of access when planning for digital engagement.
12. Evaluation12.1. Given the resources that digital engagement can consume, evaluating its effectiveness is
essential. However, its evaluation is complex. There is a temptation to focus on
intermediate metrics (number of followers or subscribers, the size of audience that will
have seen online content, the number of blog posts and comments generated etc.) rather
than tangible outcomes. Yet tangible outcomes may only be indirectly attributable to
digital engagement, such is the nature of influence.
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
13/24
Digital engagement
13
12.2. Tools fit for the evaluation of digital engagement are required: this may mean the designof dashboards (suites of tools which show evidence of performance in a number of
areas, together in one place). Examples of these already exist in central government, and
have been developed by ECP to suit particular DH requirements. As well as measuring
obvious metrics such as frequency and extent of coverage, tools also exist which can
track sentiment the tone and context of online commentary on a particular topic.
12.3. This document does not propose a single evaluation methodology to span all instances ofDE across the Department. Given the range of communication and engagement activities
such a methodology would be unlikely to exist in practice. However, the setting of
objectives (and corresponding measures) suitable for each example of DE, and the
periodic review of progress against them (with swift corrective or fine-tuning action taken
where necessary) are essential.
12.4. As a minimum, evaluation should include:
a core set of hard measures, including numbers of subscribers, estimates of audiencereach, and volumes of content generated;
sentiment analysis (some degree of sampling is inevitable) as evidence of audienceperceptions of engagement; and
assessment of overall achievement of campaign or policy goals, where engagementhas played a part.
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
14/24
Digital engagement
14
Annex 1: Digital engagement in relation to social media
Although these topics are related, and often interchanged, they have different meanings. Digital
engagement is defined as:
Digital engagement: the use of interactive techniques to improve service
delivery and information provision via digital technologies (the internet,
mobile telephones and digital television) [defn: COI]
The Cabinet Office commissioned the 2009 Power of Information5
report, which described three
categories of digital engagement in practice:
Helping people online where they seek help Innovating and co-creating with citizens online
Opening up online dialogue
Interactivity and improvement are important here. In contrast to digital communication the use
of any digital channel or technique to communicate DE must6
have this two-way element of
interaction (for example between service provider and service user). Merely publishing information
in a digital format, or presenting an electronic transaction without any ability to provide comment or
feedback, does not constitute DE.
In addition, DE may well facilitate engagement within peer communities. An example might be to
provide a space for carers to share their experiences and advice with each other, rather than
offering top-down guidance. Social media can be used to provide such spaces.
Social media refers to particular digital technologies that are frequently associated with, and very
suitable for, digital engagement.
Social media: digital tools that permit people and organisations to interact
freely with low (or no) barriers to entering a conversation
Social media is less concerned with broadcasting messages to mass audiences; and more about
engaging specific groups in some depth, building strong and ongoing relationships between people
and a brand, campaign or policy.
Digital engagement refers to a general philosophy of operating; social media are a particular set of
tools that enable this.
5http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/reports/power_of_information.aspx
6
There is arguably a wider definition of engagement, based on the consequences of even one-waycommunication. However, that would equate digital engagement with all digital activity, and detract from the
focus on interaction that is the purpose of this paper.
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
15/24
Digital engagement
15
Annex 2: Example initiatives
Examples from across DH
Response to pandemic flu, 2009
A programme of engagement across several digital channels. A Twitter channel provided regular
updates on breaking news items and other content. A protocol was also developed between the
major public-facing government websites to use the pandemic flu Twitter account to amplify their
respective significant messages.
Monitoring and listening played an important role. By understanding the conversations that were
happening in digital channels, content could be tailored to meet particular concerns, or to clarify
points where needed. Although DH decided not to interact directly with the public through digital
media, its use for listening to conversations, sentiment and concerns demonstrated engagement
because content was created or changed as a result.
Other digital engagement took place through the use of video content (NHS Choices posted
commentable content on its YouTube channel) and some content was also hosted on DHs YouTube
channel (non commentable at that time). A paid search management strategy was put in place to
ensure the prominence of appropriate links relevant to pandemic flu search queries.
NHS Choices also supported commenting on its news articles. Generally these conversations were
self-moderating; with users directing users to correct information sources if they were in doubt. A
general policy of not interfering in user commentary was observed. Email subscriptions for updates
were also supported by NHS Choices.
HPV Vaccination, 2009/10
The HPV vaccination campaign used a mixture of traditional and digital media. Traditional
promotional media and paid web search were supported by web content giving further information
on the vaccination programme. A notable engagement feature was the ability to register for
reminders (sent by text message) to help make sure that vaccinations occurred at the right time. This
was a novel use of a digital channel (the mobile phone) to reach an audience group for whom this
was particularly appropriate.
The HPV use of social media (Facebook: http://facebook.com/hpvtogether) to support other
channels has also shown some excellent practice. The theme of the page is not: become a fan of
HPV vaccination it has instead featured attractive content for girls and young women on lifestyleand leisure interests. By sharing content that has value to this community, the community engages,
develops and almost as a by-product becomes conducive to receiving, sharing and discussing
messages about the vaccination programme. The Facebook group has over 2,500 fans, and has been
used to organise events such as the Girls Night in which was signed up to by nearly 8,000 people.
Big Care Debate, 2009/10
One of the largest, multi-channel digital engagement exercises, this included an email list that could
be signed-up to, a Facebook page, a Twitter account and latterly, an exercise to encourage the public
to submit photos related to care, for display and potential inclusion in the forthcoming White Paper.
Supporting web content for the engagement channels was created as a subdomain of Directgov.
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
16/24
Digital engagement
16
The Facebook page attracted informed and active contributors, and built up a following.
Contribution from DH to discussions on the page was relatively limited in volume and frequency
compared to that generated by the public, with the effect of allowing a small number of vocal
contributors to dominate discussions.
Webinars/webchats (various dates)
DH has conducted several webchats, hosted in different ways: in a government channel (the No10
web chat platform); via the media (using the Guardians webchat services); and with the third sector
(using Mumsnet and Carers.org as webchat platforms). Typically the format centres on a prominent
individual (the Chief Medical Officer, senior official or minister, typically) providing either a briefing,
with follow-up comments and participation, or a straight question-and-answer format.
In a recent example (Feb 2010) Phil Hope chaired a web question-and-answer session for around an
hour taking questions on the topic of care and support. The full transcript of the webchat is available
at http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page22420. The moderator took direct questions about the
engagement exercise (in addition to questions for the minister) and provided personal responses viaemail a very positive indication of engagement.
Examples from across government
The New Opportunities online consultation
(www.hmg.gov.uk/newopportunities.aspx) provides access to the New Opportunities White Paper
and seeks opinion on how the UK can draw on the opportunities offered by the global economy.
The site is a primary source of information that encourages users to engage in discussions in other
locations before submitting their comments.
The Sustainable Development Commission website
(www.sd-commission.org.uk/pages/sd-panel.html) The Sustainable Development Commission has
recruited a 500-strong panel of multi-discipline stakeholders to which it can pose regular
consultation questions.
Number 10 webchats
(www.number10.gov.uk/news/webchats) allow the general public to direct questions at the people
who make decisions that affect their lives. They are a cost-effective and engaging way of involving
the public in government processes, and embed good content.
The Communities and Local Government discussion forums
(http://haveyoursay.communities.gov.uk/ forums/) enable users to debate issues that are relevant
to their local community through the Departments own social media channels. They are a low-cost
way of gathering public opinion and placing the views of the public at the heart of policy-making
processes.
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
17/24
Digital engagement
17
The Listening to Students blog
(http://talk.dius.gov.uk/blogs/studentlistening/) provides the Department for Innovation,
Universities and Skills (DIUS) with an opportunity to post information that will engage university
students in government decisions. The Departments dedicated social media unit creates technical
solutions, policy and communications. The student listening blog is a good example of the way inwhich DIUS creates dedicated spaces for key stakeholders using low-cost social media.
RAF careers promotion
(www.bebo.com/theroyalairforce) has benefited from social media activity. Its Bebo page
successfully exploits the network effect by giving users highly engaging content that they want to
talk about and share with others. To do this they allowed frontline staff to tell their own stories
using video and chat.
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
18/24
Digital engagement
18
Annex 3: Implementation guidance
Recommended practice
More detailed guidance on digital engagement by channel:
Social networking sites (e.g. Facebook) Consider creating pages related to the targeted topic (as opposed to being based on its
direct theme); some creativity of approach can help in attracting broader audiences and
building a more active community. Examples include the Girls Night In events within
the HPV group, and an approach to social care recruitment which focuses on more
general issues of career choice not just around social care.
One of the most sensitive areas is the boundary between personal and business personafor staff participating in the Facebook environment staff should always engage as DH
officials when participating on official business on social network platforms.
Web campaigns Give consideration to the need for new content developing existing content on public-
facing government sites (e.g. NHS Choices or Directgov)
Look for opportunities to make content available to other platforms (including non-government) in addition to developing content on government sites
Consultation channels
Ask for proportionate personal information, indicating how it will be used
Make it clear what (minimal) information is requiredfrom those engaging, and what isoptional. Barriers to participation should be as low as possible.
Forums Decide on moderation approach (pre-publication, post-publication or none) based on
the context of the forum membership, topic area and discussions. Moderation helps
reduce the risk of off-topic or offensive content being submitted, and can be used to
prevent on-forum conflict between users, but it can also introduces costs and delays to
publication, and can be seen by some users as a form of censorship.
Assess forum usage as proportion of available audience, check for domination by asmall, vocal community, and consider mitigating actions. As an example, if a profession
has several thousand members, but only a handful are participating in a forum, explore
ways to broaden the appeal, either by seeding different topics for discussion or by
publicising the forum to a wider audience.
Blogs (including microblogging) DH policy is that no officials will blog in a personal capacity. Any channels that are
operated must respect this; an example of a way to achieve this might be the use of a
range of external contributors to write posts based on specific topics, as a featured
theme relevant to a particular policy area. Once begun, blogs should be regularly
updated.
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
19/24
Digital engagement
19
Allow blog comments; decide on moderation approach (pre- post- or none) based oncontext, but a blog with no comment facility represents generally poor practice (and is
effectively no more than web page publication).
Cross-promote the blog or microblog in other channels. Use a personal touch, but dont make it all about one persons activities. Exploration of
related themes, or asking questions of the channels audience, can be useful ways to
broaden the content and value of posts.
More detailed guidance is available from the e-Communications and Publishing team.No new blogging or microblogging channels should be set up without the involvement of
ECP.
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
20/24
Digital engagement
20
Annex 4: a Framework for Digital Engagement in DH
It may be useful to recap this digital engagement framework in a 6 P mnemonic form:
Purpose
Is there a clear purpose for digitally engaging?
Principles
Have the principles within this document been reviewed before firm plans and commitments are
made?
People
Are the resources in place to support digital engagement? Is the community with whom engagement
is proposed well-understood? Are other communities that may become engaged also understood
Place
Where to engage: on a DH platform, on other platforms (government and non-government), via
supersites, or using a combination of these?
Practice
Are the guidance notes within this paper being applied to the operation of digital engagement? Has
additional guidance been sought from the eCommunications and Publishing team and from peers
where necessary?
Protection
Has due care been given to risk, reputational protection and potential policy impacts of digitally
engaging? The eCommunications and Publishing team provide advice and expert guidance in this
area.
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
21/24
Digital engagement
21
Annex 5: Glossary of terms
Term Definition
Blog Derived from Web log originally a regularly-updated journal on
which visitors could leave comments. Now generally used for a site
(or section of a larger site) where text-based content can be
created in the form of short articles, almost always open for
comments to be posted. These comments may be subject to some
degree ofmoderation.
Campaign site Website created in association with a specific campaign; usually
for a defined period of time; may include facilities to receive user
feedback and present an opportunity for engagement.
Commentable document A facility for hosting a document under review, usually divided into
manageable sections, and permitting comments to be left for the
author and to permit dialogue between commenters. Combines
some of the features of a wikifor collaborative working, but
retaining an initial document structure throughout. Has been used
on a number of government policy documents made available for
digital consultation. One tool that delivers this functionality
(implemented on the WordPress platform) is known as
Commentariat. Example at:
http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/lowcarbon
Consultation channel Any channel used as part of the policy formation process whether
in the gathering of ideas, discussion of concepts with stakeholders,
or in hosting content as part of a formal consultation process. The
content may be commentable (see above), hosted as a wikifor
collaborative editing, or simply be displayed publicly with
comment invited through email or other direct channels.
Content-based networking
sites
e.g. YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, TripAdvisor sites based on content of
a certain type (e.g. video, images, reviews) with a strong element
of user feedback, user-generated content (UGC) and elements of
social networking (e.g. ability to create groups, forums, favourites,peer-to-peer relationships etc.)
Crowdsourcing The use of digital (or other) media to allow the contribution of
information or ideas from a wide range of people, usually around a
topic, a question, or a request for innovative suggestions.
Dashboard Dashboard: a utility that searches and aggregates information
from many channels across the internet, and displays it all in one
place, in real time, for management, monitoring or consumption
purposes. Example: www.netvibes.com/socialcare
Data feed Automatic generation of content (usually from a website) so that it
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
22/24
Digital engagement
22
Term Definition
can be read elsewhere, or integrated into other channels. A feed
might be updated, for example, every time a new blog post or
comment is created, allowing the content to be read elsewhere by
a subscriber to that feed.
Feeds are also useful for automating information flows between
websites, so that a change in one place can be reflected in another
site without the need for manual intervention. Updated disease
statistics would be a good example of such a feed.
Digital communications Communications using digital media (aka digital channels): the
internet, mobile telephony or digital television technologies
includingplatforms operating using these technologies.
Digital engagement The use of interactive techniques to improve service delivery andinformation provision via digital media technology.
Email subscription Although not social in terms of community formation and peer-
to-peer interaction, allowing users to register email addresses to
receive personal(ised) updates represents a form of digital
engagement. Digital tools build a two-way relationship: the user
receiving content, and also experiencing some sense of being part
of a community, even as information recipient.
Forum Area for registered members to discuss specific topics. Can form
part of a wider overall site. Characterised by a core user basemaking multiple contributions and often sharing relationships or
culture. Forum content may or not be moderated.
Geolocation The tagging of content with attributes relating to a physical place.
Typically this will be either the place where the content was
created, or a place to which it refers.
Group A type of forum generated by users within a social networking or
similar type of site. Shares many of the characteristics of a forum,
but can be more volatile. Members (who are a subset of the
members of a larger form or social network) will typically interactfor a shorter period of time, usually around a specific single issue.
Creation offan pages (or similar designations) also effectively
forms a Group.
Metadata Information about information. Often invisible to the user,
metadata allows content to be classified, structured and sorted.
Tags represent a use of metadata.
Microblogging e.g. Twitter, Identi.ca, Yammer (the latter within corporate
environments). Member communities sharing short message
content, openly and by direct peer-to-peer message. Highly
flexible in their use, and prone to rapid escalation of issues:
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
23/24
Digital engagement
23
Term Definition
creation of a Twittermob.
Moderation Editorial judgement over user-generated online content.
Numerous varieties exist, from moderation by peers or by the site
owner/author, to outsourced arrangements where professional
moderators assess and process comments on a larger scale.
Post To publish content to a blog, micro-blog, forum or website, either
as a new topic or as a comment on existing content. Also, as a
noun, to describe the content posted (synonymous with blog
post, forum post etc.).
Platform Infrastructure within a digital channel allowing content to be
hosted, applications to be run, or interactions between users
managed, within an overall structure. An example might includeyoutube.com a platform for video hosting and interaction, or the
iPhone as a mobile telephony platform capable of running a
variety of different applications installed at the choice of the user.
Private social networking site A social network intended for a specific community of interest.
Offers similar features to an open social networking site, but
almost always sets conditions and controls over entry and
participation. E.g. sites set up using Ning.
User-generated content Any content provided by users, rather than the owners of an
online environment. May or may not be moderated(see above)
User feedback A specific type of user-generated content: that created as a
response to provided informational content. Can take the form of
freeform text comments, votes, likes/dislikes, or more detailed
survey-type information.
Social bookmarking A method by which people can store, organize, search and share
articles, blog posts and other information. There are many
different libraries, each with their own bookmark, including Digg,
de.lici.ous and Reddit. Increasingly, posting content links as tweets
or to Facebook profiles provides a common form of bookmarking.Eg. the DH website supports the sharing of content through social
bookmarking:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/MediaCentre/Pressreleases/DH_115988
Social marketing The use of marketing techniques to achieve desired social
outcomes (e.g. behaviour change). May or may not involve the use
of social media. Included here to avoid confusion with social media
marketing.
Social media Digital tools that permit people and organisations to interact freely
with low (or no) barriers to entering a conversation.
-
8/6/2019 Digital Engagement Strategy
24/24
Digital engagement
Term Definition
Social media marketing The use of social media to promote a particular cause or product.
May or may not have social marketing implications. Included here
to avoid confusion with social marketing.
Social networking site A website offering general-purpose networking features to all who
may want to join. Facebook dominates the adult market; Bebo has
a focus on a younger/teenage audience; MySpace is now focused
on music/video content and may be regarded as a content-based
networking site, albeit one with a high membership.
Tags Keywords (or similar indexing information) describing online
content that allow other users to search for relevant material.
Twitter The best known of the micro-blogging platforms. Users contributeshort messages, either on the twitter.com website, or using a
number of third-party client applications: whatever the route,
interaction happens in a consistent and open way. Terms include:
Tweet: to post content (short messages up to 140 characters long)
Re-tweet: to republish anothers post. Good for spreading
messages widely, or adding commentary to them
Hashtags: words or phrases preceded by #. This allows them to
be grouped together and easily searched.
Webchat (or Webinar) A structured discussion using instant messaging
Example: http://webchat.number10.gov.uk
Wiki An open collaboration environment in which users may freely (or
with some controls) create and modify content as a community.
The best known example is Wikipedia, where an open community
collaborates to create an encyclopaedia, but wikis can be used for
tasks as varied as communal creation of a policy document, or
managing the names and interests of attendees to an event.