The evolution of a User Engagement Team

A user engagement team will go through many iterations in the life cycle of an NREN. You would normally find that the more developed the NREN, the more developed the user engagement team. There are broadly 3 evolutionary stages in the lifecycle of a user engagement function:

Stage 1:

One person who talks to all users in general. Typically, the CEO, MD, head of the organisation, the person who promotes the NREN to the intended funders. This person has strategic input in the NREN and decides who can and cannot become a user of the NERN. As well as what services or technology

Stage 2:

One person or a small team who talks to all users in general. This role will be delegated to the head of ‘user engagement’ or a director/management person responsible for interaction with users. The head of the user engagement team should have strategic influence in the direction of the organisation. The team typically talks across either a horizontal (technology) or a vertical workstream (thematic).

Stage 3:

A team of people who work across different horizontal (technology) and vertical (thematic) workstreams. This is where a team begins to specialise along thematic and/or technical lines. The team will still be led by a head of user engagement but may be embedded within a wider division, again, with strategic influence or input into the strategic direction of the organisation.