Sarah Westlake, senior editor at MS Society talked about improving processes the MS Society used to have to identify case studies, and the brilliant new database being developed. She explained how they got started, who they got involved, and what they have learned along the way so far.

1. Real stories

2. Maya Angelou, civil rights legend and
author

3. People will forget what you said
People will forget what you did
But people will never forget how you made
them feel.

4. The case for something else
• Old fashioned, paternalistic
terminology.
• How would you like your story told?
• People’s stories aren’t just useful
collateral to be used.

5. What I’ll talk about
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What makes a good story
How we identify people’s real stories
How we use real stories
Storing the stories
Drivers for a change
How we found out what we all needed
What we realised we needed
What we learned
Where we are now
Next steps for the MSS

7. Six ingredients for a great story
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Change/consequence
A powerful opening
Direct quotes
Show don't tell
Verisimilitude
Show your reader
http://www.slideshare.net/CharityComms/sixingredients-for-great-charity-case-studies

9. How we identify real stories
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We ask on all our channels
Regional staff
Local publications and press
Personal connections
Meeting people along the way
Following up and building on
relationships

10. How and why do we use great stories
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Many departments have the need for great stories
To inform about our work – through a personal story
To help people feel less alone
To engage potential and current supporters
To sell us in to press and PR
To show not tell
Use is dependent on where they are being placed
So, it’s clear we need them, how do we manage them?

11. Storing the stories

12. All storing by different methods
• Several departmental Excel spreadsheets
• Raiser’s Edge
• Survey Monkey

13. A slight improvement

14. Basic requirements
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NAME
AGE
CONTACT DETAILS
WHERE THEY LIVE
TYPE OF MS
WHEN DIAGNOSED
MORE DETAILS ABOUT STORY AND MS
WHY YOUR STORY?
ACHIEVEMENTS?
WHEN DID WE LAST CONTACT THEM AND WHAT ABOUT?

15. Drivers for change
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We were overusing some people
And hardly using others
No way to store photography with story
No ‘handler’
No cross organisational access
Rubbish data protection
Who used the story last? What for? When?

16. This is Shana

17. In just two weeks…
THREE of our departments asked Shana to :
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Do a TV interview
Write a blog for the website
Write a speech, and deliver it to politicians
Volunteer at the Liberal Democrat conference

19. So…We
• Started a group of interested people and
asked them:
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Why do you use these stories?
What details do you need?
What’s important to you?
Who needs access, and how?

20. We also asked them
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How often do you use real stories?
How much info about their MS do you need?
How are you doing it now?
What are your issues now?
What do you think are the potential solutions?

21. What we realised we needed
A centrally accessible database of stories:
• that was easily searchable
• that could be accessed by designated staff
• Where we could leave notes on the account
• that was designed and supported by clear
protocols agreed by everyone
• Where each story was assigned an owner

22. THE STORY OWNER OR HANDLER
All stories must have an owner or ‘handler’.
This is the staff member who manages our
relationship with the person. They ensure that:
• Information is accurate and up to date
• Information is used appropriately and in balanced
with the needs of the organisation.
• Relevant permissions are sought
• If a user changes role or leaves - ensure they
transfer their people to another handler.

23. We also needed
• To be able to record and maintain all stories
• Allow users to easily find appropriate stories
• Record how and when contact is made and
stories are used
• Record - name, contact details, and their story
• Allow users to search, view and create records
• Allow only the ‘owner’ to change records
• Be able to change owner if staff leave

24. Make a wishlist
• The ability to place details 'on hold'
• The ability to set automatic review dates,
which de-activate after set periods of inactivity
• Produce a report on frequency of use
• Authority and permission levels set to allow
only certain users the ability to change details

26. It’s important to
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Identify the issues you have before you start
Involve everyone
Keep everyone involved throughout
Build something intuitive and easy to use
Make sure from the start that the database is
either based on or ‘talks to’ your current
database

27. The benefits
• One method to rule them all
• Every story will be entered in the same way, enabling
the search function to work smoothly and quickly
• We can store a photo with the story
• With each story being assigned an ‘owner’ they will be
properly managed, and not feel under or overused
• We can properly apply data protection
• Stories can feed into content management, ensuring
we use them in a unified way for multiple audiences

28. Benefits…
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Keep an updated database that everyone can access.
Ensure people are not being contacted by multiple staff
Ensure we are not missing out on great stories.
Ensure searches are easy and quick
Everyone records when they spoke to person and what about
– and everyone can see notes
• No case study will include inappropriate information
• Avoid duplication

29. Next steps for the MSS
• We now have a final version of the User Requirements
document, that everyone contributed to
• We have engaged a developer to build the system.
• We had a prototype built and we tested it for functionality
• We will look at the architecture of the database and where
and how it will live within our current systems
• We are in the process of building the live version

30. It’s a win-win situation

31. Upcoming events at
CharityComms:
www.charitycomms.org.uk/events
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