In November 2007, the FMO team established a network of advisors for the OARS project, comprised of representatives of higher education (HE) institutions in the UK. Students, researchers and academics from universities and colleges comprise the majority of FMO’s users. It is therefore important to involve them in the FMO portal’s redevelopment and enhancement.
On behalf of the FMO team, the Director of the Refugee Studies Centre (RSC), Professor Roger Zetter, wrote to academic departments and centres in the UK requesting their input. We are hoping to conduct this consultation with as many university departments and centres in the UK as possible that conduct research, teaching and/or dissemination activities in issues related to migration, conflict, development and human rights. We are asking them to complete a brief questionnaire about their usage, opinions and expectations of FMO. This information will be used to inform the team in its work to make the enhancements to FMO through the OARS project.
In the interests of transparency and encouraging further information sharing and collaboration, the feedback received will be consolidated into a summarised report and shared with network respondents. We will also provide regular updates on the progress of the HE network’s input.
While for practical reasons this advisory group is formally comprised of representatives from HE institutions in the UK, the FMO team would strongly encourage all users of FMO - whether or not they be in the HE sector and/or in the UK – to provide us with feedback. In this way, they will be contributing to the OARS project by assisting the team in making the most appropriate changes to FMO to benefit all users.
The questionnaire on FMO usage can be completed and submitted online. Alternatively, the questionnaire can be downloaded as a text document and returned to the FMO team by email (fmo@qeh.ox.ac.uk), fax (01865 270721) or post (FMO Team, Refugee Studies Centre, Dept. of International Development, 3 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TB).
