Dear colleagues, We are involved in a collaborative research project combining Hull Business School, Lancaster University Management School and STFC Daresbury to examine and develop web based technology that would improve the UK's research abilities; particularly at the knowledge exchange interface of public sector and enterprise.  Knowledge exchange we define as the two-way learnings between public sector and enterprise that enhances knowledge for either or both bodies.  As part of this goal we seek information on the web based technologies you currently use to communicate with work colleagues.  We would appreciate your help with this externally funded project by completing a brief questionnaire.

It is crucial that we receive as many responses as possible as our findings are likely to govern the nature of technology that you will be using in the future.  This is your opportunity to have a voice in the direction that developments take.

It should take no longer than 8 minutes for you to complete the questionnaire.  The results of this survey will be made available to you in due course, provided that you leave your email address (this is optional). All responses will be treated anonymously. If you require further information about the project then please contact Alastair Robertson (a.w.robertson@lancaster.ac.uk).  Please click on the 'Next' button to begin the survey. Many thanks, Barbara Allan, Chris Awre, Rob Allan, Rob Crouchley, Mary Rose, John Bancroft, Alastair Robertson, Robert Sherratt

1.	What is the name of your institution?

2.	Department?

3.	What is your role at your institution? Select more than 1 option if necessary.
	Student e.g. MSc, MA, MPhil
	Student e.g. PhD
	Research associate or fellow
	Lecturer
	Senior Fellow, Lecturer or Reader
	Professor
	Administration
	Project Manager
	Software developer
	Business Development Manager and/or Consultant

Other role, please specify

4.	This set of statements is designed to capture what you do for your job and why you interact with business.   Please rate the following statements on a 4 point scale, where 1 means Not important to my job and 4 means Critically important to my job.
		Not important to my job		Fairly important		Important		Critically important to my job
	My research is focussed around business or management issues
	I provide businesses consultancy or advice as part of my job
	I assist in the provision of business consultancy/advice to businesses (e.g. administrator)
	I maintain networks of business people as part of my job
	I supervise on student projects that are undertaken with businesses
	I advise students working with businesses
	I provide training to business people
	I work with businesses that supply goods/services to my institution
	My organisation supplies goods or services to businesses

Do you have another role which includes interaction with businesses that are not captured above?  Please explain.

This part of the questionnaire assesses the nature of technology that you use for your job.  Some questions will use the term 'specialist online environment'.  Think of a specialist online environment as an online place where you would communicate and work with colleagues and/or businesses.  Although specialist online environments exclude email, it would include forums, discussion boards or areas where you would share documents, advice or collaborate with others that you work with.  Usually, you would need to log into this service using a userid and password.  With this in mind, please answer the following questions.

5.	Do you use any specialist online environments for your job or research (e.g. may be hosted by your university, research group, or research council)?
	Yes
	No

6.	You mentioned that you use specialist online environments for your job.  Please list them.

7.	Which of those technologies that you listed do you use most frequently?

8.	Thinking of the specialist online environment that you use most frequently, please rate the following statements on a 7 point scale, where 1 means Strongly Disagree and 7 means Strongly Agree.
		1 (Strongly disagree)		2		3		4 (Niether agree or disagree)		5		6		7 (Strongly agree)
	This online environment is known to be dependable
	I am satisfied with the services I have received from this online environment
	I know this online environment is trustworthy
	I feel safe working with this online environment because my browser tells me I am accessing a secure site (e.g. it show https or Verisign or something equivalent)
	I find this online environment enjoyable to use
	I have no choice but to use this online environment

	I find this online environment useful
	This online environment is valuable to me
	This online environment improves my performance in searching for resources (e.g. documents, datasets or web sites)
	This online environment is frustrating to use
	This online environment improves my performance in searching for people
	I find this online environment easy to use
	This online environment improves my performance in communicating with work colleagues and/or businesses

9.	Do your research/work activities involve working directly with business or industry, or other public sector organisations (excluding those involved in higher education)?
	Yes
	No

10.	This set of statements is designed to capture the importance of different types of organisations that you work with in your job.  Please rate the following statements on a 4 point scale, where 1 means Not Important to my job and 4 means Critically Important to my job.
		Not important to my job		Fairly important		Important		Critically important to my job
	Small or medium sized enterprises (employees <250)
	Large enterprises (employees 250 or more)
	Regional development agencies
	Business link
	Industry body (e.g. CBI)
	Higher education institutes (HEI's)
	Governmental research agencies (e.g. Daresbury, Rutherford)
	Funding agencies (e.g. EPSRC, ESRC, NERC, JISC, ERDF)

If you are able to, please list any organisations that you work for

11.	Thinking of the geographic distance between where you work and the organisations you highlighted in the previous question. On average, how long would it take to travel too and from these organisations?
	Less than an hour
	Less than half day
	Less than a day
	More than a day
	Unsure

12.	Approximately how often per year do you travel to these organisations?

13.	Please tell us how frequently you use the following online technologies to maintain communication and networking with the organisations you mentioned earlier?  You may select more than 1 technology.
		I don't use		Daily		More than once a week		Once a week		More than once a month		Once a month		More than once a year		Once a year		Less than once a year
	Skype
	Email
	Discussion groups (e.g. forums)
	LinkedIn
	Social network (e.g. Facebook, Myspace)

	Blog
	Twitter
	Instant messaging
	Wiki

Question continued...

14.	Still thinking of the organisations you mentioned in the previous question, please tell us how frequently you use the following technologies to maintain communication and networking?  You may select more than 1 technology.
		I don't use		Daily		More than once a week		Once a week		More than once a month		Once a month		More than once a year		Once a year		Less than once a year
	Research project website
	Specialist virtual research environment (e.g. Sakai, uPortal)
	Specialist video conferencing facilities (e.g. Access Grid, Webex, Centrel Desktop)
	Workplace intranet/extranet (e.g. Microsoft Sharepoint)

Have we missed any online technologies you use to communicate or network from the list?  Please list them here.

15.	Using the same 7 point scale (1 = Strongly Disagree and 7 = Strongly Agree), please rate the following questions.
	I feel that communication between myself and the organisations I work with is satisfactory	1. (Strongly disagree)		2		4		4 (Niether agree or disagree)		5		6		7. (Strongly agree)

16.	Imagine you are meeting with a work colleague in another organisation for the first time, please tell us how important each of the following meeting methods are in this situation?   Please rate the following statements on a 4 point scale, where 1 means Not Important and 4 means Critically Important.
		Not important		Fairly important		Important		Critically important
	Face to face meeting
	Telephone meeting or conference
	Video conference
	Electronic meetings using forums, live chat or social networks
	A blend of approaches (e.g. face to face and telephone)

17.	Imagine that an important work colleague has time to participate in this inaugural meeting, but not in person.  In this situation, how important are the following approaches to solving this problem?
		Not important		Fairly important		Important		Critically important
	Delay meeting
	Telephone meeting or conference
	Video conference
	Electronic meeting using forums, live chat or social networks
	A blend of approaches (e.g. face to face and telephone)

18.	Do your meeting patterns change according to the stage of the project, or how well you know work colleagues?
	Yes
	No

19.	Imagine you are meeting an established workgroup where you have met people from the other organisations previously, how important are the following approaches to completing the meeting using the following methods?   Please rate the following statements on a 4 point scale, where 1 means Not important to my job and 4 means Critically important to my job.
		Not important		Fairly important		Important		Critically important
	Face to face meeting
	Telephone meeting or conference
	Video conference
	Electronic meetings using forums, live chat or social networks
	A blend of approaches (e.g. face to face and telephone)

20.	What else influences how you would meet with colleagues?

How do you find people to work with?

We would like to get an idea of how you formed links with the organisations you work with.  With this in mind please answer the following questions.

21.	Approximately how many organisations (businesses and public sector, excluding those where the work is educational  in context) do you presently work with?

22.	How did you come to be in contact with these organisations?  Feel free to select as many options as apply.
	They came to my department/institution looking for advice
	I met them at a conference/workshop
	I met them at business networking events
	I searched for them on the Internet (e.g. using Google, Bing or a similar search engine)
	They found me on the internet
	I was told by someone I know that we had shared common research interests
	Via LinkedIn
	Via Facebook, MySpace or another social network
	Via an online repository of potential contacts
	I met them accidently (e.g. in pub, cafe or train)
	I use a specialist online tool that helps me find people/organisations

Have we missed any options?  Please list them here.

23.	Using the same 7 point scale (1 = Strongly Disagree and 7 = Strongly Agree), please rate the following questions.
		1. (Strongly disagree)		2		4		4 (Niether agree or disagree)		5		6		7. (Strongly agree)
	It is hard to find organisations to work with
	It is difficult to maintain a working relationship between myself and the organisations I work with

24.	Are there any other comments you would like to make about the theme of using online communication tools in networking and knowledge exchange with respect to your work activities?  Leave blank if no comments are to be made.

This section looks at knowledge exchange activities and how online tools or virtual research environments could improve the flow of information.

25.	Using the same 7 point scale (1 = Strongly Disagree and 7 = Strongly Agree), please rate the following questions.
		1. (Strongly disagree)		2		4		4 (Niether agree or disagree)		5		6		7. (Strongly agree)
	Knowledge exchange is a core component of the interactions I have with organisations
	I provide knowledge to the organisations I work with
	Organisations provide me knowledge to work with
	Knowledge exchange between myself and the organisations I work with could be improved

26.	You mentioned that KE mechanisms could be improved, can you explain?

27.	Are you?
	Male
	Female

28.	What is your age group?
	18 to 24
	25 to 29
	30 to 34
	35 to 39
	40 to 44
	45 to 49
	50 to 54
	55 or older

29.	Many of the answers you have supplied are of great interest to us and we would like more detail on your views in this matter.   May we contact you at a later date to discuss this further?  If yes, please write your email address below.  Please note the data you supply is governed by the Data Protection Act and is therefore protected.

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions.  The information you have supplied will be held in confidence and in accordance to UK Data Protection Regulations.  Please click on submit to complete the survey.