Overview of Planning a Data Help Desk

Start Planning Early

1. Timeline for planning
   • Planning a data help desk should ideally begin at least 3 months before the event by forming an organizing committee. This allows sufficient time for organizing a data help desk, recruiting volunteers to staff it, and advertising the data help desk.
2. Items to plan for include
   • defining the purpose and scope of the data help desk, what to name the desk to identify collaborators, and the location of the data help desk.
3. Advertising
   • Creating an advertising plan is crucial to announce the desk ahead of the meeting and during the meeting.
4. Recruiting
   • Recruiting and training volunteers to staff the desk along with experts are essential to a successful data help desk. This must begin early to allow volunteers and experts to learn about the data help desk event and make plans for attending the event to staff it. Providing volunteer guidelines and training for the staff will also need to be completed before the data help desk event.
5. Planning user interaction
   • Planning user interaction at the data help desk such as content to present and how to answer user questions must be done ahead of time.
6. Infrastructure
   • Setting up infrastructure can be overlooked but it helps immensely to schedule staff, provide content to users, and track user interactions.
7. Evaluation
   • Don’t forget to take time to evaluate the success of the data help desk and what to improve in the future.

Essential steps

1. Forming an organizing committee
2. Defining the purpose and scope
3. Naming the data help desk
4. Reserving event space
5. Creating an advertising plan
6. Recruiting and training personnel
7. Planning user interaction
8. Setting up infrastructure
9. Evaluating after the event

Forming an Organizing Committee

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1. Form a Dedicated Organizing Committee
   • It is essential to have a core group of dedicated organizers who meet regularly for planning and advertising purposes. A committee of 5-10 key individuals committed to the success of the event is recommended. If the meeting has a specific domain focus, engage organizers who are experts in that area.
2. Establish Event Contacts and Include Them in the Committee
   • Identify and work closely with key contacts at the meeting host organization and other contributing organizations to ensure prominent placement and support.
   • Have individuals of the host organization as part of the organizing committee. Having them engaged not just as contacts, but as part of the organizing data help desk committee for full buyin. Like conference organizer personnel.
3. Create an Internal Communication Plan for the Committee
   • A well planed data help desk succeeds when people engage within the organizing committee, so communication needs to be emphasised.

Defining the Purpose and Scope

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1. Define Clear Goals, Objectives and Scope
   • Define what the data help desk should accomplish.
   • What do users at the meeting need?
   • Will the desk include software questions?
   • Will the desk be covering a specific kind of data?,
   • Examples are providing researchers with opportunities to engage with informatics experts, learn new skills, and make their data and software open and FAIR.
2. Point of Emphasis
   • Emphasize that the data help desk is both a place for researchers to meet with informatics experts and also a home for informatics experts to interact with each other.
3. Identify the Audience and Needs
   • Determining the target audience for a data help desk involves identifying who would most benefit from its services.
   • The target audience can include researchers, early career professionals, students, and those supporting researchers.
   • Clarify the needs of the target audience which could include topics of data management training, FAIR data, software and tools, data repositories, and resources.

Naming the Data Help Desk

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1. Language is important
   • Saying ‘AGU Data Help Desk’ implies something different than ‘Data Help Desk at AGU conference.’
   • As an example, don’t imply it’s an AGU specific help desk. Rather, say it is a general data help desk outside of a specific group such as the conference it is being held it.
2. Collaborative Event
   • The data help desk is a collaborative endeavor of many partners. Volunteers don’t want the data help desk to be perceived as AGU created just because the desk is at the AGU.
   • Be clear on who is hosting the data help desk, who the organizers are, and where the meeting is being held.
   • As an example of naming clarity, if name the desk “AGU Data Help Desk”, a collaborator such as EGU would want to be mentioned and not left out.
   • Find out the non-negotiables if considering an organization, such as ESIP, to be involved or endorse the data help desk event.

Reserving Event Space for the Data Help Desk

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1. Data Help Desk as Part of Other Events
   • For some meetings, the Data Help Desk is the only event, but you may choose to also host these other events if the resources exist to make them happen.
   • Data Fair can be a larger umbrella over the Data Help Desk that encompasses other events, like Town Halls and other Workshops around the general topic of FAIR and open data and software.
2. Secure a Location
   • Physical table at a conference, either provided or owned.
   • Get a conference spot for the desk and find the ideal placement with meaningful signage within the physical venue. This can be almost as important as having the right experts present.
   • Sometimes it is best to be located in the Exhibit Hall amongst the flurry of activity hosted by many of the organizations that experts represent. Often, this is a good way to redirect people with questions to speak to an expert from another organization. In other cases, a more separate location outside of the bustle of the Exhibit Hall can be better.
   • Emphasize having a space to answer questions and a space to demo. Such as do you want a forum somewhere? What ways to have people answer questions

Creating an Advertising Plan

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Develop an advetising plan for before and during the event.

3 high value areas of advertising

3 high value areas of advertising the data help desk event have been identified. The first two are of great importance.

1. Have a presence on the main meeting website
   • Make sure to be included in the main meeting website in some way such as part of the meeting events listing.
2. Mention the event in daily emails
   • Send out daily emails to make the data help desk visible to users such as listing the time and location along with any demonstrations.
3. Utilize ambassadors to promote the help desk
   • Leverage ambassadors such as section chairs and presenters promote it through conversations with others before and during the meeting such as announcements before or after their talks.

More areas of advertising

1. Actively Promote the Data Help Desk
   • Advertise the event not just on the meeting website but in prominent places. Utilize social media platforms like Twitter (using the hashtag #DataHelpDesk) and potentially BlueSky to announce the help desk and share resources.
   • Consider reaching out to program managers at funding agencies to encourage participation.
2. Provide Clear Identification of the Data Help Desk
   • Consider a backdrop for the data help desk to identify it to users.
   • 90% of event attendees don’t know what a data help desk is and won’t come to it, so you need a foothold like a banner or backdrop so a user identifies the desk and is not afraid to approach and ask questions.
   • Having a website can also be helpful for users to find resources and see a more detailed description of the help desk.
   • If there is a data help desk website, it should be a part of the advertising.
3. Have a Presence in the Program Itself
   • Have a presence in the program itself such as adding specific events to the meeting program. The volunteers want people to know they will be at the data help desk. Examples are having speakers associated with the data help desk in the program such as volunteers.
4. Consider Incentivizing Participation
   • Explore ways to incentivize participation for both volunteers and attendees if possible such as special swag.

Recruiting and Training Personnel

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Start early to recruit personnel to give demonstrations at the data help desk and volunteers to staff it. Advertise for personnel via direct emails and general recruiting via departments, interactive areas such as relevant slack channels, and social media.

1. Recruit a Diverse Group of Volunteers
   • Aim for a diversity of volunteers in terms of organizations and topics represented. Volunteers should ideally be involved in various aspects of the data life cycle. Consider recruiting students, researchers, and experts. Utilize volunteer forms and clearly communicate opportunities and expectations through volunteer guidelines.
2. Develop Volunteer Guidelines and Provide Support
   • Create volunteer guidelines and tips to help them prepare and contribute. These guidelines should explain how to answer questions and what to include in resources like one-pagers and recordings. Provide ongoing support to volunteers before and during the event. A Slack channel can facilitate backchannel conversation among experts.

TODO: add content on training

Planning User Interaction

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1. Prepare for Common Questions
   • Be aware of common questions asked at data help desks, such as where to deposit or find data, how to write data management plans, and what FAIR principles are. Prepare resources and talking points for these topics.
2. Consider Offering Workshops or Demos
   • Include demonstrations of relevant tools and platforms and consider offering workshops on key topics like data citation and data management plans.
3. Plan for Question Handling
   • Design forums for researchers to ask questions. This could be through monitoring online platforms, social media, or dedicated Q&A sections. Have a Question Referrer who monitors these platforms and directs questions to appropriate experts. For unanswered questions, record them for follow-up.
4. Be Approachable
   • Remember that researchers may not always know what questions to ask, so be approachable and help them understand the scope of the data help desk. Share science expertise to build trust.
5. Create a Collection of Resources
   • Create a gallery of contributed demos, tutorials, and one-pagers. These resources should primarily be short video recordings and one-pagers on relevant topics. Curate this gallery to ensure the resources are relevant and up-to-date.

Setting Up Infrastructure

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1. Establish a Digital Platform
   • Deciding on which digital platforms (such as a website, social media accounts, Discord or Slack) to use can enhance user interaction.
2. Create a Scheduling System
   • Setup a scheduling system for volunteers and experts so they can easily setup staffing time slots and demonstration time slots.
3. Establish a Tracking System
   • Create a tracking system for user questions and the feedback given. This can be as simple as using paper and pencil to using a spreadsheet or creating a digital tracking system.

Evaluating After the Event

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1. Collect Feedback and Metrics
   • Plan to collect feedback from both users and volunteers through surveys and other methods. Track metrics of success, such as the number of interactions, quality of answers, and engagement with resources. Post-event surveys can gather valuable insights for future improvements.
2. Acknowledge Sponsors and Supporters
   • Clearly communicate who the organizing entities and further supporters are on signage and websites.
3. Plan for Post-Event Engagement
   • Think about ways to engage with people after the conference, such as collecting emails to send surveys or promote relevant Slack channels.