In the month when the newsletter is one year old, the team that designed and brought about the project from its conception to the first issue of news@fmul is presenting the results of the assessment made six months after its launch.
In order to verify whether the initial aims of the project have been achieved and to identify aspects that can be improved, this assessment involved analysis of the first five issues (from November 2008 to April 2009) and of all the work and resources involved for their publication, as well as the opinions of those concerned and the readers.
The methodology used was based on the analysis of the content of the first five editions and access to them by the readers, on questionnaires for the readers and the group invited (participants), on interviews with the editorial team and on the documentary support analysis for news@fmul.
The newsletter has been sent to about eleven thousand subscribers, internally and externally to the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon (FMUL), both nationally and internationally. However, the newsletter is seen mainly by the internal public, which has a preference for academic and institutional articles. The outside public, which accesses it less, mainly looks at articles to do with advanced training (courses and events).
In general the readers said they were satisfied about the image of news@fmul; that is, about the graphic interface, logo and the name of the publication.
The functionalities of news@fmul also satisfy the readers, namely the quality of the translation, the structure of the items, accessibility and the regularity of publication.
The number of articles has been increasing over the several different issues, with institutional articles being predominant (see Graph 1). In general the articles are by non-teaching staff, from services and units of the FMUL, with there being low participation by teachers, researchers and students.

Graph 1 – Nº of Articles in each Issue of news@fmul

In relation to the articles and contents of the newsletter, the aspects that please the readers are the size, the originality, the clarity and the current nature of the contents, although there is some lack of satisfaction about the diversity of the subjects and the adequation of the articles in relation to the reader’s personal and Professional needs (See Graph 2).

Graph 2 – Level of Reader Satisfaction in Relation to Articles and Contents of news@fmul (n=57)

The contribution of the authors of the articles published has been fundamental for the publication of several issues of new@fmul. The publication of an article is almost always the result of an invitation from the editorial team, although the intention is to increase the number of self-motivated participations, thus granting a greater dynamic to the planning and organisation of each issue (See Graph 3).

Graph 3 – Type of participation in each issue of news@fmul

The participants in the different edition, even when they have been invited, did so essentially because they recognised the importance of sharing knowledge and information and due to the novelty of the publication.
The performance of the editorial team at the head of this process was a motive for great satisfaction by all those who have worked on it, with the main positive factors in the team being its capacity for organisation, the development of contacts, the high sense of commitment and responsibility towards the project, the support provided in the checking of the articles and the swift response to requests (See Graph 4).

Graph 4 – Level of Satisfaction of the Editorial Team in Relation to Participation on news@fmul (n=18)

The satisfaction shown by those who have participated in each issue becomes the creation of a link to the newsletter, given that they intend to consult future issues, to contribute to spreading word about it, whether through encouraging other colleagues to participate or by forwarding and promoting subscription to the publication.

A great part of the success of news@fmul comes from the editorial team’s commitment and the way it took the project on board and developed it, bringing continuity to an idea and turning it into the main organ of official communication in the FMUL.

The path travelled by this team over these issues has above all been the fruit of many extra hours of work, of sharing and exchanging knowledge and information, of learning new working methods and techniques, and, above all, of perfecting skills provided by teamwork. The way this challenge was accepted by the editorial team is without any doubt an example of how organisations may become more flexible and prepared for change, as the initiative and autonomy granted this team by the Dean’s Office, in supporting and accompanying the project, is clearly an important factor in its success. Another factor in the success of the project was the choice of a multidisciplinary team cutting across several different services in the faculty, allowing easier and more direct access to information, and making each issue closer to the reality of the FMUL.

The opinion of the editorial team is that the news@fmul project is being very successful up to now given that it has been possible to carry out what was planned and programmed.

The several different members of the team have shown a desire to continue to work on the project, which stresses how much they believe in its success, with the final aim being an institutional newsletter that is sufficiently open to the outside and has the participation of the whole FMUL community.

Faced with the results of the assessment of the news@fmul and what surrounds it, the project team congratulates the editorial team and all those who have collaborated on and made this publication possible, and suggests some recommendations for improving some aspects.
In order to heighten outside impact it is necessary to carry out a campaign to present and divulge the news@fmul beyond the FMUL, both on the Portuguese and international level. It is also necessary to carry out a diagnosis of reading habits in order to increase the impact and to meet the readers’ needs.

In order to promote the participation of everyone in the newsletter through writing articles, a campaign should be carried out aimed at the several different segments of the target audience; the editorial team should offer internal and external invitations, which should be different according to the type of public one wished to reach, and to try to establish partnerships, both internally and externally.
For the editorial team, in order to keep up the high level of quality demanded by news@fmul, so as to achieve greater maturity and solidity, it is fundamental to adopt motivational strategies towards better team performance, to implement more flexible and autonomous working methods and to reorganise functions and tasks, with it being essential for the exclusive nature of the project to have the presence of the information manager and an adequate and fitting work plan, bearing in mind the experience gained over the several different issues of the newsletter.

The evaluation of the project team would not be complete without identifying one of the fundamental factors in the success of this initiative: the readers and their welcoming of this project. Although at first the reception was limited, it has been increasing over time. Spreading the news involves word of mouth, and the passing of this information by colleagues and friends has made news@fmul more and more solid as a means of institutional communication for the FMUL, increasingly involving the whole of the FMUL community.
So now you know, if it is the first time you are seeing the news@fmul, don’t delay, go to http://news.fm.ul.pt/ and subscribe to the FMUL newsletter.

Once again, we will leave the last word to the editorial team, congratulations, keep up the good work you have done in taking the name of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon further and further.

Ana Rute Braziel
Márcia Vila
Sofia Cruz
Sónia Barroso
Susana Leal