Technical improvements and demonstration of the Content Management System

Technical improvements to the site

A new technical improvement to the EUPHIX website is the newsletter, which people can subscribe to. The intention is to send a newsletter at least with every new release.

Another improvement is the possibility to export data from the EUPHIX site to an Excel file, with the interactive data export button.

During this session, there was some discussion around the difficulty to distinguish countries from one another in graphs when all countries are displayed in the figure. A solution for this problem is offered by the possibility within the interactive figure to select or deselect countries. All project partners agreed that this tool needs to be better explained.

Demonstration of the Content Management System

This demonstration gave an insight into the technology behind the EUPHIX website. The different kinds of objects within the Content Management System (CMS), such as a subject, document, and paragraph were presented. Thereafter, the group was shown how each document goes through several different stages and what role each of the many team members (editor, author, content coordinator) has in the overall publishing process.

EUPHIX Publishing Protocols

The process

This presentation explained what takes place behind the scenes before a EUPHIX presentation is published. It shows that the publishing process for a EUphact or EUphocus can be divided into four steps:

1. Selection and appointment of an author for a EUphact or EUphocus
2. Drafting of text and data presentations
3. Internally editing of text and data presentations and entering into CMS
4. Publishing text and data presentations on the EUPHIX website.

Gemini

All agreements reached between the editor and the author are recorded in Gemini, an electronic tracking system. The system gives everyone within the project team the possibility to view the status of and deadlines for a specific EUphact or EUphocus.

Once all agreements have been recorded, the author can start drafting the text for a EUphact or EUphocus.

The editor is then responsible for:

• reviewing and commenting on the draft text
• creating tables, figures and maps
• editing the data presentations on the basis of feedback received from the author
• entering the final version of text into CMS.

Before text and data are officially published on the website they are internally reviewed by an editor-in-chief, language editor, content coordinator and project manager, before undergoing additional scrutiny in two test website releases. These test releases allow the EUPHIX team to check everything in web-format before it goes live.

EU Health Portal developments & links to EUPHIX

Newsletter

During the last six months DG SANCO focused their activities on the newsletter which is produced in many different languages and which is created with the intention to inform people about the new content of the Portal. All newsletters contain information on a specific theme and report the latest press releases, upcoming events and new publications. In one of their future newsletters DG SANCO will ask people to give feedback about the EUPHIX website. Furthermore EUPHIX will be announced in their promotion campaign.

Future improvements

DG SANCO has the intention for the near future to improve the search functionalities, interactive tools, news/events, RSS feeds, publication by topics and legislation by topic. Other topics they consider are information campaigns, e-library, citizens section and RSS online translation tool.

Linking to EUPHIX

A number of different links to the EUPHIX website have now been added to the EU Health Portal. However, both the project partners and the EUPHIX team agree that a confusing double-up is created by the Portal often including two web-links for one public health topic- one link being to the EUPHIX site and the other to additional indicator data. It was agreed that continued discussion was needed to find a solution for this problem.

During the last meeting there was a proposal to include the EUPHIX logo on the homepage of the EU Health Portal, which when clicked on would take people directly to the EUPHIX website. Currently people need to click through several web-pages on the EU Health Portal before they get to the EUPHIX website. DG SANCO decided not to implement this logo, as it did not want to show preferential treatment to one EU project over another.

User-panel evaluations

The following comments, questions and suggestions were included in the user-panel’s feedback in relation to improving and maintaining the content quality and currency of the EUPHIX site:

• Add a link to the PORGROW project. This link has now been implemented.
• Update the list of stroke/heart/cancer/respiratory disease-related European umbrella organisations. This will be implemented in the May 2008 release.
• How does the EUPHIX site select its resources and evidence-base? This is selected by the external authors, based on their expertise in the field. The EUPHIX team will consider including additional information on the site about the publishing process and the role of external authors.
• Increase the visibility of the interactive tool. EUPHIX plans to highlight the interactive tool in one of its future newsletters.

• The structure-division into ECHI indicators and EUphacts is experienced as confusing. Explanatory pop-ups do not seem to be sufficient. The EUPHIX team will review the overall site structure and consider how it can be improved to make it less confusing for visitors.
• One evaluator felt the website would not provide valuable information for all citizens due to the language of the site being too complicated for a number of non-native English speakers. No immediate solution was identified- currently there is no budget for translating texts into other languages and the text is already kept as simple as possible.

Project partners were asked to think of new members for the user-panel as this group needs to be enlarged. EUPHIX seeks new members who would like to actively participate in the target panel as the evaluations are proving extremely valuable.

1.7 release – date and planned content

The next release is planned for the end of May, 2008. The EUphacts, EUphoci and indicators, which are planned for this release may not all be implemented if there proves to be insufficient funds. The project officially ends at the end of June. After the website release at the end of May 2008, the EUPHIX team would very much like to focus on promotional activities.

Network Formation – goals for 2008

The primary objective is to establish a network of organizations and experts that will maintain the application in a sustainable manner. As EUPHIX is now approaching the final stage of the project it is important to see what has been accomplished so far.

Two functions

The EUPHIX network currently fulfills two functions, namely providing the required expertise (content function) and gathering support from the target audience and users for the continuation of the site (support function). The target group panel (user panel) is part of this overall network and helps fulfill the content function, by evaluating the usefulness and appropriateness of the website.

The partner group will need to be extended in the near future to allow it to competently fulfill its support function. All member states could become involved and DG SANCO could evaluate the product.

Future actions

In the near future the following actions will need to be taken: the establishment of a network of authors and reviewers, a mapping exercise to link potential authors to all subjects, the enlargement of the target group panel and the enlargement of the editorial partner consortium.

Comments by partners

• It would be wise to separate the target panel into two groups, into a group that could critically review the content and a group that could review the site as target users.
• It is important to have evaluators from different kind of target groups, such as political decision makers, students etc.
• The editorial board (the steering group) should be distinguished from the editorial committee (the broader group).

EUPHIX as a platform for other projects and organising sustainability

Serving as a platform for other EU project results

A project can produce interesting data which can be incorporated in Indicators, EUphacts or especially EUphoci. The EUphocus ‘Children’s health and the environment’, which is based on the ENHIS project, is a current example of how EUPHIX can act as a publication medium for other EU projects.

Organising and financing sustainability

The following options to help ensure the sustainability of EUPHIX were discussed:

• Hosting the system in Luxembourg, which would involve DG Sanco maintaining the technical side of the system, and having the editorial activity shared by many, with a content coordinator or secretariat acting as the spider-in-the-web.
• Using the present partner group as the starting point for an editorial consortium.
• Keeping the EUPHIX secretariat at the RIVM for a limited time span of at most one year, without Commission financing.
• The consortium carrying the responsibility to seek financial support for a first continuation, to provide basic ‘political support’ for the sustainability of EUPHIX and to supervise the process of filling or updating of the website.

During discussions the following agreements were reached, namely that:

• There is a need to first find out what particular Member States are interested in participating in an editorial network.
• The RIVM will together with DG SANCO try to discover and then pursue the most suitable manner to submit a new proposal (project or otherwise), based on the above consortium approach, so that within limited time hopefully the consortium can receive appropriate co-financing.
• Beyond the editorial network, there is a need for a wider network of experts consisting of (possible) authors and reviewers, and representatives of relevant EU PHP projects. A specific strategy will be proposed to develop a sustainable authoring and reviewing network.
• An evaluation needs to be made at the end of the project period, for both the product as it is and of the editing process. This evaluation should serve in shaping the further maintenance of the system and possible changes therein.

PR Strategy

General approach

The first step outlined in the EUPHIX PR-strategy is to inform all relevant groups about the existence, qualities and potential of EUPHIX. To achieve this it is necessary to use a variety of information products and actively engage all current project partners in the PR-strategy.

As a final step the EUPHIX team would like to organize a ‘conference’. The aim of the conference would be to officially transfer the EUPHIX pilot to DG SANCO (at least to have explored the possibilities for this) and to communicate the achievements of EUPHIX and the system’s future potential. Additionally the EUPHIX team will try to incorporate EUPHIX into other conferences which are being planned by other organizations or institutes for 2008.

Time plan

• End of November 2007
• Discuss PR strategy with project partners
• Seek commitment with DG SANCO

• First half of January 2008
• PR-strategy finalized
• Relevant PR-material ready
• First e-mails, surface mailings, sending folders, etc.

• Second half of January 2008
• Contact made with major organizations; agreements about their intervention or commitment to EUPHIX
• DG SANCO commitment to conference or workshop

• First half of February 2008
• Final plan for EUPHIX conference ready
• Publications about EUPHIX appear in journals etc.

• Second half of March 2008
• First results known from SUSTAINABILITY strategy
• EUPHIX known in EU Parliamentary circles....

• Half-end June 2008
• EUPHIX conference

Pictures