Organising and Managing Parliamentary Websites

Transcription

1 Organising and Managing Parliamentary Websites - a guide for parliaments - Cristina Leston-Bandeira Louise Thompson

2 Guide produced under the project Managing Parliament s Image, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) - (RES ). Cover image: istockphoto, This Guide stems from research conducted as part of the Managing Parliament s Image project. The project encompassed in-depth interviews with sixty senior parliamentary officials across five parliaments (European Parliament, French Assemblée Nationale, Portuguese Assembleia da República, Scottish Parliament and UK House of Commons) and contents analysis of these parliaments websites, complemented by data collected through an online survey of parliamentary libraries and communication services of parliaments across the world. The authors would like to express their gratitude to all participants in this project, for sharing their time, enthusiasm, dedication and expertise with us. This Guide is intended to be used by parliaments for the purposes of effectively organising and managing their websites and the staff responsible for them. The Guide utilises material from our research, drawing in particular on a number of instances that we have identified as best practice. The examples quoted aim to provide an illustration of specific organisational examples; they are often being used by more than one parliament. The Guide does not aim to make a survey of all of the tools currently being used; it simply lists key features of best practice of managing parliamentary websites. This Guide is complemented by two other guides in the same series: Using Parliamentary Websites as an Engagement Tool and How Parliaments Use Social Media. All of the guides are accessible from the project s website: hull.ac.uk/mpi All print screens included are taken from the respective parliament s website. All quotes are from our interviews with senior parliamentary officials and representatives and survey responses from members of parliamentary staff. 2 Managing Parliament s Image project ESRC (RES )

3 Organising and Managing Parliamentary Websites: A Guide for Parliaments Cristina Leston-Bandeira Louise Thompson THE IMPORTANCE OF STRATEGIC PLANNING... 4 INCORPORATING A PARLIAMENTARY WEBSITE INTO STRATEGIC PLANNING... 5 MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT OF PARLIAMENT WEBSITES... 7 A COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE WITHIN PARLIAMENT... 7 OPERATIONAL INDEPENDENCE FOR THE MAIN WEB TEAM WITH PARLIAMENT... 7 GENERAL DIRECTION OVERSEEN BY A BIPARTISAN BODY... 8 IMPORTANCE OF REGULAR MEETINGS ACROSS ALL DEPARTMENTS... 8 WRITING, EDITING AND PUBLISHING OF WEB CONTENT... 9 MANAGEMENT OF WEB CONTENT...10 AUTOMATIC UPLOADING OF OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS...10 DEVOLVED PUBLISHING MODEL...11 USE OF PUBLISHING TEMPLATES AND STYLE GUIDES...11 STAFF TRAINING...12 MANAGING PARLIAMENT S SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE...12 GRANTING AUTONOMY TO INDIVIDUALS OR SERVICES...13 MANAGING INTERACTION WITH CITIZENS...13 MAINTAINING NEUTRALITY...13 LOOKING AHEAD MAINTAINING THE UTILITY OF WEBSITES MAKING IMPROVEMENTS MORE GUIDANCE Managing Parliament s Image project ESRC (RES )

4 The Importance of Strategic Planning Parliaments are political institutions and therefore dependent on political actions and cycles, many of which can be unpredictable. But it is important that overall strategic planning takes place at some level in order to ensure the sound running and administration of the institution. Similarly, the maintenance of parliamentary websites also requires a good degree of planning and management. As the online face of the institution, it is essential that some degree of website planning is incorporated into a parliament s general strategic planning and that, in doing so, its importance is recognised at the very highest level of the parliamentary administration. It s recognised at the highest level that this is an important project for the Parliament The general strategic plan of a Parliament typically establishes the key values of the institution and a corresponding set of aims to achieve within a specified time period (usually three to five years) in order to promote or meet these values. It may also consider the corporate branding of the institution or the image which the administration wishes to be perceived by citizens. These strategies typically have political input or approval from elected representatives within the parliament. Those responsible for managing parliament websites should already have their own departmental strategies for the future development of the website, independent of the general institutional plan. The IT department, Web Team or other staff responsible for the maintenance of the website should thus be able to feed in their priorities towards the broader institutional plan. This may be through a direct representation The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago conducts surveys of parliamentarians as well as a series of workshops for parliamentary staff and external stakeholders when considering its strategic plan made to the administrative body or simply by forwarding their thoughts to a departmental manager. Some parliaments conduct surveys or hold working groups of internal and external stakeholders when formulating their plans. The strategic planning identified by the parliament must be publicised and known to all staff working within the institution, so that they are able to develop their own departmental planning with these aims in mind, implementing the broader strategic aims of the institution within their own departments.

5 Incorporating a Parliamentary Website into Strategic Planning The website of the parliament can therefore fit quite naturally into the strategic planning of the institution. Those responsible for the website can highlight what they feel are the key objectives over the next few years and share this information with higher level management. Strategic Planning in the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia holds a series of working groups with parliamentary staff so that the views of employees can assist with the drafting of the Parliament s strategic plan. The creation of a new parliamentary website was identified as one of the key projects in the Parliament s long term strategic planning in The Serbian Parliament s long term development plan. 1 The general strategy identified for the parliament can thus incorporate and reflect the views of those in the web team. The overall strategic plan may therefore include an explicit reference to the parliamentary website, seeing the importance of this channel of communication with citizens. The strategic direction of the website can be easily incorporated into this overarching plan. At the most general level this could be included in the core aims of the parliament (e.g. to increase online engagement with citizens) or alternatively more specific plans could be identified (e.g. the integration of social media tools within the parliament website or the creation of an e-petitions system). It could even include a more long term plan for the website or an annual/sessional plan of key priorities. Even if the website is not to be explicitly referred to in a strategic plan, the goals or targets identified can be used by those responsible for the website, ensuring that the site meets the values of the parliament. The website is clear and explicit in the strategic plan 5 Managing Parliament s Image project ESRC (RES )

6 Strategic Planning in the UK House of Commons Strategic planning is undertaken by the House of Commons Commission, a cross party body chaired by the Speaker of the House. It delegates management functions and implementation to a House Management Board, led by the Clerk of the House. This board contains the heads of the five main House departments as well and the ICT Director. The Commission is advised by two parliamentary select committees, the Administration Committee and the Finance and Services Committee. It produces a report which sets out the work and future strategy of the House of Commons on an annual basis. The website is very clearly included in the strategic planning of the Commission. Its 2011/2012 Annual Report included a specific section on Engaging with the Public which outlined new education, resource and website activities undertaken over the previous year. It can also be seen in the strategic planning of the Management Board, with suggestions likely to have come through a bottom up process, from each of the main departments. For instance, specific plans to increase efficiency over the period included a print to web strategy to increase the availability of papers and ensure they were more easily searchable through the website. 2 The UK House of Commons explicitly notes the contribution of the website as part of its overall strategic planning Managing Parliament s Image project ESRC (RES )

7 Management and Oversight of Parliament Websites Maintaining a parliamentary website is a large scale operation, often involving a small web team, with contributions from possibly hundreds of additional parliamentary staff on a more ad hoc basis. Just as the number of staff involved is very large, the volume of content being added to the site on a daily basis is huge. Four key features of the management structure assists parliaments in their management of web content and of the staff members responsible for producing, editing and uploading it. A Communications Service within Parliament It s representing the work of the Parliament rather than the political desires of Members With the growing use of the internet and the operation of a 24 hour media in most countries, parliaments have a much increased visibility today. Adapting the institutional website is one part of the response to this, but it must be underpinned by a strong communications team. Although not typically part of the traditional parliamentary organisation, the creation of a communications service allows parliaments to present coordinated responses and to ensure that the image and news conveyed through the parliamentary website reinforces the institution s wider communications strategy. Many parliaments have already developed or reconfigured their internal structures to address this, either through an individual communications service or through the recruitment of staff members whose role is specifically to have responsibility for communications. The Brazilian Parliament for example has a Communications Secretariat (SECOM), the UK House of Commons has a Media and Communications Service and the European Parliament has a Communications Directorate, with its own Director General. Operational independence for the main web team with parliament Recruit really good people who you can trust A parliamentary website can only function effectively if it is managed by a very specialised team on a day to day basis. Most institutions will therefore have a dedicated web team with responsibility for the website. This team will take the lead in updating the key pieces of information which are displayed on the top level pages, including the website s homepage. It is important that these experts are given some degree of operational independence. It is not practical to run all modifications or additions to the website through the very highest management channels. This autonomy will allow them to respond to parliamentary events immediately, uploading the necessary reports and documents to the 7 Managing Parliament s Image project ESRC (RES )

8 The website has got to be apolitical website, ensuring that the website produces information and responds to parliamentary business in a timely fashion. Issuing clear guidelines and templates to assist the uploading of information ensures that a consistency of practice is maintained throughout the whole of the website (see below for more details). General direction overseen by a bipartisan body Despite the partisan debate often taking place within its walls, the institution of parliament must remain a neutral and impartial body. The top level management of the website should not therefore be political and general strategic direction should be governed by a bipartisan or apolitical body. If elected members of parliament are included on this management board it should be bipartisan, representing members from all political parties. For example, the Corporate Body of the Scottish Parliament consists of five MSPs whilst the UK House of Commons Commission is composed of six MPs and also attended by the Clerk of the House. However, this is often related to the way parliaments are organised generally and may not be possible to amend specifically for the purposes of managing the website. Regardless of the specific approach taken, the overseeing body should be primarily a non-partisan body. Importance of regular meetings across all departments Parliaments are very large institutions comprising very diverse departments, which often work independently. However, a parliamentary website needs to reflect all services and departments, as well as parliamentary outputs being produced. The team responsible for the webpage needs therefore to have effective and regular links across all departments, from parliamentary business such as Committees to services such as Security. From an organogram point of view, the web team needs therefore to be positioned so to easily relate to all other departments. The most important and visible feature of a parliamentary website is its homepage. This page more than any other will form the foundations of the image of Parliament being presented to citizens. Visitors will expect to find information quickly and easily from the homepage and it must therefore be updated on a daily basis, with a news sections featuring quite heavily. The management of this page can be difficult. Institutions need to decide which stories to publicise and will need to plan ahead. For instance, if discussion of the budget is to take place, the parliament may need to have a short news story explaining this, with a link to the official report of proceedings, the We still have to try and maintain that corporate brand around the website 8 Managing Parliament s Image project ESRC (RES )

9 Website Coordination Meetings in the UK Parliament In the UK Parliament a web content meeting takes place every week. It includes representatives from the House of Lords and House of Commons Information Offices, the Parliamentary Outreach Service, Education Service and the Library as well as representatives from the Web Team and Media Officers from parliamentary committees. It is at this meeting that the key themes for the following week are agreed. The final information is put into a planning document and circulated among staff members. budget document, any library briefing or research papers and possibly educational material explaining the role and purpose of the annual budget. One of the most effective ways of ensuring that these decisions are made carefully and impartially is to hold regular cross cutting departmental meetings with key figures to set future priorities for the website. It is important that the heads of all departments and, where relevant, both chambers of Parliament are represented at these meetings. There may also be a weekly meeting of website editors with relevant staff from the media or press teams to establish the news priorities for the following week, particularly the specific news stories which will need highlighting on the parliament s homepage. A planning document should be produced following these meetings which can then be circulated to all members of staff responsible for generating web content. This will ensure that decisions regarding the top level pages of the website are made in an impartial manner and that a sufficient and integrated supply of material can be prepared in advance, ready to upload onto the website as and when required. Planning Top Level Web Content in the European Parliament In the European Parliament an editorial committee meets on a weekly basis, if not more frequently, to establish the editorial priorities regarding the publication on websites and associated media for the following two weeks. This includes the discussion and determination of editorial products (stories, features, press releases) and multimedia products (photos, infographics, video) as well as social media content and any specific media supporting events (press conferences) that may need to be organised. This editorial committee is chaired by the Director of Media and includes representatives from all units from the Directorate-General for Communication. Separate working groups may be formed to consider material for larger media events. News stories displayed on the UK Parliament s homepage 4 Writing, Editing and Publishing of Web Content The drafting, editing and publication of material to be published on a parliament s website is a complex and The European Parliament s news page 5 9 Managing Parliament s Image project ESRC (RES )

10 The UK Parliament has trained over 370 members of staff in the use of its content management system, enabling them to write web content themselves 6 often time consuming process, requiring considerable cooperation and coordination both within and between departments. The traditional publishing model would entail large numbers of parliamentary staff writing web content in Word documents and ing them to a web editor for further editing, approval, uploading and publication. Five examples of best practice have been identified in order to make this process more robust. Management of Web Content Most parliaments have an IT or web team with overall responsibility for the design and maintenance of the website. Having a well trained, specialist team is crucial if the website is to thrive. However, with a wider network of people often writing web content it is necessary to have a specific staff member within each department who is responsible for overseeing the production of web content within their area. Automatic uploading of official documents Parliamentary institutions serve as an important document repository, with the text of bills, committee reports, order papers, briefings and research papers and the official report of proceedings (among many others) being uploaded on a regular basis. Mechanisms should be in place to ensure that documents such as these which are produced on a regular basis can be automatically uploaded to the parliament website. These can then be indexed automatically and so fully integrated within the wider website. The automatic uploading of documents relating to parliamentary activities has been particularly useful in increasing the efficiency of web operations in large and complex parliaments such as the European Parliament, which deals with 23 languages on a regular basis. The European Parliament has developed an automated system - SIPADE which enables the publication of documents, as these become available in the 23 languages, in an XML (Word and PDF) format with real-time indexing and a fully automated system of intra and inter document links. The Brazilian Parliament has trained 184 members of staff in the use of its content management system 10 Managing Parliament s Image project ESRC (RES )

11 Devolved Publishing Model The main thing is the adherence to the style guide One of the most practical means of ensuring the timely updating of content on the website is to promote a devolved publishing model using a content management system such as Contribute or Episerver. This increases the numbers of staff who are actively writing and uploading material for the website and ensures that material can be written by specialists within each department. A committee clerk would thus be able to write material specifically for their particular committee s pages on the parliament website. A considerable degree of preparation is required in order to achieve this method of web publication with training sessions being necessary for parliamentary staff so that they are familiar with the use of the content management system being used. The strategy for the uploading and publication of this material can vary. Some institutions allow material to be uploaded at departmental level with a very simple approval required by a member of the parliament s web team. Others also devolve the publishing of web content, but ensure that new material is flagged for daily or weekly viewing by those with specific responsibility for the website. Publishing could also be dependent upon the type of page being constructed or edited, with top level pages requiring approval prior to publication and lower level pages receiving post-publication approval. Some institutions allow parliamentary news or press releases to be published instantly by media teams to allow for fast responses to parliamentary business. Use of Publishing Templates and Style Guides Where the drafting and publication of website material is devolved to a wide range of parliamentary staff, training or familiarity with the style of web material is also necessary. Whilst the different sections of an institution s website may focus on very different things, in very different levels of detail, it is important that these pages retain some sense of corporate identity. Style guides and web templates are a key feature of ensuring the consistency of this website material, ensuring that all staff adhere to a similar style and layout in the material they write and upload onto the website. Information could include the use of headings, fonts and terminology as well as the style of Online discussion rules posted by the UK parliament on its website Managing Parliament s Image project ESRC (RES )

12 Introducing the European Parliament s Blog The European Parliament has perhaps the most liberal approach to social media, granting staff members considerable autonomy in their activities. However, the creation of a blog on the European Parliament s website raised several management concerns about its possible content and comments posted by citizens. Running the blog for a few months behind a password protected site relieved the concerns of parliamentary officials and following formal approval from the Director-General for Communication, the blog was then able to be posted live. writing to be employed. These style guides can then be placed on the staff intranet so that those writing web content can access or be directed to this as and when required. Staff Training The traditional style of writing for parliamentary business and for internal communications and documents is not always suitable for items such as news stories. Staff training on writing for communication is therefore very important. Regular training sessions should be held to train staff in how to write good, accessible web content which adheres to the institutional style guidelines. Training could also incorporate other important features of web design including search engine optimisation, the indexing of web pages and documents, particularly if a series of key words needs to be attributed to material which is uploaded on the website. Accessibility and disability issues should also be included to ensure that all citizens are able to make use of the website. Managing Parliament s Social Media Presence Most parliaments are now making forays into social media as a medium for greater citizen interaction and engagement. However, with the increased use of social media comes greater organisational and management problems and areas The Blog of the European Parliament s Web Team. 8 of concern. The use of Twitter and Facebook by institutions poses the greatest challenge as these are by their very nature fast-paced and spontaneous, reducing the degree of control able to be exerted by an institution. Social media can therefore be quite disconcerting for institutions used to line managing staff members and services. 12 Managing Parliament s Image project ESRC (RES )

13 Granting autonomy to individuals or services Institutions are right to be cautious about the introduction of large scale social media activities, but it is important to resist the urge to try to manage social media presence directly from the centre. Material posted on these sites needs to be highly contemporary in nature, responding directly to events as they occur inside and outside parliament. It is not feasible for every comment or post to be signed off by high level management, although very broad themes and areas of concern can be discussed at weekly or monthly editorial meetings. Parliaments should give individual staff members the responsibility for producing social media content. This may be responsibility for the institution s accounts or for the accounts of the departments and services within it. Managing Interaction with Citizens A vast number of comments from citizens is something to be celebrated, but can also cause concerns regarding the content of their messages and the appropriate response (if any) by the institution. A decision should be taken by the parliament s web team and possibly at a higher level concerning whether or not to allow a comments function on the parliament s social media accounts. If the decision is made that comments should be allowed, at least one staff member will need to be responsible for editing comments from citizens and removing those deemed unsuitable. Displaying a short moderation policy or referring to one located on the parliament s website is a good way of publicising a series of rules regarding comments from citizens. Some interaction or response to citizen s comments is desirable and this can also be entrusted to specific members of staff. It may be that parliamentary officials simply try to continue the debate or that they are able to answer questions regarding the work of the institution. Social media is characterised by this sort of interactivity and discussion and a relatively light touch management approach will allow staff members to embrace this medium and enhance the parliament s engagement with other users. Maintaining Neutrality Although the work of parliaments is highly politicised, these institutions pride on maintaining strict neutrality at all levels and within all departments and services. It is important that this neutrality is maintained in the use of social media. Parliamentary officials are likely to be very used to exercising this neutrality in their day to day work and should be trusted to act in a similar professional manner when compiling social media Top: A staff member at the European Parliament removes an offensive post from the Parliament s Facebook page. Bottom: A comment criticising the parliament is not removed by parliamentary staff (username removed) 13 Managing Parliament s Image project ESRC (RES )

14 Redesigning the website of the Scottish Parliament When planning a major redesign of its website, the Scottish Parliament ran a series of drop in sessions and workshops for Members of the Scottish Parliament and parliamentary staff on the possible structure of the new site. Storyboards were used to display the design process and to receive views. Focus groups were held with external user groups, including schools and a group representing users with disabilities, and there were online surveys available for external, internal users and Members. When the new site had been constructed, thirty volunteers from the public were took part in a usability testing (comprising a mix of regular and new users). This included the locating of different items within the website to ensure that the structure and navigation was correct and intuitive. A Web Project Board was established to oversee the strategic direction of the website. This consisted of the Heads of Business IT and Broadcasting, Public Affairs, SPICe (Information Centre) and Reporting. Senior management and the Corporate Body (SPCB) were updated regularly. content. A set of guidelines could be written in order to further clarify the importance of political impartiality when working in this online environment. Care must also be taken when exercising the institution s agreed moderation policy. Whilst inappropriate comments should be deleted, it is important not to delete comments which take an unfavourable view of the parliament or its work. Offensive comments on the European Parliament s Facebook page for instance will be deleted in line with its published moderation policy. But comments criticising the work of the parliament will remain. Managing social media in this way is essential in maintaining the transparency of public engagement with the institution. For more guidance on the use of social media by parliaments, see our guide Parliaments and Social Media. Looking Ahead It is not sufficient simply to have a good website which meets the general aims of the institution. Parliamentary websites should strive to remain ahead of the game, utilising new techniques and media platforms in order to get their message across and enhance engagement with citizens. Those directly responsible for the website must therefore regularly engage in forward planning and consider ways of improving the utility and accessibility of the site. Maintaining the Utility of Websites Websites do not have to look dated for their utility to have waned. Regular reviews of visitors to the site can highlight areas which are in 14 The homepage of the redesigned Scottish Parliament website. 9 Managing Parliament s Image project ESRC (RES )

15 We found out a lot about the things that people like about our site, what they don t like about our site. their say in the process and to voice their opinion on proposed new layouts is an excellent way to ensure that a redesigned website is of the greatest utility to all those likely to be using it. need of improvement. The UK Parliament for example runs monthly surveys of users whilst the Scottish Parliament and the European Parliament run a quarterly satisfaction survey. As the redesign of the Scottish Parliament website demonstrates, it is imperative that all users of, and potential audiences for, the website are consulted. Therefore parliamentary staff and external stakeholders (such as lobbyists, journalists and academics) should be consulted if major changes to the website are being considered. For example, parliamentary information offices may have very valuable information on items that citizens are struggling to locate on the website, or simply of the most common queries received. Google analytics can be used to evaluate current use of the website and highlight the most frequency visited sections, pages or documents. However, incorporating a more hands on approach to the redesign process as demonstrated by the Scottish Parliament - enabling members of the public who visit the institution to have Making Improvements Image: istockphoto ( It is often useful to meet with representatives from other parliaments to share ideas and discuss problems encountered during a redesign. Maintaining regular contact with web teams in other institutions is thus very important. Keeping an eye on innovative web practices being undertaken by these institutions and the changing face of their homepages etc may also stimulate a dynamic and up to date design. If sections of the website are contracted out to companies for redesign, it is imperative that there is still good integration with the rest of the website and with the web team based in parliament. This will ensure consistency across the website as a whole and generate goodwill among parliamentary staff. 15 Managing Parliament s Image project ESRC (RES )

16 Although members of staff with specific technical and web expertise are instrumental in any redesign process, it is important to have a more general body or committee to oversee the changes to the website. This body should contain those with less technical experience, representing each of the main services or units within the institution. Whilst this group will be unable to consider very technical aspects of the redesign, it will ensure that the new website represents the parliament as a whole and reflects the wishes of every service within it. 16 Managing Parliament s Image project ESRC (RES )

17 More Guidance There are plenty of sources available today for further guidance on the use of internet based tools to support parliamentary engagement with the public. Your parliament may indeed already be utilizing some of these. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) now regularly reviews guidelines and best practice in the utilization of new media tools to support the work of parliaments and their engagement with citizens. In recent years they have published several publications specific to engagement with the public. They have also issued the most comprehensive set of guidelines on parliamentary websites together with the Global Centre for ICT, available at: The IPU also has now published guidelines on social media, available at: and its 128th Assembly approved in March 2013 a resolution on the use of social media by parliaments (available at: The Global Centre for ICT is an organisation specifically focused on supporting parliaments in their use of technology to support parliamentary work and engagement with the public. The Global Centre issues regular guidelines on strategic planning and publishes the World e-parliament Reports. These reports are an invaluable source of information for best practice. All of the Global Centre s publications are available at: Regional organisations such as the ECPRD (European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation) also offer sound networks between parliamentary officials for exchange of contacts and experience (ecprd.secure.europarl.europa.eu). 17 Managing Parliament s Image project ESRC (RES )

18 Images and References 1 Long Term Development Plan, (accessed 14 April 2013) 2 Information about the strategic planning of the UK Parliament is derived from publications by the House of Commons Commission ( ) and the House of Commons Management Board ( (accessed 14 April 2013) 3 Strategy for the House Service , (accessed 14 April 2013) 4 As displayed on the UK Parliament homepage, (accessed 14 April 2013) 5 News Section, European Parliament (accessed 14 April 2013) 6 Written evidence from the Web and Intranet Service, Second Report of the Liaison Committee, HC II, November 2012, Ev. W-70 (accessed 14 April 2013) 7 UK Parliament, Online Discussion Rules, (accessed 14 April Writing for y(eu), (accessed 14 April 2013) 9 Scottish Parliament homepage, (accessed14 April 2013) 18 Managing Parliament s Image project ESRC (RES )