1. Peer Support for Peanuts: The UCSF Communicators Network Sarah Paris, Director of Communications, UCSF School of Medicine

2. The UCSF School of Medicine Organizational Structure 28 departments, 16 Institutes and Centers Highly decentralized Part of the UCSF health sciences campus Internal Audiences 2000 faculty 5121 staff 618 medical students 1365 residents and fellows 600 graduate students; 1000 post docs

3. 3 7 major sites in San Francisco & Fresno 188 mi VA Medical Center Parnassus Mission Bay Mt. Zion Laurel Heights San Francisco General Hospital

4. UCSF Campus: Communications UCSF News & Public Affairs (University Relations) News Releases and Web stories for External Audiences Web Stories for Internal Audiences Departments & Centers Newsletters / Publications Internal Communications Events Departmental Websites School of Medicine Dean’s Office School Homepage(s) / Website School-wide electronic communications (listservs )

5. Who is communicating? Centrally: Full-time professionals assigned to Schools, University Relations, Medical Center and Development. Locally: In departments and units, admin staff are charged with print or electronic communications as part of their overall duties. Typically, web, print, electronic and in-person communications (events) are handled separately and not coordinated.

6. Challenges for “Outliers” Lack of training Lack of resources Lack of standards / best practices Lack of connection to peers across campus Lack of recognition for their work  Challenges for Campus Inefficiencies: Inventing the wheel instead of building on existing information and resources Ignorance of standards & brand guidelines Inability to create strategic communications campus-wide

7. UCSF Websites, ca. 2008: “Brand Smorgasbord”

8. The UCSF Communicators Network Goal 1: Connect everyone on campus who is active in any form of communications Website creation, web editing Print publications, displays Electronic communications Social media Event management

9. The UCSF Communicators Network Kick off Meeting Nov. 7, 2008: - 36 attendees from SOM and campus - Universal agreement of need for and usefulness of a communicators group Discussion of platform for interaction Subsequent formation of small ad-hoc steering committee with representatives from the four schools & UR Now 150+ members Voluntary collaboration; various levels of participation. Top-down “moral” support.

10. The Virtual Meeting Place 2009-2010: Google Group Consensus: Adequate tool for discussions (162 topics in two years), but hard to organize resources.  2011: Transition to Nuts & Bolts Website (for member roster and resource organization); combined with a listserv for intra-group discussions and inquiries.

11. Communicators.ucsf.edu

12. The UCSF Communicators Network Goal 2: Provide training and resources Group meets collectively every 2-3 months. Typical format is 1-2 presentations on a given topic, with extra time for member networking Sample topics covered: - Social Media Strategies - Website creation - Online conferencing - How to Shoot a Simple Headshot (hands-on workshop) Presentations and other resources are archived on website

13. The UCSF Communicators Network Goal 3: Create a structure to disseminate important messages on the unit level Example: Group worked collectively to disseminate sustainability efforts Goal 4: Develop best practices Example: Group worked on drafting and implementing best practices for mass email on campus

14. Member Survey March 2011

16. “Organically Grown Products” Shared Media (Photos/Video) Resource Space Move towards uniform content management system (Drupal) Website “family” branding

17. UCSF Websites 2011: “Family Resemblance”

18. Future Projects Short term: More training and networking opportunities Further development and dissemination of resources, standards and best practices Long term: Campus strategic communications plan Develop data to bring more recognition to ROI of communications in a budget-challenged environment