PR work in Arnes

1. PR work in Arnes Tomi Dolenc Head User Communication and User Groups’ Targeted Projects

2. What is PR? • All communication (public, press, government, users) • Maintain relationships with the community • User support (we are soo nice ) • Inform and raise Arnes profile • Act in the community as reliable experts • Tailoring services after user needs • Manage projects to meet all these needs • → PR work very unstructured

3. Who is PR • Director of Arnes • Tomi + 3 team members • “Associate members”: • Heads user support teams (3 levels) • Head SI-CERT, Gorazd Božič(security expert, chair TF-CSIRT) (brand!) • Domain queen (Barbara) • Everybody who deals with users & other public groups

4. Range of activity – team members • Domen Božeglav • Webmaster (intranet, wiki/CMS) • Posting news, design & usability • Publications • Annual report & Plan • New ideas for services • Service support (e.g. virtual servers for schools) • SW testing • Gopher • Peter Sterle • publications • Communication: • Press, Universities (computer centers), Ministries,National Regulation Agency • Eduraom/AAI messiah&PR • Jože Hanc • Customer advice about technical options to connect to ARNES • Preaches local clustering based on optical infrastructure

5. Range of activity - Tomi • Head Communication & PR • User policy (consulting member government committee) • Member Senior Management Group (Strategic planning, service portfolio) • Services for schools • Liaison officer / Ministry of Education, Ministry of Higher Education & Science) • Collaboration in national “ICT in education“ projects , teachers, National institute of Education • Safer Internet projects (brand!) • International collaboration (TERENA/SchoolNet, videokonferencing support coordination) • Arnes User’s Conference Program Committee (also CUC) • Internal communication • User support supervision

6. Planned activities - 2008 • Publications & materials • Activity Plan 2008 • Annual Report 2007 (slightly polished version) • Flyers (General/Services Catalogue, Eduroam, CERT, TERENA Server Certificates, .. VC, AAA, lightpaths) • T-shirts • Better contacts with Universities & other demanding users • Projects for target user groups co-funded by the Ministry – Eduroam/AAI @ University, Gigabit student dormitories, National Education/services Portal) • Relations/contracts with the operators • Facilitate content publishing (internal and public web – CMS, wiki) • Negotiating new corporate logo and identity

7. Focus on events • SIRIKT – Annual user conference • Technical workshops • Expert teacher training • GÉANT2 event + GÉANT2/lightpaths campaign • Full contact with high government officers • Briefing the minister, joint press release about the event, input for her speech, negotiating lunch with Reding for another minister… • Getting closer to potential lightpath consumers and other demanding users from research community

8. Dedicated PR budget • Promotion (publications, materials) - 8000 € • Events (annual conference etc.) – 5000 € (50000 in 2007, project funding expected) • Local support for GÉANT2 event funded by DANTE

9. Poor basic PR activities • No newsletter • Poor brochures • No user survey (apart from some web Q’s as user feedback ro support • Website lacking information, unevenly updated • Low priority on breakthrough showoffs and events • e.g. NG network, press conferences, branding and promoting new services, no celebration of 15th anniversary… • Insufficient contact with certain user groups (research)