CTSI COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

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CTSI COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY PLAN

• Maggie McDonald, Ph.D., M.F.A.
• 28 April 2008

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TARGET AUDIENCES

• Health sciences faculty investigators and their
  research teamsTOP PRIORITY
• Junior investigators a focusthey need the most
  help.
• Senior investigatorshow can CTSI add value?
• Research team members, especially lab managers,
  coordinators, and administrators who are so vital
  
• Health care providers, including office staff
• The general public, including patientssome
  aspects of this communications component are
  taking place through UPMC and are focused largely
  on the Research Registry

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PROMOTION ABCs

• MessageWhat single key message about CTSI will
  each communications tool convey?
• MechanismWhat marketing tools (posters,
  brochures, Web/electronic) would be most
  effective in reaching each segment of the target
  audiences?
• OutcomeWhat desired thought, belief, or action
  is the message intended to evoke?

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EXAMPLE

• MessageIf you need assistance with some aspect
  of your research, CTSI may have the tools and
  resources to help you.
• MechanismPosters in Pitt research facilities to
  promote CTSI servicesto raise awareness
• OutcomeCall a research facilitator or go to a
  Web site to learn whether CTSI can provide the
  help you need.

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TIMELINE
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KEY QUESTIONS IN SEARCH OF ANSWERS

• What do faculty/research staff perceive as the
  major impediments to securing funding for and
  conducting clinical and translational research?
• How do they think CTSI can/should help?
• What do they know about CTSI now?
• What does CTSI want them to know?
• What is the best way to convey these messages?
  Just in time.
• How can CTSI use tools like posters to increase
  knowledge and action? What message should be on
  these tools?

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PORTFOLIO OF CTSI SERVICES

• Core directors are providing a list of all
  programs and services offered by that core as
  they develop.
• Because this list is in constant flux, the web
  design challenge is to create a site that will
  grow with the service list without requiring a
  radical change in interface or design.
• The critical issue is to approach this task from
  the perspective of the user, not of CTSI
  administration.

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CTSI CONNECTORS

• Organically evolving group of early adopters at
  the functional unit level they spread the word
  to others.
• Having CTSI makes my job easier.
• This role cant be designated from the top it
  has to emerge naturally.
• CTSI wants to find ways to accelerate and support
  this network of viral marketers, maybe with
  small incentives.
• We want connectors to
• Answer questions and distribute info about CTSI
• Help others to request CTSI services
• Collect feedback that will help CTSI respond to
  researchers needs

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WEBSITE ARCHITECTURE

• The home page will be the primary shared page on
  an otherwise bifurcated site
• One simple choice researcher or community
  member
• The footer will have links to basic info on
  CTSImission, administrative structure, etc.
• The home page content items will include
• Visual organizational identification
• Self-identification and initial navigation
  (choice), with cookie scripting if desired
• News, announcements, and calendar feed

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WEBSITE ARCHITECTURE

• The home page will be a bifurcated page
• Each user chooses researcher or community
  member
• The footer will have links to basic info on
  CTSImission, administrative structure, etc.
• The home page content items will include
• Visual organizational identification
• Self-identification and initial navigation
  (choice), with cookie scripting if desired
• News, announcements, and calendar feed

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WEBSITE ARCHITECTURE

• On the sites second level, researcher and
  community audiences will each have a landing
  page that displays custom content for that
  audience.
• Each landing page will have a distinct visual
  style.
• The footer, home page button, and other
  navigational structure will remain as global
  elements.
• Only news, announcements, and calendar items
  designated in the feed for that particular
  audience will appear on these audience-specific
  landing pages.

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THE FEED

• The feed will be adapted to interact with
  currently existing and planned distribution
  formats (like e-mail lists).
• The feed will be adapted for use with Web 2.0
  technologies like really simple syndication (RSS)
  feeds to deliver a wider variety of media in
  other places on the site and directly to
  individuals.
• Feed info will be tagged as community,
  research, or general to sort content and
  steer it where it needs to go.
• Can also do internal or core director tags as
  necessary

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THE FEED

• A good model is a more streamlined and flexible
  version of the Health Sciences Portal structure.

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CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONS ISSUES

• Federalism versus states rights examples
• The Research Gateway is part of the Center for
  Clinical and Translational Informatics (CCTI).
  Yet, the Research Gateway has engaged a team of
  business students to create a branding strategy
  although the Research Gateways products are
  still under development.
• The Institute for Clinical Research Education
  (ICRE), an existing program that is now part of
  CTSI, already has its own identity. How do we
  blend it into the CTSI umbrella identity?
• Do we really want to create an acronym farm?

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MORE CRITICAL ISSUES

• Wheres the beef?
• Some CTSI programs and services
• are well evolved, but others are still in
• formative stages. How do we represent
• what is planned but not yet available?
• How do we manage expectations?
• Cart before the horseCores are eager for
  communications tools for their own programs even
  as were working to implement communications
  essentials useful for all cores.

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VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE

• An opportunity to roll out the CTSI identity
• An overview of what the CTSI is and does
• A tour of the website and whats on it
• An introduction to the CTSI core directors and
  CTSIs major services, especially the research
  facilitator
• Unstructured time to ask the service providers
• Take-away with web address
• Late spring-summer 2008

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A FEW EXAMPLES OF ACTIVITIES AND WORKS IN PROGRESS
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WHAT IS CTSI? BROCHURE
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PITT BRINGS RESEARCH TO MIDDLE SCHOOL

CTSI cosponsored a National DNA Day educational
outreach event at Dorseyville Middle School in
collaboration with the Department of Biological
Sciences, a SEPA grantee, and Boston University.

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