Making Connections groups share ideas and work together on topics of joint interest.  This can be setting up a webinar series on an emerging topic, writing joint publications, collaborating on grants or projects or developing policy advice.  These groups can use a variety of different ways to collaborate, such as using online meeting rooms or organising face to face workshops.  Groups might also arrange to meet in person at conferences or organise their own events.  To set up a group you need to become a member of ELSI2.0 (if you are not already a member) so we can add you to our email lists and connect you with other people.

How do I set up a Making Connections Group?

Send an email to helex@dph.ox.ac.uk with the following details :

1.  The title of your Making Connections Group

2.  Key contact person(s)

3. The Making Connections organisers and affiliation with email addresses

4. A summary (150 words maximum) for our website of the topic for your group, including what you want to achieve.  For example, you may want to run a discussion group around a specific topic, or co-author a publication.

5. Whether you would like us to provide a group mail list specifically for your Making Connections group, so you can easily get information out to everyone.

6. What (if any) webinar platform you will be using and details where applicable of any other social media sites such as LinkedIn; Facebook or Dropbox that you will be using.

Once details of your group have been loaded onto the ELSI 2.0 website, we will send you an email and then you are ready to go!

Checklist for Making Connectionss Group Leads

1. Decide on a time for the first meeting which works for a variety of time zones.

2. Compose an email to notify people of your new Making Connections group which should include :

  • Name of your Making Connections Group
  • The date of the first meeting and the frequency of meetings (weekly, fortnightly or monthly) thereafter.
  • The time of the Making Connections meeting, we suggest a time that works across a number of time zones.  See https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html for assistance.
  • Who to contact if people want to join.
  • The link to the webinar platform that you will be using.
  • Calendar link to allow your group to add the date in their diaries.
  • Any social media sites you will be using.

3. Send the email to the whole ELSI 2.0 community by emailing : elsi2@maillist.ox.ac.uk

4. Advertise further through Twitter by including #ELSI2 in Tweets, and to your social media networks such as LinkedIn groups.

5. Send additional reminder emails and alerts a week before and the day before your meeting.

6. Provide updates every six months and circulate to ELSI 2.0 members by email.  This will be put on the website and will go in our report and publications.  This will let other people know about your group and encourage more members to participate in the events you organise, or allow others to see the benefits of setting up their own group for a new topic.

7. Capture and communicate to us what is working well for your group, so we can share with other groups.  For example, how frequently you find it useful to meet; softwre you have found valuable, and successful meeting formats.  This will allow us to develop examples of best practices as they emerge over time.

What are the advantages of Making Connections groups?

Your Making Connections group enables you to collaborate with people across the world who share your interests.  If you set up a Making Connections Group, we will advertise it on the ELSI 2.0 website and you will be able to publicise it to ELSI 2.0 members through our mail list. This will provide visibility for the activities you coordinate to an international network of ELSI researchers, help attract people to participate in the group, and encourage those with similar interests to make contact. For a junior researcher, establishing a Making Connections Group can be a way of getting eminent speakers to talk on your doctoral or post-doc subject.  For a mid-career researcher, establishing and leading an international Making Connections group can be a great addition to your CV.  For more senior researchers, being involved in a Making Connections group can keep you up to date with new ideas, add to international debates and enable you to support more junior colleagues.

How will we help you?

We will advertise your group on the ELSI 2.0 website and we can set up a mail list of your Making Connections group members that you can use to co-ordinate activities.  If you have difficulty in identifying tools or resources to use for your group's activity, we can advise on what other groups are using successfully and put you in contact with other members who may be able to assist.

What next?

If you have any further questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact Helex@dph.ox.ac.uk

Existing Groups

Groups that are inviting members are shown on the ELSI2.0 website :

https://elsi2workspace.tghn.org/making-connections/.

If you are interested in joining one of these groups please email the named contact person using the details provided.