Talking Back
‘Talking Back’ sought to improve the Mobile Arts for Peace (MAP) website (https://map.lincoln.ac.uk/), by focusing on how to best communicate our work for policymakers such as national ministries, UN agencies, researchers, and potential future funders. The work undertaken has improved the discoverability of the research, as well as how to showcase outputs such as Policy Briefs and Creative Outputs e.g., images etc.
University of Lincoln research has:
- Reorientated and re-structured the website for specific external target audiences, including developing user journeys and integrating calls to action
- Started to develop a resource library using a Document Library pro plugin (this necessitated creating the website in a new WordPress theme)
- Developed training resources for project staff (including how to format blogs, change home page sliders & the integration of new Mailchimp newsletters)
The website country and project pages are now aligned to the Key Themes and Approaches identified in the diagram above. Users can self-filter according to interest.
Re-structuring the website
As part of the Policy Hub fund, we developed:
- Key user profiles and journeys for the website, including for UNESCO focal points.
- A policy influencing strategy aligned with communication approaches.
- A Key Approaches and Themes Framework so that target audiences can reach material/resources of particular interest. This is built into the categorisation of the website e.g., viewers can search by theme and/or approach depending on their interests.
The focus on external partners such as UNESCO youth, gender, peace, and arts education experts meant that several new web pages needed to be created. These included:
- Communicating our story so far, and future trajectory more clearly (through diagrams)
- Developing a Monitoring Evaluation & Learning (MEL) webpage
- Experimenting with Policy (Art) Briefs – outlining our intentions to bring creative methods into generating and communicating policy recommendations.
- Showcasing our youth researchers and in particular the Youth Advisory Board.
Developing a resource library:
The MAP website was originally using a Divi Builder WordPress site (theme). However, due to the limitations of this, and the UoL’s move towards using a Child Theme, in alignment with UoL ICT the MAP website shifted its website to this theme as well. This meant that the categorisation and functionality for the resource library is more comprehensive. MAP resources will now be uploaded and shown according to a new categorisation tree, which allows users to select particular areas of interest. This includes:
- By project
- By country
- By theme and/or approach
- Resources now include; project/ evaluation reports, academic journals/book chapters, photographs/images, performance videos
Impact on Policy
- Engagement with key stakeholders such as UNESCO thematic focal points has increased since the development of the website. UNESCO Nepal culture and youth focal points have contributed text and feedback on the new newsletter, strengthening the partnership.
- The MAP – UNESCO partnership is culminating in a National Dialogue on Culture & Arts Education in Kathmandu in September 2023. The website will advertise the event in advance, and also showcase the findings through a blog, and disseminate the Policy briefs, Community Curriculum and Creative Outputs associated with the Dialogue (Roundtable).
- The website will continue to be housed by UoL, and therefore the resource library will exist and be accessible beyond the duration of the funded project. This is important for the sustainability of the project resources.