Editorial policy

The editorial policy has been drafted to clarify the purpose of the website, to inform how the website is managed and how content is sourced and approved for publication. The policy also instructs about points of access to the website.

Website purpose

The goal of the Life Sciences Scotland website is to provide a single, comprehensive "shop window" for the Scottish life sciences community. Its core objectives are to

• Promote Scotland's academic and commercial strengths both nationally and globally;

• Enable and facilitate a platform for collaborations across academia, NHS, the government and industry; and

• Nurture and encourage a continuing dialogue to showcase, retain and attract talent in the life sciences sector.

Guiding principles of the website

The following Guiding Principles will give direction to the development of the Life Sciences Scotland website. These guidelines are reviewed annually as capabilities are enhanced.

The Life Sciences Scotland website should:

• Represent the single comprehensive and compelling picture of the Life sciences community in Scotland online. This goal will be achieved by ensuring that organizations and websites promote each other. Moreover, it is hoped that all community members within Scotland will commit to using the website for their own initiatives and collaborations.

• Function as a "shop window". Original content should be hosted by the organization that owns the content; the Life Sciences Scotland website will only link to the "home" of the relevant information. This will prevent duplication, ensure accurate and current content and keep maintenance resources to a minimum.

• Have the needs of the Scottish life sciences community drive the design and content of the Life Sciences Scotland website. Content should be engaging, easy to find, up-to-date and presented with sufficient context.

• Have equal representation. The activities of the Scottish Life Sciences community are represented without any bias towards any particular organization. Solely commercial enterprises will be hosted on the Directory.

• Assure self-sufficiency and access for a wide range of users.The user interface/website must be designed to meet the needs of the variety of users coming to the interface. The website and interfaces will be accessible to users with disabilities

• Be organized, simple and show consistent identification, navigation, terminology and content.To assist users in assessing the information on our site, pages should have consistent identification as belonging to Life Sciences Scotland. The interface should provide useful, consistent navigational tools (e.g., navigation bars) that represent the most-used navigational features. Consistent terminology should be used throughout the website to refer to the same activity or item.

Website management

The Life Sciences Scotland website is managed by the Editorial Committee, which is comprised of members of the Scottish life sciences community. Please find more information on the Editorial Committee page (hyperlink to Editorial Committee page).

The core responsibility of the Editorial Committee is to ensure that website content is impartial, comprehensive, timely, of relevance and high quality. In addition, the Editorial Committee will identify and support major announcements, new initiatives and topics in the public arena by ensuring they are highlighted the website.

Website content

The content of the Life Sciences Scotland website consists of

• Brochureware

• Resources (downloads of relevant documents)

• Features (Organization of the Month, Interviews)

• News items

• Online discussion forum (for registered users)

How to submit items for publication

News items

News items should report facts and events. In keeping with the guiding principles of the website, news items should link to the original source of the story. For example, a news item on a story published by the Glasgow University Press Office will link back to their website. News stories will be judged by their importance, accuracy, timeliness and general interest to the audience of the Life Sciences Scotland website. News that contain opinion or argument (those should be the exception) need to be from a quotable source.

News items should be submitted electronically here (hyperlink to the form). The news Editor will consider submitted stories for publication according to the criteria outlined above. Input from the Editorial Committee will be sought if appropriate.

Other website content

Brochureware should briefly describe Scottish life sciences organizations or activities with a link to the "home" of the information.

Resourcesare documents of major importance to the life sciences sector in Scotland

Organization of the Month: This feature highlights an organization in industry, academia or third sector. Please only submit short ideas as this feature is generally commissioned.

Other website content should be sent to kerry.mitchell@scotent.co.uk

The new submission will then be circulated amongst the Editorial Committee who will decide on its publication.

Commissioned items, such as Organization of the Month will be dealt with by the Editorial Committee member who commissioned them. Input from the Editorial Committee only if needed.

On-line forum

Registered users can participate in online discussions. The Editorial Committee will not normally seek to monitor or control this part of the website content unless views voiced are wrong, of poor quality or offensive.