This is the agreement between digital diplomacy group and each post and policy team responsible for web content. It sets expectations about what we in digital diplomacy can deliver, and about what we need you in posts and policy groups to deliver. 

The agreement covers top level issues. You will need to follow the links to read the supporting policy and guidance.

Our annual web presence review assesses every one of our FCO branded websites on our FCOWeb platform, as well as our collective off-platform engagement. The review is a measure of how well we are all meeting the agreement. It measures the effectiveness of our digital diplomacy group's contribution as well as the contribution of your posts and groups around the network.

You are responsible for:

1. Resources

You should ensure your web presence is appropriately resourced with at least a trained lead web editor and a back up web editor.

You should provide adequate infrastructure. For example, standalone PCs, fast internet connection, and appropriate software (such as PDF maker, photo and video editing).

Read our policy and guidance on:

• Website owners
• Web editors
• Technical kit

2.  Promotion and partnership

You should ensure your web presence is promoted to internal and external audiences.

You should disperse content creatively eg via RSS, email alerts, blogs, links.

You should seek out partnerships that will allow your target audience to access your content quicker and easier than just relying on your own web platform.

Read our policy and guidance on:

• Promoting your web content
• Advertising
• Merchandise
• Search

We share responsibility with you for:

3. Strategy

You should ensure your web presence supports both the objectives of your post / group and the FCO's strategic campaigns.

You should have a means for evaluating your web presence e.g. setting web-based Key Peformance Indicators for your business plan objectives.

We will advise on the best strategy for achieving your objectives.

We will ensure your interests are reflected in the FCO strategic campaigns.

Read our policy and guidance on:

• Setting a digital strategy
• Setting digital objectives
• Campaigning
• Evaluation
• Web committees

4. Content

You should produce high quality content for your web presence that follows our policy and guidance. 

Your homepage should change once a week at a minimum, and ideally once a day

You should have an editorial board that meets weekly to determine the narrative of your content, including across the web.

We will produce central content in English to be used across all our sites eg News, About the UK, strategic campaigns. We indicate which content is core and must be carried, and that which is optional.

We will promote content from posts each day to the Communications Directorate.

Read our policy and guidance on:

• Country website content and structure
• Editorial including web committees
• Design and images
• Social media
• Usability
• Accessibility
• Dynamic content including online forms

We are responsible for:

5. Training and feedback

We provide a web training course which teach your web editors how to produce and publish high quality content. Your web editors needs to be trained before they can gain access to our system.

We provide digital diplomacy training for all FCO staff. We can tailor the course towards your strategic objectives.

We give ongoing feedback to you and your web editors. We will alert managers if there are any training or performance issues with web editors.

We will issue you with an annual web presence review report. We will use this digital diplomacy website to share examples of best practice.

Read our policy and guidance on:

• Training courses
• Web presence review

6. Support

We have the expertise to support you in the following areas:

• editorial support e.g. how best to write for the web
• business support e.g. recruitment advice on who to hire, or cover during a crisis
• technical support for users of the web platform (via our partner Logica) eg you are unable to publish a page.

Read our policy and guidance on:

• Support

7. Tools

We will provide you with the tools you need to maintain your website, notably a Content Management System and statistics service.

We will keep the web platform refreshed with appropriate new technologies eg blogging and collaboration tools. 

Read our policy and guidance on:

• Our Content Management System
• System improvements
• Change control

8. Controls

We have controls in place to protect the security and stability of the web platform.

Read our policy and guidance on:

• Governance
• Domain names
• Creating new websites
• Foreign language websites
• Customer service and privacy
• Change control
  

Notes:

• Tier 3 posts (ie posts that do not edit their websites themselves) have a different arrangement under section 1. Those posts are responsible for staffing a 'website owner / content producer'. We will then provide an editor for 45 minutes per week.