We received a very encouraging response to our developing website at a ‘Show and Test’ session held at the Watershed’s Pervasive Media Studio. During the session two of the the Eyes On team (Steve and Richard) had a chance to showcase the latest incarnation of the website that aims to monitor the flights to and from Bristol Airport in a bid to ensure the airport is abiding by the agreed planning conditions. Not only did we receive positive comments but we also were able to gather useful insights on how the resource could be further improved.
Jackie Head from the Eyes On team said, ‘All along we had hoped that the Eyes On website would be a community resource, so it was imperative that people from the locality had an input into its design and workability. It has been a worthwhile journey that has helped transform the vision in our heads into a great website.
In October we surveyed our cohort of email supporters and this has given us a real insight into the demographics and attitudes of the group. We learnt so much from doing this exercise; for example ¾ of those who responded lived within 10 miles of the airport and approximately a third lived directly under the airport’s flight paths. It was also encouraging to learn that over 95% of the respondents were interested in using a website either once a month or week. The greatest concern of an expanding airport was the impact of carbon and non-CO2 emissions, proving that these are not ‘not in my backyard’ (NIMBY) protesters, but people who recognise that local actions have global impacts.’
Following the survey the team ran two small focus groups who were shown an early example of the website for the first time developed by Jono Lewarne (www.cityeditionstudio.co.uk) and Jo Booth. As a result of their valuable feedback we were able to identify 26 potential changes to the design and functionality of the resource.
Richard Baxter from Eyes One said, ‘The whole exercise in collaborating and consulting potential users of the Eyes On website has been a revelation. We were relieved to learn that it is a resource that the community would use and it is great to have received really useful feedback that has helped shape an engaging website. We hope its features will encourage people to come back time and again to check the latest news in holding Bristol Airport to account.’
Thanks to Danielle Rose, Network Producer, of Pervasive Media for her help in staging the Show and Test session as well as thanks to Jon Aitken for photography/videography.