Web Governance:An uncomfortable truth (at least for the boss)

Some lessons from experience at IDS

Geoff BarnardWeb4Dev Conference: November 2006

www.ids.ac.uk

Circa 1996 – the early days

Our first institutional website

Our first web project: Eldis

Life was a lot simpler

The whole thing was an experiment

Governance was not a big issue

3-4 staff, tiny budget www.ids.ac.uk

Ten years later

A whole array of IDS sites, sub-sites,

partnership sites

A whole family of knowledge services

www.ids.ac.uk60+ staff, 1/3 IDS income, 180,000 visitors/mo

the organisation

the organisation

Then

the website (s)

Now

the website

www.ids.ac.uk

How things have changed

The uncomfortable truth

The website is becoming a crucial part of the organisations identity, profile and reputation

But who is it being managed by?

www.ids.ac.uk

A new generation of young, bright,

enthusiasts

Not the men in suits

There is no alternativeSenior managers don’t know enough about how the web works and is evolving

Editorial processes have to be light-touch, otherwise the system would grind to a halt

The subject experts are generally not that interested in communicating

Good websites require creativity, energy and ongoing commitment

The work has to be delegated and decentralised, or it won’t get done

www.ids.ac.uk

ImplicationsOrganisations are being turned upside-down, and inside-out

Fantastic opportunities for junior and mid-level staff to make difference

Senior management may not have woken up to the implications of this yet

When they do, they could get quite worried!

There are quite a range of potential risks (reputation, IPR, business processes, etc.)

So how does one make this work?

www.ids.ac.uk

The web team’s dilemma: caught in the middle

www.ids.ac.uk

The Boss

The Users

The Advisory

Group

The Funders

The Contributors

The Web Team

especially important

A typology of bosses

www.ids.ac.uk

Type 1:

Disengaged and not

interested

Type 2:

Disengaged but

supportive

Type 3:

Engaged and

Supportive

Type 4:

Engaged but too

interested

Where you want to be

Ingredients for a success: systems and procedures

Clear objectives – purpose, audience, role

Clarity on branding

Clarity on values

Clear editorial guidelines

Explicit disclaimers – especially for interactive areas

Simple but effective quality control loops

A challenging, but supportive, advisory group

Thoughtful monitoring & evaluation

Good user feedback channels

www.ids.ac.uk

Ingredients for a success: the people side

Empowering the web team to get on with the job

Careful recruitment

Good training and back-up

Feeling supported and valued

Scope for personal and professional development

Room for reflection and learning

Strong support when things go wrong

www.ids.ac.uk

The result

A strong and motivated web team that is a real credit to the organisation, and a constant source of new ideas and new blood

www.ids.ac.uk