'Digital Democracy' costs

The request was partially successful.

Finn Scott-Delany

Dear West Sussex County Council,

1. How much have the first four video interviews for the 'digital democracy' series cost according to a) set design and creation b) equipment costs or hire c) human resources, ie temporary recruitment, consultancy etc d) and the overall production costs.

2. How many more episodes are planned?

3. How many a) individual views and b) unique users has each individual interview had

Yours faithfully,

Finn Scott-Delany
[email address]

Reporter
Crawley Observer
01293 845057

West Sussex County Council

Dear Mr Scott-Delany
Thank you for your request for information which I have forwarded to the
appropriate officers for reply.
Yours sincerely
Richard Childs
County Archivist

Finn Scott-Delany To FOI requests at West
<[FOI #60367 email]> Sussex County Council
<[West Sussex County Council request email]>
28/01/2011 16:09 cc
Subject Freedom of Information
request - 'Digital
Democracy' costs

Dear West Sussex County Council,

1. How much have the first four video interviews for the 'digital
democracy' series cost according to a) set design and creation b)
equipment costs or hire c) human resources, ie temporary
recruitment, consultancy etc d) and the overall production costs.

2. How many more episodes are planned?

3. How many a) individual views and b) unique users has each
individual interview had

Yours faithfully,

Finn Scott-Delany
[email address]

Reporter
Crawley Observer
01293 845057

show quoted sections

West Sussex County Council

Dear Mr Scott-Delany

Our Reference: BSD FOI 788

I am writing to confirm that West Sussex County Council has now completed
its search for the information which you requested on 28th January 2011.
For ease of reference your questions are set out in bold below, followed
by our response:

1. How much have the first four video interviews for the 'digital
democracy' series cost according to a) set design and creation b)
equipment costs or hire c) human resources, ie temporary recruitment,
consultancy etc d) and the overall production costs?
2. How many more episodes are planned?
3. How many a) individual views and b) unique users has each individual
interview had?

There is no specific cost attached to the Digital Democracy interviews.
The set and technical equipment were installed prior to the launch of the
video service four years ago, and were funded from existing budgets.
Operational costs continue to be resourced from within existing budgets,
and no extra funding has been allocated for this or any other video
project.

Production of the videos is part of the overall responsibilities of one
member of the Communications Unit. He joined the County Council media
team in 2000 with 26 years' experience in radio and television
production. All members of the media team take part in writing,
producing and presenting productions, including technical operations. The
studio is also used to generate income from external sources. Its
facilities are currently being used by a private contractor.

There is no regular production schedule for the Digital Democracy series.
These will continue to be produced as needed. The multi-purpose studio
operates part-time, and has so far produced nearly 200 videos for both
external and internal viewing - the latter being a staff training
resource. Additionally the studio is used for training Members and senior
officers, and is currently working on visual training material for
managers, acquainting them with new software training material widely
circulated. This teaches managers to self-serve, and is part of
efficiencies aimed at saving the County Council *79m over three years.

All interviews are sent to internet and external websites for hosting or
linking. It is difficult to aggregate the total number of viewings,
because as well as appearing on video hosting sites, all our videos are
marketed virally via sites such asTwitter, and its associated re-Tweets.
The latest series has been posted for only a relatively short time, and
our totals invariably grow at a slower pace than 'instant hit' videos.
This is best illustrated with two examples - in two years our videos on
becoming a British citizen - based on our weekly citizenship ceremonies in
Chichester - has been viewed 4,659 times, and a re-enactment drama with
Trading Standards, 4,705 times. Your own Commercial Editor, Theo
Cronin, has copies of the Digital Democracy interviews and others, and has
signalled his intention to publish in your web-based video feature Sussex
Online when relevant news items appear.

The Digital Democracy series is rapidly gaining ground with viral media
and the local government community. Our videos are also used for
educational purposes - a recent one on dementia is now a teaching aid in
two universities and several mental health organisations. This directly
enhances the new role of county authorities in taking over responsibility
for public health.
According to research, West Sussex County Council is one of 61 local
authorities posting videos on YouTube (LGEOR Research 2009). Developing
a small video service is a natural corollary to the radio service launched
in 2001. This has produced more than 6,000 broadcasts used directly on the
11 radio stations serving West Sussex. It also produces feature material
and podcasts.

No modern organisation can afford to ignore digital communication
channels. and digital video is an increasingly important and popular way
of engaging with the public

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. You are free to use it for your
own purposes, including any non-commercial research you are doing and for
the purposes of news reporting. Any other reuse, for example commercial
publication, would require the permission of the copyright holder. Most
documents supplied by us will be copyright of West Sussex County Council.

Information you receive which is not subject to WSCC copyright continues
to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from
which the information originated. You must ensure that you gain their
permission before reproducing any third party (non WSCC) information.

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please
remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

If you are unhappy with the way your request has been handled, you may
wish to ask for a review of our decision under our complaints procedure.
Please contact Amanda Aviss, Head of Communications and Marketing or the
complaints section via our website.

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the
ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted our complaints
procedure. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

The Information Commissioner's Office,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire
SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely,

BSD Information Liaison Officers
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