IREX uses the following process for commissioning and building new digital properties (websites, apps, social media accounts, YouTube accounts, interactive features, crowdfunding pages, etc.).
Before creating a website or another digital property, teams must obtain joint approval from Strategic Communications and their practice head (or unit head, if the team is not in a practice).
Please complete the following form:
Request approval to create a new website, social media account, or other digital property
At the outset of a digital project, it's tempting to propose a solution and start building it right away. Unfortunately, this often leads to poor results, as teams realize too late in the process that they've built the wrong thing.
It's best to begin by developing a shared understanding of the problem and putting it in writing, so the project team and Strategic Communications can arrive at a solution together. Often, teams are pleasantly surprised to find that the best solution is easier and less expensive to implement than first expected.
Teams should identify the property's objectives. What does success look like from IREX's perspective?
Teams should identify which audiences, or user groups, the proposed property would support. Who exactly are the target users? What do they need to do? How much evidence do we have about their needs?
Is it possible that an existing website, social media account, or e-mail mailing list could meet your needs? Strategic Communications can help identify options for using existing accounts to minimize the burden on staff of creating and maintaining new digital properties.
Teams should indicate what resources (human and financial) are available to maintain the digital property after it's built. Digital properties that are out of date or broken can damage IREX's reputation.