RunCoCo

Yesterday, Culturenet Cymru played host to the latest RunCoCo workshop, at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth (27 July 2010). We welcomed about 30 delegates to the excellent conference facilities of the National Library. As the dust settles we are preparing to publish the programme, the presenters’ slides, and some audio/video from the day which focussed on engaging communities either online or face-to-face. In the meantime here is something of a photo-story from the day.

I’m the manager of RunCoCo (based at the University of Oxford) and I arrived in Aberystwyth on the day before the workshop, to help the Culturenet Cymru team set up.

Setting-up inside the amazing Drwm auditorium, NLW

After an afternoon spent printing, stuffing delegate packs and making last minute arrangements I chilled-out with a short walk on the coast path above Borth, just North of Aberystwyth.

Mountainous clouds loom over the Cardigan Bay coast, Borth (near Aberystwyth)

With so many travelling to join us in Aberystwyth we held a friendly evening social before the workshop.

Speakers and delegates relax in a little bit of Italy in Mid-Wales

The weather closed-in as we made our way to the National Library on the morning of the workshop, and the grey did not lift from the beautiful town of Aberystwyth. The lovely interior of the Library made up for that gloom.

Carving on the spotlit podium, inside the Drwm auditorium

A welcoming coffee (or two or three) in the atrium of the spectacular Drwm auditorium

The delegates begin to settle in their seats in the Drwm

Dafydd Tudur, manager of Culturenet Cymru, welcomed everyone to the National Library, and the tone for the day was set perfectly by Brian Teeman, (brian.teeman.net and c0-founder of the Joomla open source online content management system).

Brian Teeman delivers the key note

Dafydd presented about the National Library’s many years involvement in community contributed digitisation projects and the agenda of digital inclusion from the Welsh Assembly Government. Tea and coffee followed with the chance for the delegates to network.

A chance to make connections

Delegates converse in front of a banner for the People's Collection Wales

Presentations from Jenna Bailey, University of Sussex and Gethin Matthews, Cardiff University, described real problems their JISC-funded community collection projects are facing now, and considerered how they have tried to overcome them. These included the risk that a community collection might receive illegal material or the disclosure of illegal activities from potential contributors to the Mass Observation Communities Online (MOCO) project, (website just launched), and the difficulties in attracting contributors to a submissions day for the Welsh Voices of the Great War Online project, (website also just launched).

The Drwm, NLW

Lunch in the Pen Dinas café in the National Library of Wales – which I’m afraid I failed to enjoy. I could not do justice to the amazing ham in mustard sauce and the towering cheesecake – nerves about my impending session that afternoon. However the conversation was fascinating, my first chance to really engage – a break from sorting out the speakers and the day. So many different views and backgrounds represented – the delegates coming from across the UK, from local authorities, from Higher Education, the voluntary sector and national institutions, as well as the private consultancies which support all of those.

The President's Room, NLW

For the afternoon’s presentations we moved from the Drwm to the Council Chamber and the President’s Room with spectacular views over the town and and the sea of Cardigan Bay.

View from the Council Chamber, NLW

Sioned Rees-Jones gave us a preview of the People’s Collection Wales website, which launches next week at the National Eisteddfod. The website is visually stunning, a colourful feast – which the project hopes to match with content contributed by institutions and communities from across Wales and a range of facilities and services (like digital scrapbooks) for the public to re-use and re-arrange the display, e.g. for ramblers plotting a route or for teachers to show their pupils. There is a fascinating video currently available from the beta site where you can hear some of Wales’ most familiar faces talk about the People’s Collection Wales.

Introducing the People's Collection video

The afternoon continued with discussion sessions, punctuated by the chance for tea and cakes and further networking, and ended with a Q&A session with all the speakers, and a generous gift of a book for the delegates from the hosts, the National Library of Wales.

Bara brith and buttered Welsh cakes, fuel for discussion

I’ll leave you with the enigmatic titles for the discussion sessions, we will post later in more detail about these:

• Digital storytelling led by Mog (The George Ewart Evans Centre for Storytelling, University of Glamorgan, a partner in the Welsh Assembly Government’s Communities 2.0 programme)
• Stump the geeks led by Paul McCann (Culturenet Cymru) and Brian Teeman (brian.teeman.net)
• Getting your message out there led by Alun Edwards (RunCoCo, University of Oxford)

Thanks to everyone who engaged so whole-heartedly in the day!

Hard work during one of breakout discussion groups

RunCoCo is working closely with the Alliance (JISC Strategic Content Alliance) to put on workshops this year for community collection projects. We have put some presentations online from events in May – which included an insightful session on IPR and copyright – more to follow. We also have a workshop planned on the subjects of sustainability and business models for community collection projects with the Alliance on November 3rd in Leeds.

We hoped to involve the Alliance in our workshop next week, Community Engagement, at the National Library of Wales on 27 July. However they’re double booked. We will distribute to our delegates some of the Alliance material on this subject – which is so close to the heart of what we will be discussing. But if you will miss our event may I suggest you register for the Audience Analysis workshop – 30th July 2010.

I quote from their publicity below:

I am writing to invite you to attend a FREE workshop from the Strategic Content Alliance (Alliance) introducing simple and inexpensive Audience Analysis techniques. This aims to improve your knowledge and understanding about how to measure and demonstrate the impact of you collection or website beyond a simple numeric value i.e. number of hits. The workshop offers delegates the opportunity to make the most out of their collections and websites using a range of free tactical tools created by the Alliance.

The workshop is aimed primarily at delegates from universities, archives, museums, health, public service broadcasting, schools and cultural heritage. No particular technical knowledge is required as a prerequisite. However, we encourage delegates to consult the free audience analysis documentation at http://sca.jiscinvolve.org/audience-publications/

Why research audiences of online content?

Understanding your online users is an essential technique in order for you to retain and increase “market share” in an increasing competitive online market. Why users visits your collection and/or website, what they are doing, why are they not visiting, how can you demonstrate impact to your boss or funder are all questions that can be addressed by the adoption of recognised techniques highlighted in free tactical tools. As we enter the “perfect storm” of rapid technological innovation, changing user behaviour and budgetary restraint it’s important to be able to demonstrate the “value proposition” of your collection and/or website to management and funders.

Organisations often excel at engaging with physical audiences and developing physical services which meet their needs, and it is now important to understand how audiences engage with digital collections and websites.

Topics covered will include:

• Maximising access and removing barriers to your content through Alliance tools.
• What is audience analysis? Why should I do it?
• Putting audience research into practice – reaping the benefits.

By the end of the workshop, delegates will have:

• An understanding of the basic principles of audience analysis;
• Practical hints and tips about where to start researching your digital audiences and how to get buy-in from senior management;
• Considered how audience analysis can be used to improve a hypothetical online digital service;
• Reflected on how you could better meet your audiences’ needs;
• Knowledge of the documentation and support that is available in your sector to help you better understand your audiences;

Date: 30th July 2010: Morning (9.00- 12.15) or Afternoon (1.30- 4.45) sessions**

Venue: JISC London Offices, Brettenham House, 5, Lancaster Place, London, WC2E7EN

Registration: https://www.eventsforce.net/jisc/48/home

**2 identical sessions shall be held in the Morning (9.00- 12.15) and Afternoon (1.30-4.45).

Delegates are asked to choose the session they wish to attend**

Please note for all administrative enquiries, please contact Verena Weigert by e-mail.

We are currently planning a RunCoCo workshop in Leeds, November 3rd 2010, putting together an exciting programme around the topic of sustainability and business models for community collection projects. If you would like to be involved as a presenter or if you have any particular questions you would like the event to cover, please contact the project via runcoco@oucs.ox.ac.uk. More details about the event will be published on the website in due course. Registration for delegates will open after the summer.

Is there a community engagement issue you would like some help to solve? Or do you want feedback on a piece of work?

We want to give you the opportunity to harness the expertise and knowledge of the speakers and delegates at the free RunCoCo community collections workshop we’re holding in Aberystwyth on 27 July. At the event, delegates will sign-up to one of the problem-solving sessions in the afternoon. They will then work with you as a break-out group for maybe 1 hour, and a ‘recorder’ from the group will report back to the final panel session.

Delegates discuss trust/authenticity issues at the RunCoCo workshop, May 2010

Some problems which delegates might help with include, but are not restricted to:

• writing a press release that has impact;
• making social media work (Facebook, Twitter etc.) for your project;
• getting more followers on Facebook or Twitter;
• writing for blog posts which people will read;
• getting feedback on your project website;
• getting feedback on your submissions forms;
• getting better information from Web stats;
• optimising your website’s presence in Google;
• encouraging a local volunteer group to work with you…

If you are interested in getting some help with an issue please email runcoco@oucs.ox.ac.uk as soon as possible. RunCoCo will try to cover some of your travel costs if you are leading one of these problem-solving groups.

The details of the RunCoCo event on 27 July at the National Library of Wales, organised with Culturenet Cymru, are available from our project website.  Booking closes 12 July.

We welcome delegates from the voluntary sector and the education and public sectors, as well as the private consultants that work with these to the free RunCoCo workshop: How to Run a Community Collection Online on Tues 27 July 2010 in Aberystwyth. To register please complete our form by 12noon on 12 July 2010. Confirmation of your place will be sent as soon as possible. Further details of the events are also available on our website and our blog.

This is to clarify that although RunCoCo is funded by JISC and supports the work of JISC-funded community content projects as a primary audience, our events are open to all!