1. Tracking Digital Impact
A Quick Introduction
Kent McClymont
University of Exeter
k.mcclymont@exeter.ac.uk
http://emps.exeter.ac.uk/impact
1

2. Background
• Business, Community and Public
Engagement is undergoing a series of
methodological changes.
• Greater focus on understanding and
formalising to support monitoring,
reporting and analysis.
• Facilitated through Beacons and projects
like the JISC funded embedding BCE call.
23rd October 2012 Tracking Digital Impact - OA Week 2

3. Aims
• Synthesize and share the dot.rural (Aberdeen)
digital engagement strategy and learning for
use at Plymouth & Exeter
• Develop a tool to enable researchers to
effectively assess and plan project BCE
activities via digital engagement.
• Demonstrate the tool through case studies at
Plymouth participating institutes.
23rd October 2012 Tracking Digital Impact - OA Week 3

4. Activities
• Survey at Aberdeen of digital engagement
activities.
• Assessment of current state at Plymouth and
Exeter.
• Creation of the TDI tool based on dot.rural
experience.
• Use of TDI tool in large project (Natural
Connections) at Plymouth and
23rd October 2012 Tracking Digital Impact - OA Week 4

5. TDI Tool
• [L1] Links
– The TDI tool is prefaced with a set of links to other related
resources.
• [Q1] Questions
– A set of key critical questions are outlined at the start of the tool
which are designed to help users assess their needs.
• [D1] Definitions
– Definitions are provided for a wide set of different methods and
technologies related to digital engagement.
• [G1] Guidance
– For each definition a set of guidance notes are given to aid planning.
23rd October 2012 Tracking Digital Impact - OA Week 5

6. TDI Tool -- Sample
• [Q1] How do I currently connect?
Assess what forms of digital communications you currently use. Do you use a website to publish
materials? Are you on social media sites? Are these public or private?...
• [Q1.1] Is it a push media or is there discourse?
Does your website collect feedback? Is the feedback published? Do users communicate with one
another? Does the feedback affect the project practicalities? …
• [Q2] Do I need a specific channel to connect with different user groups?
• [Q3] What is the purpose of the engagement?
• [Q4] Can I evidence the engagement?
• [Q5] Do I expect to facilitate impact from the engagement?
• [Q6] What evidence supports the case for impact?
⋮
23rd October 2012 Tracking Digital Impact - OA Week 6

7. TDI Tool -- Sample
• [Q1] How do I currently connect?
Assess what forms of digital communications you currently use. Do you use a website to publish
materials? Are you on social media sites? Are these public or private?...
• [Q1.1] Is it a push media or is there discourse?
Does your website collect feedback? Is the feedback published? Do users communicate with one
another? Does the feedback affect the project practicalities? …
• [Q2] Do I need a specific channel to connect with different user groups?
• [Q3] What is the purpose of the engagement?
• [Q4] Can I evidence the engagement?
• [Q5] Do I expect to facilitate impact from the engagement?
• [Q6] What evidence supports the case for impact?
⋮
23rd October 2012 Tracking Digital Impact - OA Week 7

8. TDI Tool -- Sample
• [D3.4] Social Media
Definition: ‘Social Media’ refers to technologies, like Facebook and Google+, which provide web based long
term communication and information sharing between people. Importantly, social media incorporate
social network information through connections, often called ‘friends’, which control how people share
messages, ‘blog posts’, ‘statuses’, and digital media...
Use: Most social media sites, like Facebook, have facilities specifically for groups, organisations and companies
to develop their “social presence.” These corporate accounts can be used to communicate with a target
demographic and establish informal, long lasting communications...
– [3.4.G1] Do you use social media personally?
It is important to create a clear distinction between your personal, professional and engagement profiles. Each profile has a
specific purpose. Your personal account should only be used for communicating with friends and family and be
protected from strangers and colleges...
– [3.4.G2] Are you involved in multiple projects with social media?
When developing a social media presence it is important to decide if you want to link your activities between projects. The
best policy is usually to connect your different accounts in a transparent way unless you are dealing with sensitive or
private social media groups – such as medical groups...
– [3.4.G3] Does the project have multiple researchers involved in social media?
⋮
– [3.4.D1] Analytics
Definition: Unlike ‘web analytics’, social media analytics can be used to monitor an individual’s engagement over a long
period by monitoring their activity on managed parts of the social media network, such as ‘group pages’, as well as use
of tagging, such as ‘hash tags’...
⋮
23rd October 2012 Tracking Digital Impact - OA Week 8

9. Learning
• Business and Industry already lots of experience of
“consumer driven” BCE which can be adopted.
• TDI tool effective for self-assessment at planning stage of
project.
• TDI tool aids development of dissemination and
engagement activity planning.
• Digital BCE is unpredictable and continues long after
projects finish – TDI and self-assessment should be an
ongoing part of any digital BCE project.
23rd October 2012 Tracking Digital Impact - OA Week 9

10. Future Development
• Website for ongoing Digital Engagement
case study at Exeter
– http://emps.exeter.ac.uk/impact
• Publish a final draft of the TDI tool (~21st
Nov.)
• TDI dissemination workshop (~21st Nov.)
23rd October 2012 Tracking Digital Impact - OA Week 10