Periodic Reporting for period 2 - NGI4ALL (Next Generation Internet for All - Promoting Global Visibility on the Human-Centric Internet)
Berichtszeitraum: 2020-07-01 bis 2022-04-30
NGI4ALL has the ambition to operate the best and most effective branding, communication and marketing “agency” at the service of the NGI by establishing the NGI Outreach Office (NOO) running professional and dedicated communication and marketing (C&M) at the service of: the NGI ecosystem, including active organisations and projects and the many 3rd party organisations planned to be involved via NGI Open Call, the broader Open Internet research and innovation ecosystem and the European Community, including related national and international NGI-driven efforts. Through the establishment of the NOO, synergies are ensured with all relevant initiatives to embrace the large community of researchers, innovators, policy makers and people at large that are indeed already at work transforming the Internet and the whole digitalisation of our society.
WP1 focused on shaping and executing a forward-looking marketing and communication strategy in collaboration with the EC and the rest NGI projects; establishing and coordinating the NOO to guide operations of various communication and marketing activities; offering critical guidance and support in communication and dissemination activities to the various NGI projects, including (in the last 6 months especially) third party organisations/individuals; educating and coaching other NGI projects in their promotional and dissemination efforts so to amplify the impact of their activities, as well as the overall impact of the NGI as a whole. WP2 focused on: implementation and reinforcement of the NGI brand image, while establishing increased credibility and trust with the audience through extensive, captivating and distinctive online presence, which reflects in a consistent way the values and vision of the NGI. This was done through the global deployment of the NGI brand throughout the entire NGI online communication ecosystem, including the NGI portal, as well as linked websites and tools, the refactoring of the NGI interactive map, the creation of new promotional materials, and finally the elaboration of contents/storytelling to increase visibility of the NGI and engagement of newcomers. WP3 focused on providing means to support the dialogue with and between all the relevant stakeholders that contribute to the NGI ecosystem, fostering community building activities through growth hacking techniques and leveraging relevant stakeholders that support the NGI values and approach. The NGI online community has regularly been fed with content, especially related to NGI and ecosystem events, NGI RIAs (open calls, innovators showcase, NGI solutions) and ambassadors. A special effort was put on fostering engagement and pointing to underrepresented targets, as well as defining a more comprehensive structure and user guidelines. 1454 new members have joined the community. Ambassadors have continued to contribute delivering NGI Talks (NGI-related webinar sessions) and other content for the community, such as infographics and interviews. WP4 focused on building a strong reputation and global visibility on the human-centric Internet debate through dedicated online and offline activities that follow the NOO 360 degrees approach. The partners established and managed strong relations with press and media to maximise the positive coverage about the NGI Initiative, planned and developed a broad range of media engagement activities aiming to both NGI insiders and outsiders and to further targeted audiences, served as the PR office for the NGI projects (promotion of open calls, results or other press releases upon demand), organised and participated in events to reach and engage a large audience while promoting the NGI initiative across various communities. WP5 focused on ensuring a lean and effective management structure, communication among the partners, with the EC and, as needed, with other NGI projects, management of the project implementation at all levels of structure, management of decision making and conflicts resolution processes, risk assessment and quality assurance throughout the implementation of the project and adoption of a common vision and clear understanding of the project objectives among the partners and across the entire workplan structure, the implementation of the project Data Management Plan.
We can summarise the main achievements with regard expected outcomes as follows: Contributed to shaping a more human-centric evolution of Internet by 1) ensuring the creation of a new brand identity for the NGI initiative that reflects the centrality of the human needs and rights when defining and developing the Internet of the future; 2) voicing researchers and innovators that are developing open, trustworthy and ethical next generation internet technologies and solutions; 3) creating increased awareness about the relevance of NGI research and innovation efforts across a broad audience; 4) shortening the feedback loop between innovators and society through meaningful dialogues and knowledge exchange among all target groups.
Fostered the creation of a European ecosystem of top researchers, hi-tech start-ups and SMEs with the capacity to set the course of the Internet evolution in a direction that is aligned with European values and principles, by creating an open and dynamic community that shares knowledge, tools, processes and valuable information by also engaging prominent experts in various online and offline activities. This has been possible also by fostering liaisons with a number of relevant initiatives, including various open source efforts of high relevance in the pan-European scenario. Supported the generation of new business opportunities and new Internet companies by 1) helping third-party funded innovators to become more visible in the European and international scenario, increasing their outreach and helping them in promoting more effectively their work and technologies so as to reach different types of audiences; 2) communicating, supporting and broadly promoting relevant NGI funding opportunities to attract newcomers via a range of events, a dedicated matchmaking tool, news, articles and announcements, etc. Ensured global visibility in the media about the debate on a human-centric Internet, giving emphasis on citizens' needs and priorities to influence the evolution of the Internet that is open, inclusive, ethical and transparent.The work of the NGI Outreach Office has been dedicated to stimulate engagement of policy makers, public and private authorities, regulation bodies, as well as citizens, through dedicated contents, videos, social media campaigns, online adverts and curated press contents.
Fostered the creation of a European ecosystem of top researchers, hi-tech start-ups and SMEs with the capacity to set the course of the Internet evolution in a direction that is aligned with European values and principles, by creating an open and dynamic community that shares knowledge, tools, processes and valuable information by also engaging prominent experts in various online and offline activities. This has been possible also by fostering liaisons with a number of relevant initiatives, including various open source efforts of high relevance in the pan-European scenario. Supported the generation of new business opportunities and new Internet companies by 1) helping third-party funded innovators to become more visible in the European and international scenario, increasing their outreach and helping them in promoting more effectively their work and technologies so as to reach different types of audiences; 2) communicating, supporting and broadly promoting relevant NGI funding opportunities to attract newcomers via a range of events, a dedicated matchmaking tool, news, articles and announcements, etc. Ensured global visibility in the media about the debate on a human-centric Internet, giving emphasis on citizens' needs and priorities to influence the evolution of the Internet that is open, inclusive, ethical and transparent.The work of the NGI Outreach Office has been dedicated to stimulate engagement of policy makers, public and private authorities, regulation bodies, as well as citizens, through dedicated contents, videos, social media campaigns, online adverts and curated press contents.