Draft Advisory Group 12 March 2003 Meeting Notes

Room 102, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington

Attendees: Rakiihia Tau, Kaeti Rigarlsford, Peter Sykes, Georgina Johnson, Ross Bell, Vaine Hosking, Stephen Blyth.

Apologies: Ruth Gardner.

1. Welcome

The meeting opened with a karakia by Rakiihia Tau.

2. Minutes and Matters Arising

2.1 Minutes

The notes for the 7 November 2002 were accepted as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

Moved Rakiihia, Seconded Peter Sykes: Passed

2.2 Matters Arising

Code of Conduct

The Code of Conduct modified at the last meeting was reviewed. It was agreed that references to tangata whenua be replaced with whanau, hapu and iwi. With this amendment Advisory Group members were happy to accept the Code of Conduct.

Report on e-government portal launch

Peter attended the launch of the portal in November. Interest in CommunityNet Aotearoa was limited except amongst the librarians who attended.

Reporting channel

As well as feeding into the operation of the website, Advisory Group members sought to clarify who would receive reports from the Advisory Group. It was agreed that at each meeting a summary of key points to bring to the attention of CDG management would be prepared.

3. Website statistics

Stephen tabled a paper outlining trends since the upgraded website was launched. Key figures to note are:

• 74% increase in visitors
• 137% increase in page views
• 100% increase in NZ visitors
• modest level of submitted items
• significant level of use of downloaded sample documents (average of 225 per month)

The figures indicate the website is being used extensively to retrieve information, but is not being used to share news, etc to such a high level.

4. Editorial Policies and Hot Issues criteria review

The Editorial policies for the website were reviewed. The existing policies largely spelt out what people couldn't do, but there was not a clear statement of what could be done. There was discussion of closed meetings (eg committee meetings) and whether it was appropriate to include details of these.

There was also discussion about accepting links to websites on contentious issues and/ or run by individuals. As linking to a website does not imply any endorsement, the limited checks made by CDG are about ensuring visitors are not exposed to websites that cause offence or are otherwise harmed, and the websites are relevant. One aspect of this protection not covered by existing editorial policies relates to an individual's or organisations ability to challenge opinions or viewpoints expressed, and/ or to seek correction or withdrawal of inaccurate, libellous or other harmful statements/ information. To do this people need easy access to a contact person, at a minimum by email.

Wording with a positive focus was developed as follows:

The focus of the website is on:

• Promotion of a flaxroots kaupapa/ philosophy
• National material and regional material which has national significance, including news, vacancies, events 
• Promotion of regional or local networks/ websites where these exist
• Opportunities open to any participants and relevant to a wide audience.

All material submitted must have a clearly identifiable contact person, with contact details easily available.

The kaupapa described in the 'About Us' section was reviewed. As well as reflecting obligations and values associated with the Treaty of Waitangi it was considered important to also reflect the multiplicity of cultures in Aotearoa. It was agreed to add a reference to 'diversity' to the kaupapa.

There is no explicit reference to not including material that is homophobic, rascist, sexist, etc. It was agreed to add an additional bullet point to the list of material that is not accepted, namely: 'material which breaches the Human Rights Act, eg rascist, sexist or homophobic content.'

The Hot Issues criteria were reviewed. It was agreed to make the following changes:

• Replace balanced with reasoned
• Add new bullet point: inclusive of different viewpoints, with Hot Issue owners agreeing to include material from other points of view.

ACTION: Advisory Group to review revised Editorial Policies before these go live.

5. Hot Issues and 'How-to guides'

Hot Issues

The status of the Hot Issues was discussed. Despite a few inquiries, only one new Hot Issue has been set-up since the website was launched. Of the three that are online, there is not a lot of new material being added. Ross, who is contributing to the Tax & Charities Hot Issue, indicated the topic is not as topical as it was last year, and there is very little new material being generated.

There are limited opportunities for people to share ideas and views in a non-structured way. It was see agreed that some form of interaction would be desirable (see 6.0 Proposed website developments). It may be necessary to refine the whole approach to Hot Issues, something that the Advisory Group will consider at a future meeting.

In the meantime, some active facilitation of Hot Issues is required. Topics suggested were:

• New local government legislation, focusing on 'how can community take advantage of the new act?'. Peter to discuss with Tina Reid.
• Youth intervention models
• Tauiwi responses to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

ACTION: Peter to discuss the idea of a local government Hot Issue with Tina Reid.

How-to Guides

To date, only three 'How-to Guides' have been set-up. These are being used extensively, with a reasonably high level of use being made of downloadable sample documents in particular.  Feedback from people working with groups suggests they are useful. And during promotional visits, Stephen received many suggestions for additional topics that people would find useful (list tabled).

The Advisory Group's interest is ensuring the range of 'How-to Guides' is broadened, and that these are of a high quality and reflect the diversity of website users. The Advisory has indicated that it wants to approve all 'How-to Guides' Editors. Decisions will be based on an assessment of Editor's expertise, experience and vision.

Topics for future 'How-to Guides' are: Community Development, Employment, Research, Risk Management, Planning, Consultation, Culturally safe service delivery, Programme planning, Volunteering, Organisational policies, Advocacy/ campaigning, Training, Funding, Financial management, Accessibility, and Media.

Stephen will develop a plan for finding editors for 'How-to Guides' on these topics. This may involve inviting staff from ERO, MSD, TPK, CEG, Ministries of Education and Health and local government to contribute.
ACTION: Stephen to prepare a plan for developing 'How-to Guides'.

6. Proposed website developments

Discussion of feedback and analysis of how the website is being used led to identification of two areas where further development of the website would be beneficial. The two areas are regionalisation of the community centre, and online interaction. Further analysis is required before a decision can be made about these developments.

Regionalisation

The community centre is being used to advertise events and vacancies that are unlikely to be of interest to people outside a particular region. As a result people have to wade through a lot of superfluous content. There are some areas where there is a local website providing a space for people to advertise local events, however many areas do not have these types of tools. Filtering content relevant to certain districts would offer a basic way for people to access localised information. This would help ensure people are not deterred from contributing because of restrictive criteria.

Online interaction

Input into the Hot Issues at this stage is a relatively formal process with all suggestions submitted to the Hot Issue owner for approval. There is no way for debate to be conducted, nor for people to talk with each other when investigating setting-up of new Hot Issues. As a result this section is not active. Being able to interact using chat or discussion forums could add considerable value.

There is also potential for an interactive function to be used as a way of asking helpdesk inquiries. These could be associated with 'How-to Guides'.

ACTION: Stephen to prepare a report on both possible developments for the July meeting.

The human resources required to undertake the development and planning work with 'How-to Guides' is significant. Advisory Group community representatives that sufficient resource to maintain the website to a high standard is required. Scoping of resource requirements to be included in planning process.

7. Next meetings

The focus for the next meeting of the will be on marketing and strategic planning. An external facilitator will be invited to guide the Advisory Group through the planning process. At the end of the day, Paul Curry, CDG General Manager, will be invited to attend to be briefed on the outcome of strategic planning discussions.

The meeting is scheduled for July.

ACTION: Stephen to invite Paul Curry to attend.
ACTION: Advisory Group members to notify Stephen of dates they are not available.