Over the past 3 months, we’ve been hard at work planning and developing a new AuthorAID website. The AuthorAID site has been rapidly growing in use, with over 7000 registered users around the world! As the community grows, the site needs to reflect this and respond to a wide range of user demands. Following the AuthorAID survey and the launch of a new flagship programme at INASP (Strengthening Research Knowledge Systems [SRKS www.inasp.info/srks]), improving the AuthorAID site, including how it works and what it can offer, were high priorities. The new site has been developed to, among other things, create a stronger, more visible community and a more comprehensive and user-friendly resource database.

We are planning to launch the site in two phases — the first phase is planned to launch on 10 December 2013. There will be a short time when the site is unavailable while we make the transfer, after which you will be automatically redirected to the new website. The second phase is set for launch in February.

The first phase of development has focused on creating a familiar but improved user experience. You will notice an improved design and small changes to the news, events, resource, and registration process. The area with the most significant improvement will be in finding, contacting, and working with other researchers. This system allows users to starting mentoring relationships, but also to find help for specific tasks and opportunities for collaboration. Building on some of the feedback received from the recent AuthorAID survey, we have made changes that will allow clearer communication between researchers, including tracking tasks and outlining expectations.

Phase two of the launch will bring further improvements to the mentoring system, with a more functional workspace, as well as a number of other features to be detailed early in 2014!

What you need to know

In developing any new site, however, there are always changes. What you need to know in the lead- up to the change is outlined below.

Profiles

All user profiles and passwords will be transferred over, so you can login as usual. In phase one, much of the information will be the same, with the addition of a few new fields (such as ORCID ID http://orcid.org/). In phase two, there will be further changes to the taxonomy (such as subject fields). It is recommended that you review your profile after the launch of phase one to ensure all your details are correct and up-to-date.

Mentoring workspace

The mentoring workspace will be included in the second phase of the redevelopment. The workspace is where researchers can discuss their work, and in the current website, upload files. The new mentoring workspace willinclude a new interface and include several new functions, so current workspaces will not be migrated. This means that those using the workspace should ensure they have saved all the information they require prior to the transfer (files, agreements, etc). We will keep backup copies of any documentation, just in case they are not recovered before the launch, but we will not automatically transfer documents over to the new website.

If you have any questions or concerns about this, please contact lfinnis@inasp.info.

Initiating contact

An additional change to the system is the initial contact process. We’ve streamlined the process to provide key details in a quick and easy way. When contacting a researcher, users will be required to fill in a short form, selecting from four drop-down menus and a free text box. This will help users to clearly outline the type of work they wish to undertake, as well as allowing respondents to detail their own expectations and capacity.

Once both users agree to the proposal, they will be able to see a list of contact details (email, social media, etc). Messages sent from within the system will go to your email inbox; however, users will be required to reply via the system rather than directly through email. One of the primary reasons for this is added security to users, preventing spam and email harvesting.

New and improved

We are looking forward to this upgrade and hope you are too! The site has been developed by Aptivate (www.aptivate.org), who also recently developed the new INASP website (www.inasp.info).

If you have any questions, please contact Liam Finnis (lfinnis@inasp.info).