1. Other People’s Business Guide Page 1 of 15
April 2011
Other People’s Business
-
A guide to STFC’s popular internal
communications programme
Stephanie Hills MSc MCIPR

2. Other People’s Business Guide Page 2 of 15
April 2011
Contents
1. Background
2. The programme
3. Marketing
a. Managing attendance
b. Typical programme for an event
4. Key points for speakers
5. Evaluation
6. Summary
7. Further information
Appendix 1 – Sample report for an OPB event
Appendix 2 – Sample annual report to directors
1. Background
The Other People’s Business (OPB) programme was set up in 2006 following a period
of intense corporate re-structuring at STFC which resulted in previously autonomous
departments being grouped together into business units, supported by dedicated
Finance, Administration and Human Resources teams.
There was a clear need to open dialogue between the departments, encourage
interaction and fulfil the key purposes of the restructuring – to involve the support teams
more closely with the scientists and engineers that they served and get a better
understanding of the environments in which they work. OPB has also proved popular
with scientists and engineers who are equally interested in finding out about colleagues’
research projects.
The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) is a large site with more than 70 buildings.
In many cases, staff had limited knowledge of other department activities and staff, and
had often not had reason to visit buildings adjacent to their own workplace.
More than 1200 staff now participate in the programme which has been extended to all
RAL, STFC Head Office and Diamond Light Source staff. The aim is to gradually widen
the programme to include all organisations on the Harwell Science and Innovation
Campus.
2. The programme
A programme of informal events was designed to give staff an opportunity to meet
members of other departments and see behind the scenes in labs, workshops and
experimental areas that are normally off limits.

3. Other People’s Business Guide Page 3 of 15
April 2011
Group sizes are limited to 8 – 12 people. This enables everyone in the group to be able
to participate and for the group to visit smaller labs or workshops. It also encourages
the group to interact and get to know one another during the event. The participants are
introduced to each other by a member of the Communications team when they gather at
the meeting point before the event.
Most events last no more than an hour as this amount of time can easily be absorbed
into the working day. The exceptions are events which require access to clean rooms
and extra time is included to enable people to get suited up. Events are held on
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at either 10am or 2pm. This enables most part-
time staff to attend, and drop-out places can be filled even at short-notice.
The cost of running the events is minimal – relying on staff time to host events and
process feedback.
New events tend to be identified through the organising team’s contacts or suggestions
from OPB participants. Some events are volunteered by departments.
3. Marketing
The name ‘Other People’s Business’ was designed to emphasise both the informal
nature of the events but also, and crucially, that no previous scientific knowledge is
required. Participants simply need a natural sense of curiosity. The programme was
initially marketed with the slogan “Stick your nose into Other People’s Business”.
OPB is marketed as an opportunity for staff to satisfy their curiosity about other parts of
the organisation. For the Communications team, it is a learning and development
programme intended to inspire a sense of pride and ownership in STFC.
Events are advertised as ‘jargon-free’ and speakers are asked to keep scientific
terminology to a minimum unless it is absolutely essential, and only to use it if a simple,
non-scientific explanation is also given. OPB events assume the level of knowledge of a
pre-GCSE student (13-14 year old). A member of the Communications team is present
at every event and intervenes with a ‘back to basics’ question if the speaker gets too
technical.
Events are advertised through existing internal communications channels, emails to
departments and most importantly, word of mouth.
a) Managing attendance
For the first few OPB events, bookings were taken by email or telephone. This quickly
became unmanageable as interest in the programme grew, and the Communications
team introduced an on-line booking system.
Staff are able to manage their own bookings, including expressing interest in events
which are part of the programme but for which no specific date has been set. This

4. Other People’s Business Guide Page 4 of 15
April 2011
waiting list feature allows the organisers to prioritise the arrangement of events
according to popularity.
Staff on the waiting list for an event receive advanced notice when a new date is
arranged, typically 24 hours before the event is advertised across the laboratory.
Waiting lists operate for all events and members of staff who fail to turn up to an event
are sent an automated email explaining that because they did not manage their booking,
they have deprived a colleague of taking part in the event.
The booking system can be used to produce attendance lists, send reminders, collate
feedback and maintain a record of who has attended which events.
b) Typical programme for an event
 Welcome and registration conducted by a member of the Communications team who
will introduce participants to each other as they arrive at the meeting point
 20-25 minute jargon-free overview of the instrument/facility/workshop/area of science
by the host scientist/engineer/technician
 Opportunity to look at experimental kit/short tour/demo
 Opportunity to ask questions

5. Other People’s Business Guide Page 5 of 15
April 2011
 Meet team that use the kit
 Close
 Feedback form emailed to each participant immediately after the event
Each event is different and plays to the strengths of the particular department. For
example, it could be a walking tour of a larger facility, a ‘show and tell’ in a smaller lab,
or a hands-on ‘make and do’ in an assembly workshop. Wherever possible OPB events
try to avoid groups being sat in one room for an hour of talking.
4. Key points for speakers
The majority of resources staff have a limited scientific knowledge. Scientists or
engineers in one part of STFC may have very low levels of knowledge of other
departments/facilities/programmes. Talks should therefore:
 Avoid scientific terminology unless it is absolutely essential and only use if a simple,
non-scientific explanation is also given.
 Use analogies from everyday life
 Emphasise applications of the area of research aimed at a lay audience
 Provide at least one ‘wow’ fact
 Allow participants to have a close look at the experimental equipment and/or provide
items which can be passed around.
It is also worth noting that facts which technical staff take for granted can be of
surprising interest to a non-scientific audience e.g. the cleanliness of a clean room
compared to the outside world.
5. Evaluation
Evaluation of every OPB event is essential to maintaining the high standards of
customer satisfaction that the programme enjoys. The information is useful to the
organisers and the speakers but also allows the participants to feel that they are directly
involved in the continuation of the programme.
A questionnaire is sent out automatically through the booking system after the event and
the responses are collated through the reporting function. A report is then prepared for
the departmental host of the event and copied to his/her line manager and department
head. This includes any suggestions for improvement for future events. Preparing the
report takes approximately 10 minutes. A sample report is shown in Appendix 1. A
copy of the event feedback form is included in Appendix 2.
Asking the participants what was the most interesting fact that they picked up at the
event is less threatening than asking them what they learnt. This part of the
questionnaire also allows the speakers to check whether their key messages were
picked up by the audience.

6. Other People’s Business Guide Page 6 of 15
April 2011
For many of the hosts, OPB feedback was the first time that they had received
constructive criticism of the content and delivery of their presentation. The feedback
also highlights any training requirements.
Many staff regularly take part in OPB events and feel a strong sense of ownership of the
programme. They take their feedback responsibilities very seriously and the organising
team routinely expect a 90% response rate for questionnaires after each event. Staff
are quick to tell us if the standard of an event falls.
At the end of each calendar year, an OPB annual report is produced for directors, see
appendix 2.
6. Summary
Other People’s Business has proved to be a popular, practical and inexpensive internal
communications activity.
It has enhanced staff knowledge of the wider organisation and in a few cases, brought
departments together to collaborate.
Feedback from the event enables the programme to be developed and presentation
skills to be honed.
The apparent simplicity of the programme means that it can be expanded to
accommodate the changing focus of the organisation.
7. Further information
For more information, please contact Stephanie Hills, STFC Media Manager.
Email: stephanie.hills@stfc.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 1235 445398

7. Other People’s Business Guide Page 7 of 15
April 2011
Appendix 1
Other People’s Business Event Evaluation
Astra
10th November 2009 10am & 2pm
Event summary
Nineteen people attended the events, seventeen questionnaires were received.
Bryn Parry started the event with an introductory presentation on ASTRA. He then took
us into the top level room and told us more about the laser. After this Peta Foster talked
about the applications of ASTRA and some of the users’ work whilst showing us the
lower level target chamber. The event lasted approx 1 hour.
Interesting facts:
 Light is polarised.
 Learning about how extreme intensity short pulse lasers are used to create x-ray
sources
 That Plasma is the 4th state for matter and is used with Lasers.

8. Other People’s Business Guide Page 8 of 15
April 2011
 The size of the kit required for a laser of such intensity and power. Also how to
create a high intensity short pulse-the pulse has to be amplified and stretched
then compressed.
 The high radiation levels produced in some laser experiments
 I really enjoyed seeing how Gemini was put together and learning about
designing high powered vacuum laser containers.
 Laser applications, for medical, scientific or space plasma analysis.
 Just generally very interesting
 That RAL is leading the world with the intensity of its laser facilities
 Beer glasses are made using light polarisation techniques!
 The energy density is 1022 W/cm2 - impressive!
 The ability to use ASTRA to accelerate electrons and generate high intensity x-
rays.
General comments:
 Very good in general, and many thanks.
 I would have liked this to be a longer OPB event, as there was so much to take
in.
 Although not directly relevant to my job there are many parallels between laser
optics and radio frequency systems and an understanding of the optical physics
helps reinforce the radio frequency aspects of my knowledge which is important
to my job the ISIS injector.
 Very interesting. This was my first OPB event, but I will be looking to take part in
more, it was very informative and good to see what they get up to!
 A little more time would have been nice. I was however, able to ask questions
after the event as the speakers were still available.
Potential improvements:
 More cross referencing to Vulcan in particular, but also the LLNL, NIF and free
electron lasers would have given more context.
 It would have been good to be able to walk freely around the room and take in
everything rather than being led to one point in the room.
Katy Glazer
December 2009

9. Other People’s Business Guide Page 9 of 15
April 2011
Appendix 2
Other People’s Business Programme
Report on activities
January – December 2008
Report Summary
 54 separate OPB events were held (35 in 2007) with 482 attendances by staff.
 661 staff members have registered to take part in OPB events.
 Feedback continues to show that OPB events are greatly valued by those attending.
 SSTD, Technology, ISIS, PSD, Oxsensis, PPD and UKATC have offered new events
this year.
 25 staff from Swindon Office attended an event at RAL to enable them to become
better acquainted with RAL facilities and Diamond.
 Feedback from OPB participants provides an excellent opportunity for staff leading
tours to improve their communication skills.
“I thought the tour was very good, even though I'm not from a science background it was
explained in a way that I could understand.”
“Thank you, a very interesting talk and I'm very grateful that OPB found a way to bring
Edinburgh to us!”
“It was very interesting, even just to see the inside of the clean rooms I have walked
past many times.”
“Very useful knowledge transfer to staff in other research groups. Very informative to
staff not engaged in research activities.”
“It's not an area I would normally think about, and it's good to learn about something
new.”
“I found that actually having a go made me appreciate the work more and the time that's
involved.”
“The event provided an interesting insight into the work of another division on site and
enabled me to put a face to one of the names that I have come across in my job.”
“This was a really brilliant event; seeing what has to be built to begin to open the door
onto some truly fascinating fundamental physics.”
“People from all over the world get things made by our Space Science department, so
it's great to be able to see it in person.”

10. Other People’s Business Guide Page 10 of 15
April 2011
“Another side to procurement - it is good to see how equipment that we purchase fits
into the ISIS project.”
“Good to see that the facility is not resting on its laurels and it still striving to stay at the
head of the field.”
Background
Other People’s Business events are organised by the FBU and Technology
Communications team and run by this team together with colleagues from Diamond and
SSTD. The programme was originally set up to give staff in FBU an opportunity to see
inside experimental facilities, meet the staff who operate them and learn a little about the
research that is carried out within the Facilities Business Unit. The programme has been
expanded to include all Diamond, RAL and Swindon staff.
The informal events assume no prior scientific knowledge, making them accessible to
support staff as well as technical staff. Each event lasts approx. 1 hour and most are
limited to 8 -12 people, enabling the groups to visit small labs.
A member of the OPB team is present at each event, to meet and greet the participants,
introduce the department host and ensure that the event meets the aims of the
programme.
The on-line booking system has also been adapted for an ISIS Friends & Family event
and communications training courses.
2008 Events
Department Event Name Date Attendees
ASTeC ALICE 23 September 2008 7
CliK Oxsensis 26 November 2008 9
Diamond A light for science 30 January 2008 1
08 April 2008 13
23 September 2008 15
e-Science Cool tools for visualising
data 05 February 2008 9
Managing data with robots 10 January 2008 8
29 April 2008 8
14 October 2008 11
FBU Introduction to FBU for
Swindon-based staff 04 April 2008 25
ISIS Accelerator 15 January 2008 8
16 January 2008 9
16 January 2008 10
17 January 2008 7

11. Other People’s Business Guide Page 11 of 15
April 2011
Department Event Name Date Attendees
17 January 2008 9
Ion Source 15 April 2008 8
16 April 2008 9
16 July 2008 6
Muons 24 January 2008 10
20 March 2008 7
22 May 2008 7
Neutrons 26 February 2008 7
22 July 2008 6
09 December 2008 8
TS-2 Engineering 05 March 2008 9
05 March 2008 6
TS-2 Science 06 June 2008 9
12 November 2008 8
PPD Meet the MICE 03 October 2008 7
03 October 2008 8
PSD Astra laser 26 March 2008 6
18 June 2008 7
05 November 2008 7
Lasers for Science 01 April 2008 6
Making Laser Targets 04 September 2008 10
05 September 2008 10
Vulcan laser 03 June 2008 6
12 June 2008 8
17 September 2008 10
24 September 2008 8
SSTD Exploring the Sun 06 November 2008 8
Ground Station 16 October 2008 10
Miniaturising for space 02 October 2008 7
Testing for Space 09 September 2008 13
Technology An Introduction to UKATC 29 October 2008 34
Chips with everything 19 February 2008 9
09 July 2008 7
09 July 2008 8
09 December 2008 7
10 December 2008 4
Designer Materials 18 November 2008 9
Dimensional Metrology 13 February 2008 9
02 July 2008 9
07 October 2008 6
TOTAL 482

12. Other People’s Business Guide Page 12 of 15
April 2011
Participation
661 members of staff are now registered to take part in OPB events. The list is regularly
updated to ensure that it reflects only current members of staff.
Department No. of people
registered
ISIS 194
Technology 82
e-Science 64
PSD 58
Diamond 51
SSTD 51
FBR 44
Swindon Office 34
ASTeC 17
OBU 16
PPD 14
CSE 12
CSD 9
CICT 5
OBR 3
FBU 2
Event evaluation
Participants receive a questionnaire after each event (see appendix a). The feedback is
collated into a summary report which is sent to the speaker, their line manager/divisional
head, department head and department communications champion/team. The report
also includes the OPB team’s suggestions for improvement.
As part of the questionnaire, participants are asked how much they agree with six
statements:
1. The speaker explained their subject in a way that I could understand
2. I stayed interested throughout the event
3. The length of the event was about right
4. The information that I have learnt today will be useful in my job
5. I will take part in future events in the Other People’s Business programme
6. I will recommend this event to my colleagues
Statements 1-3 provide feedback on the speaker, their ability to maintain the interest of
the group and the variety of information provided. As communication is an increasingly
important part of all research projects, Other People’s Business offers speakers an

13. Other People’s Business Guide Page 13 of 15
April 2011
opportunity to present their work in a non-technical way and to check that their
messages are understood by the audience. All OPB hosts are offered communications
training.
Statement 4 is intended to get the participant to reflect on possible collaborations or
exploitation of their new knowledge. Whilst encouraging collaborations is not a specific
aim of the OPB programme, it is certainly worthwhile to promote the concept.
The final two statements relate to the participant’s overall impression of the event and
the extent to which they value the OPB programme - the most effective form of
promotion is personal recommendation.
Event participants are also given two free text boxes. The first asks them to note the
most interesting fact that they picked up during the event. This information helps the
speakers check that their key messages have been understood. The second box asks
for any general comments about the programme or organisation of the event and this
information enables the OPB team to address any necessary improvements.
Results
The results of the feedback questions are shown in the graph below.
The positive feedback confirms that speakers are maintaining a consistently high
standard and, in consultation with the OPB team, any areas for improvement are being
addressed.
Proposed programme developments
 Continue to identify potential new events and work with speakers to deliver these.
 Purchase fully interactive ‘headcam’ to improve Alice event (currently uses webcam
and phone) and enable virtual tours of other sites for staff e.g. ISIS for UKATC staff,
overseas telescopes, Boulby Mine etc.
 Offer programme of facility/project talks at DL and UKATC.
Recommendations
 All staff should be encouraged to take part in Other People’s Business events.
 Other People’s Business should be included as part of the induction process for all
new staff.
Stephanie Hills
Information Manager, FBU and Technology
January 2009

14. Other People’s Business Guide Page 14 of 15
April 2011

15. Appendix a
Other People’s Business Questionnaire
Other People’s Business events aim to give staff an opportunity to see inside
experimental facilities, meet the staff and learn a little about the research that is carried
out in other parts of STFC and Diamond.
The programme will form part of the induction process for new staff as well as providing
background information for existing staff. To make sure that the events are a success,
we would be grateful if you could complete the attached questionnaire. Your comments
will not be shared with anyone outside the team organising the events and we hope you
will be brutally honest – if you thought the event was excellent, that’s great, but if you
think we can do better, tell us!
Name
Department
Strongly
agree
agree
disagree
Strongly
disagree
The speaker explained their subject in a way that I could
understand
I stayed interested throughout the event
The length of the event was about right
The information that I have learnt today will be useful in
my job
I will take part in future events in the Other People’s
Business programme
I will recommend this event to my colleagues
What is the most interesting fact that you learnt at today’s event?
Do you have any other comments?
Thanks for taking the time to give us your feedback!
The OPB team