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Georgia Southern launches Asian Studies Digital collection

Georgia Southern University Libraries and Nalanda Roy, Ph.D., recently launched a digital collection, “An Integral History: Asian Studies Digital Archive.” The archive provides a curated collection of multidisciplinary resources in support of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in the United States. Contributions are curated from Digital Commons, the University’s open-access institutional repository, and highlight Georgia Southern’s scholarly and cultural assets related to the Asian Studies minor. The collection represents faculty and student research, books, videos, community resources and campus events. “The Asian Studies Digital Archive is an important addition to Georgia Southern’s collections because developing an understanding of other cultures will create a cultural awareness,” said Roy, an associate professor of international studies and Asian politics and coordinator of the University’s Asian Studies program. “It will also teach us to have more meaningful interactions with others around us, and celebrate our differences and similarities.” Each May, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is observed to recognize the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have contributed to American history, society and culture. The Asian Studies Digital Archive will carry that legacy forward, and continue to grow, as faculty are encouraged to participate in the initiative. “As the coordinator of the Asian Studies program at Georgia Southern University, creating the Digital Archive has been a dream project,” said Roy, who is a Certified Diversity Executive and a former Inclusive Excellence Faculty Fellow at Georgia Southern. “I am very happy to work with the Georgia Southern Libraries to create a resource that will be helpful to both the Georgia Southern and local communities.” For more information on the Asian Studies Digital Archive, visit: Facts about Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month *U.S. Census Bureau 1978 — Congress passed a resolution creating Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. 1992 — The observance expanded to a month (May), timed to coincide with two important milestones in Asian/Pacific American history: arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in the United States (May 7, 1843) and completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869 (the majority of workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants). 2020 — Total Asian population in the U.S. is roughly 6% or 20 million. 5.1 million — The estimated number of the Asian population of Chinese, except Taiwanese, descent in the U.S. in 2020. The Chinese (except Taiwanese) population was the largest Asian group in the U.S. 690,000 — The estimated number of total Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population in the U.S. 607,010 — Native Hawaiian residents make the largest NHPI group in the U.S If you're a reporter looking to know more about "An Integral History: Asian Studies Digital Archive" - then let us help with your coverage and stories. Nalanda Roy, Ph.D., is available to answer your questions - simply reach out to Georgia Southern Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.

Social media interaction and well-being during a public health crisis

Yvette Wohn, assistant professor at New Jersey Institute of Technology, examines how social media and mobile technologies are used for social support, which includes emotional, informational and financial support — managing both personal and professional relationships.  Wohn‘s research area is in human-computer interaction (HCI) and computer-mediated communication. She studies the role of algorithms and social interactions in livestreaming, esports and social media and how they influence well-being. Wohn is conducting research on how physical and social space influences the well-being and productivity of people living or working in enclosed spaces. Some of her experiments look at the effects of simulated nature via digital windows. As Wohn notes, "Seeing nature is important to maintain well-being. In a nutshell, seeing nature on a big screen, even if you know it is fake, can help elevate mood."  Wohn is also the principal investigator of two NSF-funded projects examining the role of content moderators on social media, whose role is to keep online spaces positive and factual. Wohn is available to speak with media on topics related to how people use different technologies and social media to connect during these times. To request an interview, click on the button below.

Sustainable consumption in the age of CO2

Experts like NJIT’s Maurie Cohen are looking beyond electric cars and alternative sources of energy to combat the rapid rise of carbon dioxide emissions. Their approach is more fundamental and societal, touching everything from the size of our homes to where we work and what we buy. The global pandemic sparked new ways of living and working, bringing previously niche approaches into the mainstream, including: Working from home Tiny houses Local swap meets Live nomadically, work digitally Cohen, co-founder of the international Sustainable Consumption Research and Action Initiative and author of “The Future of Consumer Society,” is no newcomer to such ideas. He has studied sustainable consumption and its relationship to environmental policy for 20+ years, bringing a long-term perspective to addressing the carbon crisis. As seen in stories from Fortune, Fast Company, Vice and Yahoo News, Cohen can speak cogently about the implications of behavioral trends such as Facebook “no buy” groups, digital nomads and the shift toward working from home. To reach Cohen, simply click on the button below.

Livestreamed public lecture: How to help children develop healthier eating habits

Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment to host second in a series of livestreamed public lectures Molecules to Minds will explore Professor Jackie Blissett’s research into understanding and supporting children’s healthy eating behaviour The one-hour livestream will be followed by a Q&A and round table discussion Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment (IHN) will host its second livestreamed public lecture in the series Molecules to Minds on Aston University’s digital channel Aston Originals on Thursday 5 May 2022. Professor Jackie Blissett, the Institute’s co-director, will present her lecture: Understanding and supporting children's healthy eating behaviour. Jackie will discuss how ‘one size does not fit all’ when it comes to supporting children to develop healthier eating habits. Jackie and her team from the Aston University Psychology of Eating in Adults and Children (PEACh) group will explore how we can better understand and support children's healthy eating habits. The lecture will draw on the latest research undertaken by Jackie as part of the PEACh group. After the one-hour livestreamed lecture, Professor Blissett and members of the Aston University PEACh team, Dr Abigail Pickard and Dr Megan Jarman, will host a Q&A and round table discussion, where audience members can address researchers with their questions. Professor Blissett, co-director of IHN, said: “Why children eat what they eat, and why it is so difficult to change, is much more complicated than many people assume. Our goal is to better understand the complex factors which predict children’s eating so we can design interventions that are more likely to work.” With more than 20 years of experience working in this field, much of Jackie's research has focused on biological, affective and cognitive factors affecting eating and feeding in parents and their children. Jackie’s main interests are in children’s fussy eating, including fruit and vegetable acceptance, emotional eating and obesity. The livestream will take place at 16:00 – 17:00 BST on Thursday 5 May on the Aston Originals YouTube channel. To register for this event please visit our Eventbrite page. For more information about Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment (IHN) please visit our website.

Aston University expert to talk on gender diversity and inclusion at major cyber security event

The Ethnic Minority in Cyber (EMiC) network's flagship event is supported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Attendees will hear from inspirational speakers looking at current and future initiatives to increase diversity in the cyber sector Dr Anitha Chinnaswamy from Aston University will be presenting a talk on gender diversity and inclusion in cyber. An Aston University expert and founding group member of Ethnic Minority in Cyber (EMiC) is set to present a talk at a major cybersecurity event on 28 April 2022. The EMiC network's flagship symposium is supported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and will take place at Edgbaston Park Hotel in Birmingham. Attendees will hear from inspirational speakers looking at current and future initiatives aimed around increasing diversity in the cyber sector and will also be able to provide feedback into the initiative and policies going forward. The symposium will consist of a keynote speech, invited talks, panel sessions and round table workshops. Dr Anitha Chinnaswamy from the Cyber Security Innovation (CSI) Centre at Aston Business School will present a talk on gender diversity and inclusion in cyber and the outreach work of the Centre with schools to increase representation. Simon Hepburn, CEO UK, Cyber Security Council is the keynote speaker. The EMiC network, of which Aston University is a founding member, is a pilot network for Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority cyber academia, professionals and businesses, with the long-term aim of significantly improving representation across the cyber sector. Dr Anitha Chinnaswamy, lecturer in cyber security management at the CSI Centre at Aston Business School, says: “I am looking forward to speaking at such an important event about an ever-important topic in cyber. “While there is a growing cyber security skills gap and high shortage in the UK cyber sector, a recent survey found that only 17 per cent of cyber professionals are from ethnic minority backgrounds across all cyber roles. “The cyber sector remains relatively nondiverse in terms of gender. Just 16 per cent of the workforce across these firms is female, compared to 28 per cent in other UK digital sectors. “Those filling senior roles, typically with six or more years of experience, are particularly nondiverse across a range of characteristics including gender, ethnicity, disability and neurodiversity. “For example, just three per cent of senior roles are filled by women.” Aston University’s CSI centre, led by Professor Vladlena Benson, is the only female-led cyber security centre in the Midlands region and serves on the UK Cyber Security Council (UKCSC), alongside Simon Hepburn its CEO, to promote professionalism standards in cybersecurity. Professor Benson, director of the CSI Centre at Aston Business School, said: “Aston University CSI is actively involved in shaping diversity policy, such as with the launch of the NCS22 strategy in Birmingham and enabling the Cyber Explorer programme as a first schools’ engagement for girls from diverse backgrounds. “As ambassadors we are passionate about working towards closing the gender gap. This will help pave the way for a future of gender diversity, and hopefully other types of diversity, in the cyber security field. “Our work with female students in a highly diverse Midlands’ landscape highlights the challenges that are yet to overcome with the levelling up agenda.” To find out more about the event please visit the site here.

Expect More from Your Experts: How a “Faculty Audit” can help Universities more strategically engage their faculty members

With an estimated 1.5-million faculty in the US and a near 50,000 growth in UK-based academics in the last decade (to 225,000), universities and colleges have a whole range of interests and expertise on offer. In fact, despite rumours to the contrary, academia is a large and growing global ‘industry’. If you’re responsible for external relations, communications, marketing, civic engagement, knowledge exchange - or any other aspect of external engagement or “connectedness” in a university or college - then the ability to choose which faculty experts you selectively promote and publicise can be a very tough assignment. I’ve had first-hand experience with this. I was once in that very position - trying to keep up with the opportunities and the expectations afforded by 800 academics at just the one mid-sized UK institution where I worked. With the benefit of that firsthand experience and having since worked with more than 100 higher education institutions in the UK, Europe and North America, here are a few observations and also a few tips on how to organize your expertise: Approach #1: The Focus on Expertise Clusters An approach taken by some universities nowadays is to promote their expertise as a group of “grand challenges” or “beacons of excellence” - drawing together as many areas of research expertise under (usually) three or four headings. While identifying “token clusters” of expertise for focus and prioritisation may seem logical, this approach doesn’t really work. It may help with internal politics but it fails to generate enough precision to be relevant to various communities such as the media and industry. Approach #2: Selectively Promoting Key Experts One trap that universities can also fall into is to focus on a small group of academics who appear to be more suitable to promote. The reasoning for this approach is often driven by the need to have a manageable number for internal communications/press office staff to work with. The easy route to take is to just work with academics who are more keen to work with comms staff in promoting their work and who are already at ease in speaking to the media. Selection of experts on these factors, while important, isn’t the optimal way to build up the profile for the institution with key audiences. First off, this approach often doesn’t yield the diversity that audiences such as journalists and potential student and faculty recruits want to see represented. This approach will also miss the mark if it just plays to popular disciplines or hot topics. Being more inclusive to promote a wider range of disciplines and specialized topics is better value all round. Approach #3: The Faculty “Expertise Audit” I’ve seen institutions make many mistakes in positioning their faculty as experts, given it’s a proven way to differentiate brand, build profile and reputation. That’s why I’ve started to work with several universities on what I refer to as a “faculty expertise audit”. This brings a more structured process that helps prioritize key areas of research expertise and identify specialist experts. The audit also looks at the resources and overall capacity that universities have available to support an “expertise marketing” program that optimizes all these elements to significantly boost performance. Start with The Business Case for Expertise At the heart of this more structured, targeted audit approach is ensuring you are generating “return-on-investment” and “value-for-effort.” A good starting point is to ask: Where is the budget coming from? Where is current and expected demand for your programs? When starting this assessment, you have to think longer than a year out. Instead, look very hard and in detail at the next three to five years (the typical cycle of research investment and university strategies) and identify which expertise is most likely to solve the problems and consequential explorations that governments, industry, benefactors/donors, and funding agencies will want to support. I’m not saying that research areas without such sizable levels of predicted investment should be ignored - far from it - but we are in a competitive climate and universities now have to secure ‘orders’ (for applied and contracted expertise) that will ensure institutional sustainability and success. In turn, that success will allow investment in other areas that are socially vital but financially a weaker bet as regarded by funding sources. Having proven where research funding is most available, pressing and externally directed, then the audit is designed to identify and match the institution’s research talent to these requirements. These audits involve shortlisting, enlisting and then coaching the appropriate academic experts. The best results come from one-to-one sessions with academics which create buy-in and yield a more detailed marketing plan to leverage your experts. While more inclusive, this is an efficient process designed to create a “shared roadmap” for where the university and the academic both want to take their expertise. A large part of this roadmap then covers off other important activities such as creating a more discoverable and engaging online presence with enriched academic profiles that perform far better than the traditional “faculty directory.” Keeping online academic profiles fresh, content-rich, jargon-free, and compelling makes the job of expert ‘mining’ so much easier. Developing a sustained program of content with an organized lead generation process is also necessary. These extra steps are where many universities miss the mark. The result is a significant loss of inbound opportunities for research grants, consulting revenues, academic collaborations as well as local and global media coverage. I recently spoke with a Vice Chancellor of a prominent UK University who admitted that they as an institution deserved a failing grade when it came to promoting their faculty research achievements, saying that he “doubted any of their academics would be happy with the way their work was being promoted online.” This is an important aspect of the faculty audit. As a consultative process, it is non-threatening and we’re listening to staff and academics. That not only enriches the information the University has to promote its brand better, it also helps to enlist the support of the academic community who see that the university cares and that it is getting their input to put together a plan – both for the university and for individual academics. The academic is happy (they understand the value for them personally and for their institution); the University is happy (it is able to focus and prioritise its expertise in an evidence-based manner), and Communications and press office staff are happy (they have so more to work with in connecting the work of the University to a variety of local and global communities). The Benefits of A Faculty Audit Having completed many of these, I’ve seen very clearly, the results of a well run Faculty Audit process that without exception yield an excellent return on investment. Here are just some of the benefits to consider: Greater Insights: Gain a deeper understanding of the hidden strengths and opportunities within your academic ranks. Better Planning: A detailed report from a Faculty Audit enables a more strategic approach to planning where faculty research and expertise can support various programs within the University - such as industry engagement, media coverage and recruitment. Building Trust: When conducted by a third-party, a Faculty Audit is seen as more credible and less prone to perceptions of internal bias. More Engaged Faculty: Increased collaboration with faculty is gained through a more consultative process that builds “shared awareness” and enables more proactive support of their research. Increased Capacity: Producing more proactive content with faculty yields better results in terms of media coverage, research engagements, etc. Demonstrate Diversity: A better understanding of expertise that goes beyond the “usual suspects” to engaging a more diverse set of faculty to promote the University. News Coverage: Positioning your faculty and their research in a more relevant way aligns with the interests of the outside world and what's on the mind of outsiders. Less Stress: A more proactive, well structured plan helps everyone to synchronise activities better versus scrambling too much to meet deadlines in the “here and now.” Is a Faculty Audit Right for Your Institution? Here are some key considerations when evaluating the value of a Faculty Audit for your institution. You are ideally suited to undertake a faculty expertise audit if: You have a stretched workload where there's little capacity for proactive comms. You're tending to turn to the same academics for expert commentary in the media or elsewhere. You tend to get complaints (or mild mutterings) about not supporting academics enough. You don't have time to get to know the range of academic experts in your institution - especially new arrivals or eager early career academics. You've adopted an 'inside out approach' rather than one that engages with the interests of the outside world and what's on the mind of outsiders. There's weak management of expectations with the academic community - and a need for clarity and shared pathways for publicity. You're operating too much in the here and now and don't have the time to plan for future events, milestones and opportunities. You want to be more strategic in your comms and engagement - and make a real difference via attracting interest, income and investment. You don't have an integrated approach to comms (where content can be repurposed and recycled). You want more global reach and presence and can exploit digital tools to enable this. Additional Resources Academic Experts and the Media (PDF) This report, based on detailed interviews with some of the most media-experienced academics across the UK and United States draws on their experiences to identify lessons they can share in encouraging other academics to follow in their path. Download the UK Report Here Download the US Report Here The Complete Guide to Expertise Marketing for Higher Education (PDF) Expertise Marketing is the next evolution of content marketing. Build value by mobilizing the hidden people, knowledge and content you already have at your fingertips. This win-win solution not only gives audiences better quality content, but it also lets higher ed organizations show off their smarts. Download Your Copy Click Here for Additional Resources

Aston University MEG scanning facilities used by start-up to launch new brain health service

MEG scanning services at Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment (IHN) have been used to launch the world’s first brain-imaging service to measure and assess brain health. Commercial brain imaging service Myndspan launched a service to assess brain health and identify concussions, with an event at Aston University. Start-up, MYndspan, was founded in 2020 by Caitlin Baltzer, former vice president of operations at functional brain imaging company Croton Healthcare and Janne Huhtala, previously chief executive of MEGIN, the global leader in functional brain imaging. The service was created to support brain health across populations, using cutting edge brain scanning technology to monitor and extend healthy cognitive lifespans. The brain imaging service is powered by a non-invasive brain scanning technology called Magnetoencephalography (MEG), which measures the electrical signals between neurons to form a highly detailed map of brain activity and function. The MEG scanner, which is located in the Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment, at Aston University, identifies and observes functional ‘invisible injuries’ to the brain, such as concussion or PTSD, that can’t be seen from an MRI image of the brain. MYndspan’s service combines MEG scans with gamified tests of cognitive function, which measure a range of mental processes such as attention, memory, and visuospatial processing. Using these two measures of brain health, cognitive function and brain function, MYndspan provides a comprehensive overview, detailed in a thorough, easy-to-understand report of how a person’s brain is behaving and why. Among the service’s first customers are neuroscientist and author Dr Dean Burnett who is using MYndspan to monitor the effect increasing physical activity has on his brain over time and Vicky Macqueen former England Rugby player and chief executive of Didi Rugby, who is using the service to measure her pre-concussion baseline for playing contact sports safely. Through routine monitoring of personal brain activity, MYndspan helps people assess and understand their brain health. This helps to identify issues before symptoms emerge and supports optimal lifestyle and clinical intervention. Its first application is concussion, where the technology can support the recovery of an estimated 3.8 million athletes who experience sports-related concussion annually. Janne Huhtala, MYndspan co-founder said: “MYndspan’s technology can identify concussed brain activity and objectively identify and monitor recovery from a concussion. Currently, individuals are deciding to go back to play based on how they feel – a decision that can have life changing consequences. “We think athletes deserve to have objective information about where they are in their recovery, to make the best and most informed decisions.” MYndspan’s service will be available to the general public at Aston University’s Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment (IHN), an international leader in advanced technology to explore brains, development and healthy behaviours. IHN at Aston University is the first of many planned locations around the world where individuals will be able to access the service. MYndspan co-founder Caitlin Baltzer added: “The brain is hugely complex and exciting, and whilst there is a vast body of research and knowledge already available, there is still so much for us to learn about how it functions and changes over time. “In a world where we can track and optimise every part of our health, and our lives, the brain remains neglected. At MYndspan, we believe that every person has the right to better brain health and this begins with knowing our brains. “We are very excited to launch our brain scanning technology at Aston University as a demonstration for how digital health tools can support brain health and ultimately help more people recover and age better.” Dr Dean Burnett, neuroscientist and author, including of the Guardian blog ‘Brain Flapping’, said: “I'm a big proponent of anything that helps people understand their brains better, and MYndspan's new high-tech but easily accessible approach looks to be extremely useful in that regard.”

Aston University cyber security experts to work with EY on cyber security ecosystem research to support UK Government strategy

EY Government and Public Sector Cyber Security team and the Cyber Security Innovation (CSI) Centre at Aston University won £180,000 in funding from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Experts will work with the UK Government to find appropriate opportunities for investment in cyber security The research will map blind spots within the UK’s regional security innovation systems. Cyber security experts at Aston University will work with the Government to support its national cyber security strategy by mapping blind spots in the UK’s regional cyber security systems. The Cyber Security Innovation (CSI) Centre at Aston University will work with EY Cyber Security Consulting on the £180,000 project for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to research and map the UK cyber security ecosystem. The project will consider the current environment, conditions and interventions that exist to influence or affect companies providing cyber security products, services or solutions to support and contribute to the development and growth of cyber security businesses in the UK. The aims of this research are to provide the DCMS with robust evidence of a region-by-region picture of where public, private, academic and industry support mechanisms are in place and to identify service and geographical gaps in their provision. It comes after the CSI Centre helped launch the UK government’s National Cyber Strategy 2022 in Birmingham at a special event last December, for which Aston University professor of cybersecurity management, Vladlena Benson, was an instrumental member of the organising committee. The current project will enable the strategy implementation to support the UK Government’s ambition to grow innovation and academic research in cyber. Dr Anitha Chinnaswamy, lecturer in cyber security management at the CSI Centre at Aston Business School, says: “From the datasets collected that includes different cyber security businesses, incubators, accelerators, clusters, academic centres of excellence and other different mechanisms from across the UK, analysis will be conducted to provide a region-by-region basis of practices involved. “The mapping of the cyber security landscape will also enable the enhancement of skills and diversity across the cyber security sector. “The diversity in cyber security market lags other digital sectors, with the cyber workforce consisting of only 15% females, 16% ethnic minority backgrounds and 9% neurodivergent. The results of this project will be an important contribution for the government to foster the growth of a sustainable, innovative, and internationally competitive cyber and information security sector.”

Aston University appoints new Vice-Chancellor

Aston University is delighted to announce that Professor Aleks Subic has been appointed as its next Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive. He succeeds Professor Alec Cameron, who stepped down after five years in December 2021. He will take up the post in August 2022, until which time Saskia Loer Hansen will continue in her role as Interim Vice-Chancellor. Dame Yve Buckland, Pro-Chancellor of Aston University, said “I am absolutely delighted at Professor Aleks Subic’s appointment. He joins the University at an exciting time and his wide experience of leadership across both academia and industry makes him a perfect fit for Aston University’s needs and ambitions.” Professor Subic said “I feel privileged at being given the opportunity to lead Aston University at this time. The University is renowned for its commitment to graduate employability, translational research and its engagement with business. “I look forward to continuing the momentum built up by Professor Alec Cameron and Saskia Loer Hansen, and I am ambitious to see Aston University continue to build on its reputation for high quality teaching, research and business engagement locally, nationally and internationally.” Saskia Loer Hansen, Interim Vice-Chancellor of Aston University, said “I should like to congratulate Professor Subic warmly on his appointment. His credentials as a leader, both in industry and in higher education, equip him for guiding Aston University to even greater success. “I am sure he will work rigorously to build on our achievements, promote the University worldwide and further strengthen our reputation as a leading university for business and enterprise.” Professor Subic is currently the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (STEM) and Vice President (Digital Innovation) at RMIT University, where he is responsible for leading the STEM College and Digital Innovation portfolio in Australia and globally. Prior to this appointment he was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Enterprise) at Swinburne University of Technology, responsible for research, graduate studies, engagement and partnerships, advancement, innovation, enterprise, and commercialisation, leading the research transformation of the university towards top 2% in the world. Before that, he was the Executive Dean of Engineering at RMIT University, one of the largest engineering faculties in Australia, ranked in top 1% in the world and renowned for industry-partnered education and research. Concurrent with his academic appointments, Professor Subic has held notable appointments on the Australian Prime Minister's Industry 4.0 Taskforce and the Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council Leaders Group (Australian Industry Group). Previously he was the Director and Deputy Chair of the Australian Association of Aviation and Aerospace Industries, Director of Oceania Cybersecurity Centre Governing Board, Director of the Society of Automotive Engineers Australasia Board, Director of National Imaging Facility Governing Board, Director of Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Governing Board, and Director of the Victorian Centre for New Energy Technologies Governing Board. He has served on a number of national and international research committees and expert panels, including as Chair of the European Research Council Expert Panel for Physical Sciences and Engineering, Technology Group of the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils, Forbes Technology Council, Defence Materials Technology Centre, Editor and Associate Editor of international scholarly journals.

5 Ways Expertise Marketing Supports Digital Transformation

Digital transformation is much more than merely redesigning your website or moving your files to the cloud. It’s about harnessing digital technologies to elevate your business. Specifically, digital transformation is strategically adapting your business processes to change company culture, empower your staff and keep up with rising consumer demands. Organizations of all sizes are taking on transformative initiatives to meet today’s expectations in the digital space, but research by IDG has concluded that we still have some growing to do: “IT leaders are making steady and sequential progress to becoming digital-first organizations – though not at the same breakneck speed that the technologies themselves are proliferating. For many organizations, the foundational pieces are in place, and they’re actively working on adopting newer technologies like AI and IoT. But successful digital transformation will also require equal attention to change management and workforce strategy for the entire organization.” Supporting the Bigger Picture It’s easy to get hung up on the technology but successfully transforming your business means thinking about everyone involved – including your experts. Here are five ways expertise marketing supports digital transformation: It aligns people. Most companies aren’t particularly good at telling their people that their expertise is valued and many employees don’t understand the role they play as brand ambassadors. On top of that, outdated biographies on the company website fail to share the work that these experts with the audiences who are looking for it. A well-constructed expertise marketing program helps get experts and executives aligned on how they can help the brand – and it helps marketing teams feed the content beast. It tracks data. Metrics on visitor behaviour are critical to calculating ROI and ensuring your content is working. That said, most organizations don’t have an intuitive way of tracking internal contributions to the corresponding engagement data – making it difficult to determine which people and topics are driving results. Expertise marketing programs are designed to capture essential metrics on employee contributions and ensure that leads are captured and routed to appropriate individuals and departments for prompt follow up and reporting. It enhances search and SEO. Part of digital transformation is creating a sustained online presence. By harnessing your collective expertise, you can quickly publish a large volume of quality, searchable content that boosts your owned content footprint. It also provides a way to capitalize on earned media opportunities related to breaking news and emerging trends. It drives collaboration. Many organizations corporate policies and standards tend to lack guidelines for generating and promoting individual experts. As a result, individual groups within the organization are forced to fill the void and essentially, do their own thing. This leads to a disconnected set of expensive, custom projects. Organizations with structured expertise marketing programs consistently report an increase in collaboration and organizational alignment. It minimizes risk. It’s becoming more and more important to ensure adherence to corporate brand standards and editorial guidelines, as well as regulatory standards such as accessibility compliance. By centralizing your content and utilizing a federated content management structure, you’re not only providing your employees with a common source for branded assets and templates, but you’re empowering them to get things done in the simplest way possible. This approach mitigates risk, speeds time to market and dramatically lowers costs to implement a program. Filling the Gaps with Expertise As mentioned above, digital transformation is a comprehensive business strategy with many moving parts. While expertise marketing is one component of this organizational change, it works in tandem with your other programs and complements any initiative aimed at boosts your digital presence. In fact, it’s proven to support many of the activities that organizations have yet to complete. IDG’s 2018 State of Digital Transformation Expertise marketing is a powerful tool for enabling and elevating digital transformation. By encouraging company-wide participation, it’s shown to increase internal uptake, generate higher-quality content and ultimately, drive better results in terms of ROI. If digital transformation is in your future, then you need to start thinking about your experts today.  Download the Complete Guide to Expertise Marketing For a comprehensive look at how expertise marketing benefits the entire organization and drives measurable return on investment, follow the link below to download a copy of ExpertFile’s Complete Guide to Expertise Marketing: The Next Wave in Digital Strategy or download one of our tailored Guides for Corporate & Professional Services, Higher Education Institutions, Healthcare Institutions or Association & Not-for-Profits.