Web Strategies

Chair – Andrew Aird, KCL

Reporter – William Mackintosh, University of York

Session 1: Overview

• Ice breaker– How many institutions have a web strategy?– > 20 institutions represented– Only 4 had a web strategy

• Lengthy discussion about the need for a strategy

• Questions to be addressed in Session 2

Web strategy – Why bother? (1)

• A strategy is redundant– An institution already has a number of high

level strategies.– Web is only a delivery mechanism– Web will be implicit in the strategies anyway

Web strategy – Why bother? (2)

• Middle ground– Institution has several high-level strategies

which refer to the web and address business needs.

– A web strategy should refer to the other strategies and pull strands together.

Web strategy – Why bother? (3)

• Strategy is essential– Web is all-pervasive, omnipresent,… and

driving the institution– MLE

Questions to be answered

1) What is a web strategy?

2) Identify what should be included in a strategy and what should not be addressed.

3) Who are the stakeholders?

4) Who should own the strategy?

Q1: What is a web strategy?

• Strategy is distinct from an operational document e.g. rules and guidelines

• A document which can be consulted• Set out aims and objectives• A need for regular review and updating of

the strategy• Implementation plan could form part of

strategy

Q2: What should be included in the strategy?

• Define the scope of the strategy

• Centralisation vs. decentralisation

• Scalability

• Who decides what

• Refer to other strategies

What should not be included in the strategy?

• Technical details

Q3: Who are the stakeholders?

• Strategy needs to address all audiences – potential applicants…alumni, staff, etc.

• => Stakeholders are everybody

Q4: Who should own the strategy?

• Implementer is owner

• => Web Team

End of Presentation

• Thank you for your attention.