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What are the implications of 6 months more lockdown on engagement & events? Quick thread based on our experience @kscopehealth of doing rather a lot of this. Skip to the end: don't give up or postpone indefinitely, time to get creative.
1. Virtual workshops remain Plan A. We've all been to so many digital events we know what good and bad looks like. But how do you set yourself up for success? @AGreyHealth has 5 tips for planning a great digital event: http://kscopehealth.org.uk/blog/5-tips-for-preparing-for-a-digital-event/
2. We all should know what to do by now. For any event (and particularly digital) clear expectations of how the event will go and how you can join in are key. Little excuse now for not setting this out at the start of *every* event. Steal our rules if you like!
3. Use the opportunity to improve how you engage, particularly with citizens. Rather than crying over face-to-face split milk, it's time to embrace ways which digital is actually a better option anyway. Read @DavidAHaslam reflections on public engagement: http://kscopehealth.org.uk/blog/public-convenience/
4. Think hard about accessibility. We've run events involving multiple translators at once, and it makes a huge difference to the experience of those joining. @lydpariswrites gives her views: http://kscopehealth.org.uk/blog/how-to-run-accessible-digital-events/
5. Do your conference digitally, but don't cut and paste your face-to-face approach. Digital means you can rip up a lot of normal conference assumptions, giving you new options to improve debate and discussion. Me on how to to do this: http://kscopehealth.org.uk/blog/how-to-have-a-non-dreadful-digital-conference/
6. There's still a place for face-to-face events... but likely to be in small groups, and with preparations in place. We're running small away-days now (and they don't even all need to be outdoors).
7. And 'hybrid' events are going to become more common. We're all for combining face-to-face and digital participants, but it's tricky to do with equality and psychological safety. @theo__cox talks about our new robot-centric approach: http://kscopehealth.org.uk/blog/doing-the-robot-running-a-successful-hybrid-event/
8. This is all possible to do really well! We've been delighted by the feedback to the 50+ digital events we've run for 1000s of participants over the last 6 months. From national policy launches, to small group organisational development, to cook-alongs, this is all possible.
So be creative, plan ahead, be clear about purpose, and if we can ever help @kscopehealth we'd love to hear from you. More about what we do here: http://kscopehealth.org.uk/about-us/digital/
