Although convenient, easily updatable and easily accessible, web
publishing anything has a particular weakness compared to newsletters;
your subscribers must  _actively_  go to the page.  In other words, you
can't build it and assume they will come (or come back for that matter,
which may be more important). A paper newsletter provides an arguably
higher confidence of delivery (all jokes about campus mail aside).

However, paper is fairly environmentally irresponsible- especially if
you suspect that it is not being read. The question then becomes one of
how to ensure delivery. At least one option is via email. Depending on
what email client your faculty are using you can either send the web
version of your newsletter in line (the page opens within the email
reader as in Netscape) or as an attachment (clicking on the attachment
causes the browser to open your newsletter web page) or you can create a
text only email message with links to specific articles or announcements
(NIH uses this). All of these assure a nearly equal confidence in
delivery as that of paper, assuming your faculty use email.

Another option may be to simply do away with the newsletter entirely and
simply email each announcement (RFP, PA, BAA, etc.) to those faculty who
would be interested in it. This option is fairly labor intensive and of
course reduces those opportunities for general interest articles and the
like. This also creates the potential for an opportunity to be missed
based on not being completely familiar with every faculty's interest.

The key I believe is in confidence of delivery. If you have the staff,
directed email can work quite well. However, reliance solely on a web
page will almost certainly reduce delivery unless augmented with email
as described above or with the assistance of another method of getting
the information delivered to a passive audience.

My $.02
--
Gardner Congdon
Assistant Director, Program Development
Office of Research Administration
Boston College
(617)552-2248
xxxxxx@bc.edu

William Campbell wrote:
>
> RESADM-ers--
>
> I need some advice.  For many years, the Grants Office at University of
> Wisconsin-River Falls (5,000 FTE, regional comprehensive, primarily
> undergraduate) has campus-mailed paper newsletters to all faculty and staff
> every 3-4 weeks.  It includes a brief lead highlighting an especially
> attractive opportunity, lists of campus proposers and grantees, and selected
> funding opportunities.   The newsletter serves several purposes:
>
> --keeps the grants office visible on campus.
> --reminds folks that we provide a variety of services.
> --encourages folks to write proposals (peer pressure is amazingly powerful.
> Many times I've heard faculty say, 'why if that bozo can get a grant, I
> certainly can!')
> --informs potential applicants of the specifics of funding opportunities.
>
> Some years ago, we supplemented the paper version with an electronic copy
> (viewable at http://www.uwrf.edu/grants/newslet.htm, if you're curious); it
> contains the same text, plus www links to funding sources.
>
> We think it's time to scrap the paper version and go completely (or maybe just
> mostly) electronic.  We haven't received a single inquiry this year from the
> paper newsletter, which tells us either that no one is paying any attention at
> all (I refuse to believe it) or that they are relying on the webpage or
> something else for whatever info they get from our newsletter.
>
> Further relevant information: we subscribe both to COS and SPIN, accessible to
> everyone on campus.
>
> Here's my question: what's the best way to replace the paper version with a web
> version?  I want to place something before faculty/staff eyes periodically just
> to remind them that we are here, prod them about deadlines, brag on successes,
> etc.  We've thought about sending emails once/twice per week--short, snappy,
> with a pointer to more information on the web.  Should we also send around a
> paper summary once in a while, for the few who never look at their email?
> We'll ask our faculty/staff in both the paper version and by email within the
> next week, but I'm also curious what RESADM-ers think.
>
> Is there anything else to worry about?  Are there wonderful models out there in
> research admin land that we aren't aware of?  Please email me or the list, your
> choice.  If I get private responses, I'll post a summary in a week or so.
>
> Thanks and regards, Bill Campbell
> Director, Grants & Research
> University of Wisconsin-River Falls
>
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