Key Stakeholders

There are many individuals and groups within an institution who can benefit from a repository and who therefore, can be identified as stakeholders within it. Take the time to make sure you've identified everyone with an interest, and establish the key benefits that will apply to each group. This ensures your institutional repository (IR) will begin on a positive note and have wide-reaching support.

There are two critical reasons to identify stakeholders:

• To promote - The repository manager needs to persuade others of the benefits of an institutional repository. The aims may include obtaining backing, funding or agreement in principle to the installation of an IR. There is a need to support the concept of the repository and to encourage use of it when it is available
• To consult - The repository manager needs to engage local stakeholders in discussions to identify their requirements, interests or concerns regarding the service

Some key stakeholders of a repository have been identified below:

University administrators, senior management and policy makers

This group of stakeholders represent the institution as a whole. An individual or group of people with the original idea will usually be required to sell the concept of the repository to these key decision makers. The aim of initial communication with this group will be to get the concept of a repository on the institution's strategic agenda and to facilitate discussions about how it might be integrated into existing information management frameworks. Subsequently, this group of stakeholders will perform the important task of approving and backing the IR and committing staff time and resource.

Academics as authors and researchers

Academic staff play various roles related to the repository: contributing content, searching and discovering content, sometimes managing versions or updating content. Persuading and supporting academics to submit content to the repository is one of the most significant challenges a repository manager will face.

Library staff

Discussions about a repository often originate from within the library of the organisation and repository managers often come from a library background. Working with a repository suits the professional skills found within the library and strengthens the library's role within the wider organisation. Library staff often become involved in the processes and workflows within the repository; typically they engage in promotion of its use through their strong links with the academic community.

Technical support staff

Technical staff fulfil vital roles of installing, configuring and maintaining repository software and hardware. Repository managers need to develop clear lines of communication with technical colleagues, who need to understand of the purpose of the repository and how it fits in with the institution's strategic vision.

Other support staff

These can include staff managing the research outputs of the institution; departmental administrators and secretaries (who may organise content on behalf of academics); copyright officers (who will be a source of advice and expertise); or staff development officers (who can help deliver the repository message to the wider academic community); educational developers who may provide pedagogic support to staff who want to take advantages of the affordances offered by digitising learning and teaching materials.