In June 2020, we asked you to let us know what you think of IHW's monthly newsletter, HAWKEYE (Health And Wellbeing Knowledge Exchange Your E-newsletter), and how it could be improved.

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84 people completed the survey, and we received some excellent suggestions as to how we could make HAWKEYE more readable and relevant. We are considering all your ideas and, where feasible, will try to implement. We thank everyone who took the time to participate, and are pleased to be able to report back on the findings.

88% of respondents told us that they "always" or "often" read HAWKEYE and 94% that they regard it as a "very effective" or "fairly effective" means of communicating information across IHW. Regarding frequency of publication, 92% felt that once a month was "about right".

In terms of improving our newsletter, the following changes would be welcomed: 

  • Less content 
    With heavy workloads and many competing demands on our time, many would prefer HAWKEYE to be shorter, with information presented in a way that can be absorbed more rapidly.
  • More balance i.e.
    • between stories from our various units/research groups;
    • between contributions from junior and senior staff;
    • between positive/success stories and more reflective items (including about the challenges of working life, learning from experience etc).
  • Structure/format changes i.e. less need to click in and out of stories, and a more user-friendly interface

Other suggestions included using more graphics and fewer acronyms, and reiterating the importance of fully acknowledging the contribution of all relevant colleagues when reporting back on a piece of work. 

Proposed changes

In the coming months, based on what you have told us, we hope to make changes to:

  • the way that we request content (ensuring that all in IHW know that they are welcome to contribute and the mechanism for doing so);
  • the format and appearance;
  • the structure (more bite-sized pieces of information with less need to click in and out of articles);
  • the overall tone (inviting not only reports of successes and achievements but also staff and student reflections on work and study experiences).

Thank you again for helping us to keep HAWKEYE relevant and useful, and of course to the many colleagues who take the time and trouble to contribute information and put together stories. 

Jane, Aud and Asha
The HAWKEYE Team

We welcome contributions from all areas of Institute of Health and Wellbeing, and from both staff (all job families) and students. The deadline for content for the next edition is usually the penultimate Monday of the month, but we can be flexible if we know an item is on its way. The email address to send your content to is ihw-hawkeye@glasgow.ac.uk. Any queries, please contact HAWKEYE's editor Jane Goodfellow. 

First published: 4 August 2020

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