anasr.org first open strategic meeting
DESCRIPTION
anasr.org held its first Open Strategic Meeting on the 19th of October 2013 at Queen Mary University of London, Mile End road, London, E1 4NS, UK. The aim of the meeting was to review anasr.org's past and current activities and to plan for future ones.TRANSCRIPT
Open Strategic Mee.ng October 2013
Overview
• Our aim of the mee3ng: – Expose anasr.org – Reflect on past, current & future ac3vi3es, collec3vely – Exchange and discuss feedback
• Structure – Review + Quick Q&A
• Break – Discussion
– Housekeeping
What is anasr.org?
• An independent ini3a3ve to develop a plaMorm of interac3on between Algerian academics, scien3sts and researchers inside and outside of Algeria.
• An interac3on space to discover, share and inspire Algerian intellect across the globe.
• Objec3ves, etc.
What is anasr.org?
What is anasr.org?
• Key characteris3cs: – Open network – Independent, transparent – Community-‐led – Grassroots – Prac3cal ac3on
• A means to contribute towards posi3ve change – Focus on science, research and academia
Membership?
Core Team (5)
Project Specific Volunteers (17)
Network Members (113)
Concep.on, vision and objec.ves
Concep.on
• APGUK: a network for postgraduate students
• Established in 2007 – A community
• Events, discussions, etc. – A virtual campus
• Facebook group
• Last mee3ng 2011 – Redundant of its name? – Redefine its vision
Concep.on
• APGUKs wanted to keep working together
• Focused projects – … – Directory of academics – Networking space
• Directory of people, products, places • Field specific groups, newsle]ers • Project spaces
– anasr.org was born
Vision & Objec.ves
• An interac3on space to discover, share and inspire Algerian intellect across the globe. – Promotes interac.on and exchange that transcends physical constraints and borders
– Build bridges between members in and out of Algeria – Promotes posi.ve ac.on
• Objec3ves so far realised through: – Website – Magazine – Awards
Milestones
• April 2011: anasr.org conceived • Regular mee3ngs • Coding & development
• Dec/Jan 2011/2012: ini3al websites developed • Directory, profiles
• April 2012: Inspire Magazine launched • Jan 2013: Algerian Paper of the Year Awards launched
• April 2013: Extra website features launched • Q&A, Stories
Website Also known as anasr.org!
What is anasr.org?
• A virtual academic network • A plaMorm for sharing and interac3on • A promoter of Algerian intellect and academia.
• Hence the mo]os: – Discover – Share – Inspire
A brief history of anasr.org
• Student early days • The end of big Government • A directory to expose and inspire
The last genera.on grows apart
• At APGUK’s last general mee3ng • Strong desire to keep community alive • And work for the benefit of Algeria
• New projects are welcomed. • A network is created
The network
The rise of the social web
• A new paradigm • Bo]om up, organic • Empowers and engages individuals
• A plaMorm to share knowledge: – Q&A – Stories
Q&A
• Inspired by StackExchange • Social media version of discussion forums
• Focus on ques3ons. • Let users vote on important ques3ons • And good answers.
Q&A
Stories
• Inspired by – Digg.com – Silicon Valley Startups (Hacker News)
• Social media version of News
Stories
Stories
Social media spirit
• Not just tools but also our values • Bo]om up. Community driven. • Transparency and openness
• Open website – Content management system – Non technical people can contribute
Open website (drupal)
What about Inspire?
• Tools and technology are great
• But passion and inspira3on is what drives – Inspire Magazine. – Awards.
Achievements/Challenges
• The website: – 5,228 visits, 19,000 page views. – 2,594 unique visitors – 51% returning visitors
• Directory: – 112 members. – From all over the world. 55% From Algeria. – Varied members – Beyond our social network
Country Visits % Visits
United Kingdom 2,432 45.99%
Algeria 2,199 41.58%
United States 212 4.01%
France 174 3.29% Canada 62 1.17% (not set) 28 0.53%
Saudi Arabia 20 0.38%
Achievements/Challenges
• Directory: – Missing profiles
• Stories: – A]racts visitors especially from facebook – No contribu3ons. Only the team.
• Q&A: – No ac3vity
Aims for the future
• Increase membership base – Especially young academics in Algeria
• Increase interac3on – Brain storm. Feedback
Inspire Magazine
Inspire Magazine
• Promote and inspire the work of Algerian scien3sts and researchers across the globe
• Ini3al editorial mission: – Expose the work of Algerian researchers, scien3sts and prac33oners
• Build bridges between Algerians in and out of Algeria – Engage and inspire young researchers – Promote a culture of outreach and science communica3on
• Including wri,ng and communica,on skills
Inspire Magazine: Overview
• Launched in April 2012 • 5 type of publica3ons
• Features • Event reports • Interviews • Opinions • Theses
• Contribu3ons sought through invita3on only • Three editors • Managed online, including adver3sing
Inspire Magazine: in numbers
• Sept 2012 – Oct 2013 – Published 31 ar3cles (rejected 5)
• 11 contribu3ons from Algeria
– Received about 15K page views • 5600 unique visitors, ~30% returning visitors
– Reach 8K readers • 2.7K Algeria • 2K UK • The rest of spanned the US, India, Malaysia and the UAE
Inspire Magazine: Setbacks
• Far from a “professional magazine” • Small number of contribu3ons
– Avg. ~2 publica3ons per month – Long editorial process
• Sparse engagement – 25 comments
• Need to improve on the number of publica3ons • Need to improve engagement
Awards
Awards
• Recognise and celebrate the achievements of Algerian scien3sts
• Do so while fully engaging the wider community of Algerian scien3sts and researcher in and out of the country
Awards: Overview
• Launched in January 2013 • 5 categories of nomina3ons
– Biological sciences – Chemical Sciences – Computer Science and Engineering – Medicine, Pharmacy and Veterinary Science – Physical Sciences and Mathema3cs
• Process: Nomina3on, shortlis3ng, detailed review • Announcement, and report
Awards: in numbers
• 160 nomina3ons – 62 Biological Sciences – 19 Chemical Sciences – 33 Computer Science and Engineering – 16 Medicine, Pharmacy and Veterinary Sciences – 30 Physical Sciences and Mathema3cs
• 15 researchers for shortlis3ng • 26 interna3onal senior researchers to review
Awards: Prizes
• Commemora3on plaques and cer3ficates • Exclusive interviews with Inspire Magazine
Awards: Achievements
• Engaged the Algerian and the wider community in a posi3ve ac3on
• Iden3fied, rewarded and exposed interes3ng and cuung edge research stemming out of Algeria
Awards: Setbacks
• Excluded some disciplines – Namely social sciences
• Categorisa3on / reviewing issue • More incen3ves?
Finances
Finances: Overall Expenses
Website maintenance
51% Awards 49%
Website maintenance
Awards cost £516.67
Finances: Website Maintenance – Yearly costs
2% (£8) 14% (£74.75) 5% (£27)
79% (£406.92)
Domain name
Host
Unique IP
Private Server
Finances: Awards cost structure
39% (£196)
10% (£50.16)
5% (£22.8)
46% (£231.5)
Glass Plaques
Cer3ficates
Packaging
Shipping
Finances: Contributors
54% (£548.4)
43% (£437) anasr.org
Dona3ons
Finances: Setbacks
• Cost: anasr.org ac3vi3es are non-‐profit • Crea3ng and maintaining the website + organising events under its umbrella takes effort, 3me and money. – Need for fund development. – Dependable source for website maintenance. – Improved cashflow ⇒ wider prospects and be]er opportuni3es for events/ conferences.
BREAK.
Discussion & Feedback
Structure
• Open discussion (~30 min) • Closed discussion (~1hr 30mins)
– Feedback on • (Re) vision and objec3ves • anasr.org ac3vi3es and features • Future plans
Open discussion
• Ques.on: How to mo3vate the Algerian community of academics, scien3sts and researchers to connect, engage and collaborate towards posi3ve change?
Probing ques,ons • Is the Algerian scien3fic community willing to connect? • What might stand in the way? • Do they have the 3me beyond their busy day jobs/lives? • Is there a use for such a network as anasr.org? • Is science and academia so vast and specialised that a general network is not feasible?
Closed discussion (part 1)
• (Re) What is our vision and objec3ves? • How can we improve our current ac3vi3es (assuming we do not want to alter them) to realise our vision and implement our objec3ves? – How can we improve the website? – How can we improve Inspire Magazine? – How can we improve the Awards? – How can we improve our finances?
Closed discussion (part 2)
• Should we expand our ac3vi3es? • If so, which ac3vi3es could help us realise our vision and
objec3ves more effec3vely? E.g.: – Collabora3ng with other groups/organisa3ons/ini3a3ves – Launching the annual conference – Regular informal discussion sessions
• Possible ques3ons to address for each item above – How does this ac3vity fit our vision/objec3ves? – What is the 3mescale to realise this ac3vity? – What do we need to do? – How should we do it / resources needed?