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communications strategy: Evaluation

The “S” of OASIS. Without measurement we’ll either do too much (everything feels urgent) or too little (nothing feels rewarded).

What we measure

Quantitative

Category Indicator
Reach Newsletter open rate, social impressions, page sessions, cumulative subscribers over time
Engagement Replies, shares, comments, time-on-page, CTR
Community calls People participating per call, number of unique organisations joining, retention (how long people stay on the call)
Action Training sign-ups, partner enquiries, downloads, citations, new contributors
Outputs Resources, publications, events, training sessions delivered

Channel-level data sources: Google Analytics (website), MailerLite (newsletter), LinkedIn and Bluesky native stats, YouTube annual stats.

Qualitative

  • Informal feedback from members and stakeholders
  • Annual surveys with active and inactive members
  • One-to-one conversations with key contacts at member orgs
  • Direct statements about ELIXIR-UK’s visibility and value

What we don’t measure

  • Raw follower counts.
  • Impressions on paid or boosted content.
  • “Engagement rate” without an action signal underneath.

Per-activity evaluation

Every row in the Implementation table has an evaluation method. Principle: the channel and the KPI go together – when we change a channel, we revisit its KPI.

Reporting

Audience Format Cadence
Coordination Office + Management Committee Working KPI dashboard Annual
Node leadership (HoNs, SAB) High-level summary Annual
Clubs Summary of engagement Annual
Funders Impact narrative Annual

Using findings

When an indicator moves significantly:

  1. Is the change real? (Seasonal, campaign spike, one-off event?)
  2. If real and positive – what produced it, can we do more?
  3. If real and negative – change the activity, channel, or message.

Findings feed the next strategic review. Acknowledge limits when reporting – what we couldn’t measure and why.

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