Meetings

paper 3

The Commission discussed the paper which provided them with details of the Social Media Strategy, the new policy governing the use of social media and the conclusions arising from the trial of live tweeting, conducted shortly before summer recess.

This policy is intended to ensure that the appropriate mechanisms are in place to manage and monitor the effective use of social media and to support, advise and inform staff on its use. It defines the context in which social media should be used, covers the types of content appropriate for social media, outlines the role of the Social Media Manager in assisting users and providing governance and addresses all used channels, including Facebook and Twitter.

Commissioners were concerned that individual members of staff who are tweeting on behalf of the Assembly should have appropriate training and knowledge and that all tweeting be informative and non-partisan. They received assurance that appropriate controls are in place and that training and sharing of best practice takes place.

Commissioners discussed the impact of social media as part of a spectrum of engagement activity, not something to be taken in isolation. They identified that Assembly tweets are most valuable when they link to Senedd.tv and other useful sites.

The Social Media Policy is intended to provide a framework for people to work from. Commissioners asked that the policy be made as clear as possible and agreed it should be finalised and then published.

Non Gwilym presented two items for discussion. The first was the Assembly’s Social Media Strategy that expanded on the principles set out in the Assembly’s 2010 e-democracy strategy, which gave the Commission’s direction for digital engagement with the people of Wales. The second paper looked at the review of live tweeting, which provided an evaluation of a live tweeting trial carried out with the Public Accounts Committee in June.

Management Board made recommendations on the draft documents and highlighted that this work helped to plug the 'democratic deficit'^[1] gap. The Assembly was innovating and leading the way in this area and comparators with other organisations should be included in the document. However, it was important to reassure the Commission on live tweeting and ensure clarity around the sensitivities, explaining what was actually being said and done, including tweets by Assembly Members.

The social media strategy would be presented to Commissioners at their meeting on 29 October.

Actions:

·      Non Gwilym to summarise strategy into a covering paper with annexes to the policy and evaluation on live tweeting;

·      Elisabeth Jones to check that the policy was compatible with the FOI policy and consistent with DPA and copyright.