casala- d6 4 dissemination report - interim end year one...

D6.4 Dissemination Report – Interim (End of Year 1) Revision: 1

Authors:

Andrew Macfarlane, Lucia Carragher (CASALA)

Project co-funded by the European Commission within the ICT Policy Support Programme

Dissemination Level

P Public ��

C Confidential, only for members of the consortium and the Commission Services

DELIVERABLE

Project Acronym: DISCOVER

Grant Agreement Number: 297268

Project Title: Digital Inclusion Skills for Carers bringing

Opportunities Value and Excellence

Revision History and Statement of Originality

Revision History:

Revision Date Author/s Organisation Description

1.0 14th

June 2013

Andrew Macfarlane

Lucia Carragher

CASALA

CASALA

First version completed

Statement of originality:

This deliverable contains original unpublished work except where clearly indicated otherwise.

Acknowledgement of previously published material and of the work of others has been made

through appropriate citation, quotation or both.

This project is partially funded under the ICT Policy Support Programme (ICT-PSP) as part of the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme by the European Commission (Grant Agreement no. 297268)

Any views or opinions expressed in this publication reflect only the author(s)’s own view. The European Commission is not liable for any use that might be made of the information contained in this publication.

Contents

Revision History and Statement of Originality ................................................................... 2

Revision History: ...............................................................................................................................................................2

Statement of originality: .................................................................................................................................................2

Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... 5

Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 6

Classification of stakeholders .......................................................................................................................................6

Figure 1: stakeholder categories and types .............................................................................................................. 6

Completed and ongoing dissemination ....................................................................................................................7

Table1: dissemination activities ..................................................................................................................................... 7

Table 2: Planned activities linked to WP6 ................................................................................................................. 8

Communication and Dissemination Strategy .................................................................... 9

Figure 2: key phases for dissemination activities ................................................................................................... 9

Community of interest (target audience) ............................................................................................................. 10

DISCOVER4carers dissemination activities ...................................................................... 11

Brand Identity .................................................................................................................................................................. 11

Figure 3: DISCOVER4carers logo ................................................................................................................................ 11

Promotional Material .................................................................................................................................................... 11

Brochure ............................................................................................................................................................................ 11

Figure 4: project brochure ............................................................................................................................................. 12

Project Banner ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12

Figure 5: project banner ................................................................................................................................................. 13

The DISCOVER Newsletter ............................................................................................................................................. 13

Promotional postcard ...................................................................................................................................................... 13

Figure 6: DISCOVER postcards (front and reverse) ............................................................................................ 14

Project Presentation ......................................................................................................................................................... 14

The DISCOVER4carers Website ................................................................................................................................ 14

Figure 7: the public website........................................................................................................................................... 15

Project description ........................................................................................................................................................ 15

Figure 8: project description ......................................................................................................................................... 16

Carers .................................................................................................................................................................................. 16

Figure 9: carers

Services ............................................................................................................................................................................... 17

Figure 10: Services ............................................................................................................................................................. 17

The Learning Zone ......................................................................................................................................................... 17

Figure 11: Learning zone ................................................................................................................................................ 18

Latest News....................................................................................................................................................................... 18

Figure 12: Latest news ..................................................................................................................................................... 18

Google Analytics ............................................................................................................ 19

Figure 13: Google analytics – audience overview ............................................................................................... 19

Figure 14: Traffic Source ................................................................................................................................................ 20

Social Media .......................................................................................................................................................................... 20

Figure 15: Extract of Tweets from DISCOVER Twitter stream ..................................................................... 21

Figure 16: Hello Carers Campaign blog activity .................................................................................................. 22

Press Releases ....................................................................................................................................................................... 22

Dissemination Events ..................................................................................................... 23

Awareness raising .......................................................................................................................................................... 23

Participation in Conferences and other events of interest ........................................................................... 23

Upcoming presentations ............................................................................................................................................. 24

Future activities planned include: ........................................................................................................................... 24

Metrics ................................................................................................................................................................................ 24

Conclusions .................................................................................................................... 25

Executive Summary

This report presents a comprehensive discussion of the dissemination activities carried out from

month 1 to month 12 on the DISCOVER project. The first section provides a brief explanation of

the heterogeneity of the target stakeholder groups for the project. This is followed by an overview

of the dissemination strategy developed under WP6 during the first four months of the project and

the various dissemination methods employed to inform and engage the different stakeholders.

Section three provides a detailed account of the scope of the dissemination activities including

presentations given (conferences, workshops, and exhibitions), the design and development of the

DISCOVER4carers website, logo, banner, and information leaflet as well as distribution in

newsletters and to various interest groups etc. This report also highlights the dissemination work-

in-progress and the planned future activities in line with our strategic approach which recognises

the continuous nature of engagement with stakeholders, which is necessary both for the

immediate success of the project and its long-term sustainability.

The dissemination activities presented in this report are based on activities in the first year of the

project. These can be summarised as follows:

• Growing comprehensive stakeholder database of key contacts

• Development of brand identity

• Production of promotional material (e.g. banner, newsletter, brochure)

• Creation of project website and content development

• Establishing an on-going programme of dissemination activities and events

• Maximising publicity opportunities, for example through campaigns such as the ‘Hello

Carers’ campaign and other such opportunities.

Detailed information about each of these dissemination activities is presented in the subsequent

sections.

Introduction

Throughout the period covered by this report, those involved in the communications and

dissemination work package (WP6) and across our consortium have collaborated to achieve the

key objectives of the description of work for WP6, including:

• to promote DISCOVER and raise awareness of the significance of this project as well as

ensuring it high visibility across the whole value chain

• to seek critical feedback from peer networks and provide opportunities for stakeholders to

make suggestions against any aspect of the project

• to exploit deployment of the project outcomes to enhance the level of market acceptance

and impact on end users

• to establish links with other networks to stimulate an exchange of information and

knowledge sharing

• to create interest in the more innovative elements of the project such as the dynamic

training platform and engagement technologies

Classification of stakeholders

Stakeholder identification and analysis was undertaken in the early days of the project with the

intention to create an impact that lasts beyond the end of the grant funding period by making the

project and its development widely known to all those who stand to benefit. For this reason our

stakeholder analysis considered a range of factors, including the potential opportunities and

challenges surrounding digital skills for carers in the different Member States and what this could

mean for national and or EU policy frameworks. This approach strengthens the knowledge base of

stakeholders by means of the delivery of pertinent information in a timely and appropriate way to

a wide stakeholder audience.

Our dissemination model is highlighted in Diagram 1, below. This conceptualizes four different

stakeholder categories, each with differentiated and targeted communication approaches.

Diagram 1: stakeholder categories and types

Categories Types of Stakeholders

Primary Stakeholders Client Families, Informal Carers, Formal Carers and Service Mediators

Secondary Stakeholders Formal Carers, Carer Associations, Primary Care Teams, Public health Nursing,

Occupational Therapy, Cognitive therapy, Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Clinical

Nurse Specialists, Disease Specialists, Social Care, GPs, Consultants, Home Care

providers and organisations, Specialist care organisations (e.g. Alzheimer’s Society)

Tertiary Stakeholders IT / Software Providers, Integrated Solution Providers, Carer Service Providers;

Training Providers, Accreditation providers, potential sponsors (e.g. telecare

providers)

Quaternary Stakeholders Policymakers; EU, Member State Bodies, National, Regional and Local Authorities,

Health Service Executives, Advocacy groups, Academia, Care / Social Health research

community, Local Government, Skills Agencies, Local Strategic Partnerships, Local

Municipal Partnerships, Media contacts

A contact management system (Highrise) has been utilised to manage the stakeholder list.

To date this contains 400 contacts segmented according to their identified information needs and

interests. Our list is a live document which will be continuously added to during the lifetime of the

project by the individual dissemination leads for each partner. As well as collecting new contacts

through events such as Carers Week, contacts are starting to be collected through the subscribe

facility and ‘Join DISCOVER’ area on the website.

Completed and ongoing dissemination

Tables 1 and 2, below, presents the dissemination activities completed and/or ongoing as well as

those planned. All activities are explained in detail later in this document.

Table1: dissemination activities

TASK ACTIVITY STATUS Timeframe

6.1 Project presentation template ✓ M1

6.1 Project logo ✓ M3

6.1 Dissemination Strategy ✓ M3

6.2 Stakeholder Database ✓ M3

6.3 Soft-launch project website ✓ M3

6.3 Public launch project website ✓ M14

6.4 Hello Carers ✓ M14

6.6 Newsletter ✓1st

newsletter M11

6.6 Project flyer ✓ M3

6.6 Project banner ✓ M3

Table 2: Planned activities linked to WP6

Communication and Dissemination Strategy

The DISCOVER Communication and Dissemination Strategy (D6.1.2)1 provides a common

framework and shared vision and understanding of what needs to be done to disseminate

information about DISCOVER4carers using a variety of methods designed to support the objectives

of WP6, outlined above. Our dissemination activities are spread across three key phases of the

project, outlined in Diagram 2. This report is primarily concerned with phase 1 (for which 30 carers

per test bed will be engaged) and our activities designed to raise awareness of the project which in

turn paves the way for the test bed stage (phase 2) in which 400 carers across Europe will test the

various ICT-based solutions developed to support carers.

Figure 2: key phases for dissemination activities

Our dissemination activities are designed to meet the changing needs of the project and this will

evolve as our understanding grows on how to reach our target stakeholders in the most effective

and engaging ways. Dissemination thus refers to all actions which:

• give rise to the provision of reliable and valid information on the project within the

consortium members and supports both internal and external clarity and consistency;

1 http:// www.discover4carers.eu/

Core

content

Focus on recruitment &

engagement; Rationale; objectives;

Promotion of social /

digital inclusion

opportunities; flexible

working practices

User case stories

experiences and care

scenarios; Innovations in service and

technical design; Early achievements /

outputs of project

Evidence on impact / value /

benefits / user experience Validity of technical solution and

platform innovation Business models & opportunities for

commercialisation of training

materials development

Target audience

Professional / academia -

associations and bodies at

local, national and

European level

Strong Local engagement –

particularly with individuals

and their intermediaries.

Ongoing wider involvement

with professional

organisations, policy makers

PHASE 1 Raising awareness and understanding

PHASE 2 Experiences /

achievements from test bed sites

PM1

PHASE 3 Impact, experiences & commercialisation

• uses a variety of means to provide information in order to reach as wide an audience as

possible;

• sustains a constant level of engagement between consortium members and the wider

stakeholder groups, supporting a thorough understanding of user needs, market awareness

and public knowledge of the project;

• targets information to the different stakeholder groups that is intentionally focused on

issues which directly affect them, thus ensuring the project is relevant and understandable

to them.

Community of interest (target audience)

A stakeholder mapping exercise was completed by CASALA to determine who needs to be

contacted and when. This yielded a comprehensive list of target audiences across partner countries

and at EU level. A Contact Management System (Highrise) has been utilised to enable the creation

of a Master File/Database to manage our list of stakeholder at local, national and international

level. Currently this list contains over 400 contacts of interested partners segmented according to

potential information needs and interests. Our list is a live document which will be continuously

added to during the lifetime of the project by the individual dissemination leads for each partner.

This will provide a platform for regular involvement of stakeholders in the areas of their interest

and support a drip feed of relevant and targeted information

DISCOVER4carers dissemination activities

Brand Identity

In order to effectively market the DISCOVER4carers projects, the project partners, guided by

CASALA, developed a strong brand identity, which included a project logo, see Diagram 3, below.

This is used extensively on all presentations given, on the website, flyer, and for all internal and

external conference presentations, etc. This logo image is that of a spotlight shinning outwards.

The text used in the logo along with the strapline ‘DISCOVER skills for carers’ is a fixed size, thus

brand image is consistent wherever and whenever the logo is used by consortium members and

others reinforced through Design and Branding guidelines.

Figure 3: DISCOVER4carers logo

Promotional Material

A range of promotional material has been created to help promote the project, create awareness

and support other dissemination events and activities. These include for example templates for

reports, banner, leaflet, brochure and a project presentation and are described in further detail

below:

Brochure

A project flyer has been designed and made available to all partners in the consortium. A printable

(pdf) version is available in the library section of the DISCOVER website, DISCOVER website. This

leaflet, presented below in Diagram 4, is distributed where possible at all relevant public events

attended by partners to promote awareness around the project and its key aims at a strategic level

Figure 4: project brochure

Project Banner

To facilitate dissemination of information about the project at events such as conferences,

workshops, etc., a project banner has been created, displayed in Diagram 6. This banner offers a

clear message on the project concepts and provides the names and logos of all project partners.

Figure 6: project banner

The DISCOVER Newsletter

Regular newsletters will be produced as the project develops to give an overview of progress

during specified months. Content for newsletters will be drawn from current activities, events in

partner countries, conferences and external communications, etc. A printable copy of newsletters

will also be available as a downloadable version from the website. The first newsletter was

published in the 4th

quarter which was later than originally envisaged. This decision was however

taken to ensure the provision of good content development to ensure repeat visits to the website

by our stakeholders who will be readily engaged. Quarterly e-newsletters will be produced in

phases 2 and 3 and will be distributed to stakeholders, with subscription sign up facility available

through the project website designed to grow the ‘community of interest’. It will also be printed

out and distributed at the different dissemination events by partners such as conferences,

workshops and exhibitions, etc.

Promotional postcard

Promotional postcards were produced to support local activity in BIRM during Carer’s Week (June

2013). These provided an informal tool to promote the DISCOVER project to carers and encourage

feedback and participation, as well as leaving them in display in local community centres,

residential care homes, sheltered housing and care centres.

Figure 6: DISCOVER postcards (front and reverse)

Project Presentation

A DISCOVER slide presentation has been created to support partner presentations and

dissemination at events and allowing key messages to be embedded within other presentations.

The DISCOVER4carers Website

One of the main mechanisms for DISCOVER external dissemination is the public website which

went live from an early stage in the project. It is the central and front facing area for profiling the

project and raising awareness of ICT solutions for delivering social support and importance of

digital skills for carers and as such is one of the first access points for our stakeholder engagement

and dissemination. It has been developed and shaped further through the involvement of carers

and stakeholders and will be translated into partner countries. The relevant URL is:

www.discover4carers.eu/. Diagram 6, below, provides an impression of the DISCOVER website.

This is followed by details of the different types of information available to the public via the

DISCOVER website.

Figure 7: the public website

Project description

The ‘About Us’ tab links to information which describes what DISCOVER is, who it is for, what it

aims to achieve, how will it do this, when, and what the impact will be, see Diagram 8, below.

Figure 8: project description

Carers

This section of the website connects carers with other carers so that they can enjoy the peer

support which is so often missing in the lives of carers and which many of us take for granted. A

brief explanation is provided on the benefits of online social media and how DISCOVER supports

carers to become more confident with social media such as Twitter, Face book etc., see Diagram 9,

below.

Figure 9: carers

Services

The services section helps carers to find the right information at the right time when they need it.

A brief explanation is provided on how DISCOVER pulls details of relevant services and supports

together. Using Scoopit, DISCOVER captures the best of the information available on the web on a

wide range of topics of interest to carers.

Figure 10: Services

The Learning Zone

The learning zone facilitates carers to engage in learning on topics which are of interest to them

and which will directly benefit them and those they care for. A brief explanation is provided on

what the DISCOVER learning zone is about, who is it for and what learning opportunities are

available.

Figure 11: Learning zone

Latest News

Planned activities are publicised together with other community news items on the ‘Latest News’

on the DISCOVER homepage. News items are prioritised to give prominence to items as necessary.

This will be particularly useful for drawing attention to developments in each of the test-beds sites

and for giving prominence to carer stories.

Figure 12: Latest news

Google Analytics

The DISCOVER website is updated regularly and its traffic is monitored by CASALA in order to

measure growth and indicate when it is necessary to take actions to ensure a healthy target

growth rate of at least 25 per cent per quarter for the first year after the launch of the web portal

(June 2013-2014). Increasingly as we develop page content, it will be a useful to tool to help

perform content analysis so as to understand which web pages are most popular, what content

users are most interested, and how carers navigate through the website. Examples of its use are

illustrated below.

Audience Overview – In the run-up to the launch of the web portal (12th

June 2013) by

Ireland’s Minister with responsibility for Older People, Kathleen Lynch, the number of

visitors to DISCOVER continued to increase as the diagram below highlights from17th

May -

16th

Jun 2013..

Figure 13: Google analytics – audience overview

Source of traffic - Google analytics also provides the facility to examine the source of traffic

and, as the diagram below show, those countries where traffic is low.

Figure 14: Traffic Source

Social Media

Twitter forums and blogging have an important role to play in raising awareness of the project and

sharing information. Posts to the DISCOVER Twitter and blogs are typically made by project

partners, participants, stakeholders and the wider internet community. A sample of tweet and

blog entries is provided below. As we start to undertake more of the user engagement work in

Phase 2 and connect to carers, we will gradually build a selection of different case stories, podcasts

and user led dissemination to create a rich bank of content to share and encourage wider

participation.

Figure 15: Extract of Tweets from DISCOVER Twitter stream

Figure 16: Hello Carers Campaign blog activity

Press Releases

Press releases are scheduled to coincide with notable milestones and local activity. For instance

BHAM launched the DISCOVER project to coincide with a special Carers celebration event held

during Carer’s Week in June 2012. CASALA launched the web portal with Ireland’s Minister for

Older People, Kathleen Lynch, providing a significant media opportunity and profile raising in June

2013.‘Hello Carers’ Campaign

The Hello Carers campaign will provide a sustained period of promotional activity, which was

designed to coincide with Carer’s Week in Ireland and UK with the aim of driving traffic to the

website and creating interest in DISCOVER and the opportunities it provides. Partners utilised

stakeholder networks to link carers to the DISCOVER website and encouraged them to participate

in the Hello Carers campaign by making a short comment on their experience as a carer.

Dissemination Events

Each partner has identified specific national and international conferences and events to attend for

workshops and presentations of papers. The purpose is to gain visibility and awareness of

DISCOVER, share learning and present the innovative aspects of the project. In Phase 2 of the

dissemination work there will be a greater emphasis on attendance at conferences and also the

delivery of workshops to focus on specific aspects of market awareness and help solidify our

thinking around the commercial aspects. During this reporting period, the consortium has

participated at a number of important events, which are described below.

Awareness raising

DISCOVER has been promoted widely by partners at a wide range of events, including:

• The Prague IFA conference, AAL forum, European Collective Awareness Platform

conference Pisa, where the project was received with great interest;

• Scientific conferences and workshops, including MIE, AMEE, BIOMAG2012, SEGAMED2012,

BIBE2012, ELEVIT2013 as well as at events of Policy and Strategic Alliance nature (cf. event

for Commitments to the Strategic Implementation Plan of the European Innovation

Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing, ICT Proposers Day 2012);

• Information days linked to OpenHealth and the TEDxNijmegen event;

• The EUROCITIES e-Inclusion working group;

• Naidex National, the UK’s largest disability, rehabilitation and homecare event;

• The Jannsen-Cilag (Pharmaceutical Industry) Excellence Visits Programme;

• The CARICT project – ICT-based solutions for caregivers; Older ICT users and digital

engagement.

Participation in Conferences and other events of interest

DISCOVER has been presented at the following conferences in period 1:

1. European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP-AHA)

2. Dutch National WMO Congress 2012

3. IFA 11th Global Conference on Ageing in Prague

4. Medical Educational Resources in the Era of Semantic Web (Web 3.0) & Social Media (Web

2.0) - MIE2012 www.mie2012.it/ conference

5. AMEE conference “The Continuum of Education in the Healthcare Professions”

http://www.amee.org/index.asp?pg=250&cookies=True

6. Biomag2012 http://www.biomag2012.org/

7. European conference on Collective Awareness Platforms

http://ec.europa.eu/digitalagenda/ collectiveawareness

8. The AAL Forum 2012 http://www.aalforum.eu

9. The ICT proposers day in Warsaw

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/events/ictproposersday/2012/index_en.ht

10. De Graaf, H (2013) Chapter 17 Social Inclusion through Virtual Worlds pp. 269 – 293 in

Serious Games and Virtual Worlds in Education, Professional Development, and Healthcare.

USA: Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global) 701 E. Chocolate Avenue

Hershey PA 17033

Upcoming presentations

Future activities planned include:

• OU has submitted paper for peer review based on WP2 focus group results to the

eChallenges 2013 Conference and Exhibition in Dublin, Ireland, from 09 - 11 October 2013.

• ASTRA is preparing a paper for IDGEI 2013 - International Workshop on Intelligent Digital

Games for Empowerment and Inclusion, paper introducing DISCOVER in Serious gaming

field.

• Presentation by BIRM at Westminster Employment Forum keynote seminar: The Future of

adult and community learning in September 2013

• Study visit project exchange with Gothenburg City to look at how professional learners

apply and use skills in September 2013

Metrics

A significant proportion of the first phase of the project has been to put in place the tools and

marketing collateral that will support dissemination activity and develop the content for the

website to attract visitors. We are now in a position to baseline statistics for the dissemination

activities that will enable us to measure and evaluate success as well as use the focus group activity

to solicit feedback on for example relevance of content or look and feel and as a result refine

methodology and approach as we develop the project further.

Conclusions

This deliverable provides a report on the dissemination activities of DISCOVER during the first year

of the project that have been used to gain awareness and visibility about DISCOVER and put in

place the dissemination toolkit to support this activity. It will be updated each year and therefore

cannot be considered as a static document but rather as living document. Planned activities which

are to be carried out during phase two of the project have also been highlighted. These activities

will follow closely in line with highlighted schedules, but changes of the planned activities can be

updated collaboratively with the projects partners to facilitate dissemination and reporting

activities.

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