{
    "version" : "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
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    "title" : "Evaluating Digital Communication: An International Incident |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Evaluating Digital Communication: An International Incident",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/06/04/evaluating-digital-communication-an-international-incident/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Evaluating Digital Communication: An International Incident","summary" : "Are you measuring Twitter followers and press release downloads without any clue as to what people are doing with your agency’s products and information? Or do you not even know what to measure, never mind whether that measurement would be meaningful? Fear not, fair government communicator—there is hope! On May 15, top government communication measurement","date" : "2014-06-04T10:00:28-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"david-hebert" : "David Hebert"},"topics" : {
        
            "analytics" : "Analytics",
            "content-strategy" : "Content strategy",
            "social-media" : "Social media"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2014-06-04-evaluating-digital-communication-an-international-incident.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2014/06/2014-06-04-evaluating-digital-communication-an-international-incident.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2014/06/2014-06-04-evaluating-digital-communication-an-international-incident.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2014/06/2014-06-04-evaluating-digital-communication-an-international-incident.md","slug" : "evaluating-digital-communication-an-international-incident","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/06/04/evaluating-digital-communication-an-international-incident/","content" :"\u003cp\u003eAre you measuring Twitter followers and press release downloads without any clue as to what people are doing with your agency’s products and information? Or do you not even know what to measure, never mind whether that measurement would be meaningful?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFear not, fair government communicator—there is hope! On May 15, top government communication measurement experts from the U.S., U.K., and Canada presented on \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2SjyBs0zRc\u0026amp;list=UU5V8jrK77-8gsa9RL_taG9A\u0026amp;noredirect=1\"\u003eEvaluating the Effectiveness of Government Digital Communications\u003c/a\u003e via \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/events/\"\u003eDigitalGov University\u003c/a\u003e. A video recording of the event is available:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2SjyBs0zRc\u0026amp;w=600]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis international measurement extravaganza, sponsored by the \u003ca href=\"http://fedcommnetwork.blogspot.com/\"\u003eFederal Communicators Network\u003c/a\u003e in the U.S., the \u003ca href=\"https://gcn.civilservice.gov.uk/\"\u003eGovernment Communications Service\u003c/a\u003e in the U.K., and the \u003ca href=\"http://pco-bcp.gc.ca/premier.asp\"\u003eCommunications Community Office\u003c/a\u003e in Canada, featured on-point experts and great conversation. Here’s a taste:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"meet-people-where-they-are\"\u003eMeet People Where They Are\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne way to ensure your communications efforts are effective is to determine what kinds of devices your audiences are receiving them on, said Miguel Gomez, Director of \u003ca href=\"http://www.aids.gov/\"\u003eAIDS.gov\u003c/a\u003e. More than half of the traffic to AIDS.gov comes via mobile devices, so Miguel and his team have not only employed responsive design so content displays well on users’ phones and tablets, but they have created content inherently useful on mobile, such as locations of HIV testing facilities in whatever area a person happens to be looking.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMiguel also stressed the importance of not being distracted by shiny things: When a communications need arises, determine your audiences, objectives, and strategy first. Only after you’ve established those do you talk about tools and tech. You can \u003ca href=\"http://www.slideshare.net/DigitalGov/evaluating-the-effectiveness-of-gomez-15052014\"\u003eview Miguel’s slides\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"get-in-the-right-frame-of-mind\"\u003eGet in the Right Frame of Mind\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaul Njoku, Evaluation Lead for the U.K. Government Communication Service and Head of Communication Strategy and Business Planning for the U.K. Tax Authority, laid out common boundaries to good evaluation: lack of smart or realistic objectives, insufficient time and money, and difficulty in getting the right tools and data, among other issues.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe then blew most of those excuses away with some examples of how the U.K. government is standardizing measurement to show how communication is supporting business objectives. In addition to key deliverables driving this initiative, he shared a concept designed to help communicators frame out their evaluation efforts called the Big IDIA:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e● Identify the scope of your project\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e● Develop your evaluation plan\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e● Implement by gathering data to measure performance\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e● Analyze \u0026amp; report performance against the plan\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaul was joined in London by his colleague, Elayne Phillips, Head of Horizon Scanning and Planning at the U.K. Government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. She laid out the industry best-practices, including the well-established \u003ca href=\"http://www.instituteforpr.org/2010/06/the-barcelona-declaration-of-research-principles/\"\u003eBarcelona Principles\u003c/a\u003e, that should underlay any digital measurement effort. She stressed the importance of not measuring outputs—how many did we produce?—but focusing instead on outcomes—what action did our intended audience take?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eElayne also noted that when you’re presenting measurement to your leadership and others, you don’t need to drown them in data; instead use the data to paint them picture of meaning. You can also view \u003ca href=\"http://www.slideshare.net/DigitalGov/us-canuk-eval-webinar-pnjoku-15052014\"\u003ePaul\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"http://www.slideshare.net/DigitalGov/us-canuk-eval-webinar-ephillips-15052014\"\u003eElayne\u003c/a\u003e‘s slides.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"deliver-the-goods\"\u003eDeliver the Goods\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen you know who you want to reach and how to do it, you’re ready to bring them the kinds of services and information that meet their needs. Karine Goneau-Lessard, Acting Director Marketing Division, Health Canada, and Lori Fraser, Acting Chief of Marketing for Healthy Canadians social media, Health Canada, showed us how their organization does that very thing through thoughtful measurement and use of tools.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLori broke down distinctions between key useful and useless performance indicators related to goals (for example, measure engagement to determine increased conversation, not the size of your fan base), as well as the difference metrics—the measures themselves—and analytics—making meaning of the measures.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShe also emphasized both the need for consistent use of social tools when reaching out to citizens, as well as the need to look beyond social to other forms of audience feedback, reminding attendees that social tools are a means, not an end.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf one thing (besides great accents) rang loud and clear through these presentations, it was this: Government really can deliver world class service through world class evaluation. You can also \u003ca href=\"http://www.slideshare.net/DigitalGov/us-canuk-eval-webinar-lfraserkgonles-15052014\"\u003eview Karine’s slides\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}