At Virginia Tech I am responsible for informing 1500 researchers about funding opportunities and supporting administrators and staff who assist efforts to obtain funding. PAPER NEWSLETTER For years we had distributed (with copyright permission) the 3 editions of the commercial ARIS newsletter to individual faculty. Each edition comes out at 6 week intervals (approx. 8 per year for each). Reproduction/distribution costs were cut significantly when we began sending the material to 80 departments and centers rather than to individuals. WEB SITE Charged with re-engineering the information dissemination process by establishing an electronic bulletin board, I designed and implemented a web site in November 1994. I built and tested a prototype and, as time went on, created a comprehensive set of pages with hundreds of links to sponsor and program information. In addition to posting the commercial newsetter (see above) to a gopher server and web page, the site also contains a weekly bulletin and two indices (one to sponsors and information resources, the other to current bulletin notices arranged by sponsor). With the exception of posting the commercial newsletter, the design, implementation and maintenance of the system, including server maintenance, production of the weekly bulletin and training and user support, is done by one person. Research Opportunities Office (ROO) Bulletin The locally produced weekly newsletter consists of notices of funding opportunities (rfp's from the Federal Register, CBD and NIH Guide, new NSF announcements, NASA NRA's, etc.), policy and regulatory notices to help administrators, and local news (e.g. transportation schedule for visiting agency program managers, announcements concerning university funding programs, instructions for internal competitions when solicitations limit the number of applications to one or two institutional submissions). All notices include deadline and contact information as well as hypertext links so that interested readers may access full-text announcements and or forms or application materials. LISTSERV In June of 1995, a listserv was established to distribute the weekly (local) bulletin via automated email. Its purpose was two-fold: to convey information to readers without web access, and to remind others to access the web site when something in their area of interest appeared, or that a new edition of the commercial edition had just been sent to their department. Note: the web site, bulletin and listserv are for the exclusive use of Virginia Tech students, faculty and staff. ISSUES 1) The need Clients complained that they didn't have enough time to respond to solicitations. 2) Timeliness of information Newsletters issued a few times year don't help potential respondents when the time from date of solicitation release to deadline can be as little as 4 weeks. Some departments are better than others about redistributing information. With researchers having direct access to bulletins, they don't lose time due to the "trickle down" effect. With my system readers receive information as much as two weeks earlier than they would by traditional means. 3) Improved access to information Directing users to the sponsor for program announcements relieves me of some of the burden of archiving paper files. Secretaries appreciate being able to download electronic forms as needed, and faculty like being able to access the system even when the ROO is closed. 4) Different audiences People have different needs for information at different times. The system has to be able to support frequent and infrequent users, be varied and reliable enough to encourage regular use, and be useable by computer novices as well as "techies". Web sites in and of themselves don't assure regular access - the combination of web site and listserv is very effective: over 370 readers receive the email bulletin every week; a few redistribute portions to their colleagues. In a year's time, only 5 subscribers have "cancelled" their subscriptions. 5) Infrastructure Almost universal email access is critical to the success and popularity of the listserv. Although web access is not universal, it is available to enough of the community to make it a powerful communication device. 6) Feedback Web statistics software can indicate which files/pages are the most popular, server logs can show who's using the system, how frequently, etc. The webmaster can respond accordingly by supporting popular pages, eliminating less used ones and identifying frequent customers. Reader response can sometimes be ascertained from inquiries about recently announced material. User satisfaction re: this system is very high. 7) Support This project is highly labor-intensive. Time was required for me to learn how to produce HTML coded pages and maintain the web site. Production of the bulletin, link repair and related activities can take as much as 2 1/2 - 3 days a week. Users must be instructed and supported to use the system, download materials, etc. Training is offered in individual consultations, by phone, and at formal training workshops. 8) Value of newsletters "If the tree falls in the forest and no one hears it..." If an opportunity is announced and your researcher doesn't know about it, he/she's less likely to respond successfully to that solicitation. In a period of reduced sponsor support and increased competition, it's easy to believe that there isn't any money "out there." A weekly bulletin dispels that notion by gently reminding its readers that money is still available for a lot of projects. The newsletter also serves a filtering function, directing the reader to information most likely to be of interest, focusing attention on policy changes, etc. Think of your readers and what's important to them - what helps you in the newsletters you receive? Content? Format? Ease of use (brevity, arrangement, indexing)? Information is critical to the funding process and newsletters, whether paper or electronic, play a vital role in informing the research community. They are a means to an end, and should not be considered as an end in themselves.
