HERO
Higher Education and Research Opportunities
Christopher HarrisExecutive Director
HERO
Portal Definitions
• Portal definition; “ single point of useful,comprehensive, ubiquitous and integrated access.”
• Community portal definition; “ a portal catering to specific communities of interest by providing tailored content.”
The vision
• to be the primary Internet portal for higher education and academic research in the United Kingdom
• the natural entry point for enquiries about UK higher education for the widest possible range of customers
Hero’s stakeholders
Organisations which will benefit from such a portal include:
• universities, colleges and their representative bodies
• Research Councils and charities• key HE agencies (UCAS, CSU, etc)• HE funding bodies
Origins
• a project for the millennium• too many lights hidden under too many
bushels
Project history (1)
Scoping study conducted by SQW.Main conclusions:• rationale is sound• site will add value• site will have support• proposal is technically feasible
Project history (2)
Development of a business plan (ArthurAndersen).
main outcomes:• business structure• financial model• marketing strategy• draft ITT and contract with the operator
Project history (3)
Development Consultants
main outcomes:• Procurement of operating company - Epic• Setting up of limited company
Current Status
• Epic appointed as operator• Executive Director appointed• Hero Ltd being set up• branding and naming exercise completed• design phase has begun• October 2000: Site launched
Hero’s shareholders
• CVCP• UCAS• SCOP• HEFCE• SHEFC• NIHEC• WFC• CSU
• TTA• AHRB• NERC• MRC• BBSRC• ESRC• PPARC• EPSRC
Aims and objectives
• showcase site with state-of-the-art design, search and navigation
• high quality content promoting UK higher education and research
• content model - zones of interest• disability and multi-lingual access
Some target audiences
• prospective and current students• teaching and research staff• contacts in industry and commerce• overseas users of all kinds• those interested in life-long learning• policy-makers, funders and managers• the media and the public
Possible zones
• national/regional • Studying - courses, learning and teaching,
subjects, student interests• Research• Business - industry and knowledge transfer• HE community - policy and funding• Culture & Sport
Benefits to stakeholders
• higher levels of interested visitors• showcase content promoted by leading-edge site design• extended marketing opportunities• intelligent feedback about Hero’s users
Benefit to users
• higher quality online experience• better navigation and intelligent searching• access to authoritative and quality-controlled
information
Benefits to HE
• creation of a powerful marketing channel• new platform for increased collaboration• better understanding of customer needs and
how to meet them
Funding and management
• pump-priming funds initially• review in the second year• company limited by guarantee being set up• commercial activities would be carried out by
a wholly-owned trading company.
General portal characteristics
• Site structure plus navigation and search capabilities
• showcase content (news and current achievements)
• structure database of pointers to participating sites
• majority of content held on institutions’ web-sites
Conclusions
• to be a success Hero must be based on collaboration and consensus
• aim not to compete with existing web-sites but to add value to them
• input from HE and the research community vital to the next stage
