​Year Five Work Plan Objectives

1. Develop cross-network strategic message guidelines and recommendations for study results dissemination.
2. Consider ways to harmonize network communications strategies and external relations policies. Areas of interest include:
• Review and identify points of commonality across network websites
• Network policies regarding posting protocol documents on public websites.
• Network website recruitment strategies.
• Links to outside parties including all other networks.
• Evaluate 508 compliance on network websites.
3. Develop a Communications Resource Center (CRC) on the HANC portal. The CRC will be available to all Communications Working Group members and invited guests. It will house a library of communications resources including: articles, guides, presentations, contact information, best practices, and white papers.
4. Share IT- and communications-related developments across all areas of coordination. Possible areas of coordination include:
• The IT Best Practices document developed by the DMC Harmonization Working Group.
• Community Partners and the Site Coordinators Working Group concerns about IT needs at resource-limited sites.
• Implementation and use of DAIDS-ES web services.
• Privacy and IT security issues.
5. Review existing methods of evaluating communications efforts and consider which practices could be employed within the networks. Activities to support this objective include:
• Review existing website usage tools.
• Share experiences using social network sites (e.g., Facebook and Twitter) and document web traffic generated from new media sites.
• Discuss focus group guidelines and outcomes.
• Collation of these resources for network use.
• Community education strategies.
6. Review and make recommendations about communications best practices and evaluate available resources such as the Microbicide Media and Communications Initiative “Clinical Trial Handbook”.
7. Invite key stakeholders, opinion-makers, and experts in the field to present on Working Group calls. Areas of expertise could include: journalism, advocacy, blogging, and cultural anthropology.
8. Identify, implement, and maintain tools to improve cross-network communication. At present, HANC maintains the following portal resources:
• DAIDS staff listing
• Data management related contact list
• Cross-network collaborator list
• Network newsletter library
• Archive of network meeting agendas.