SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR POLICY MAKING
Social listening tools allow a level of analysis that helps understand the broader context for a better policy
design and analysis of intervention.
By @Agora_Research
Why the focus on social media
Nowadays, one in four people worldwide uses social networks to discuss topics, raise concerns, create awareness. These channels, therefore, cannot be neglected when we design a social development policy.
The analysis of the conversations happening on the web helps policy designers and analysts understand the broader picture so to create stronger and more effective policies.
Who talks
• The Media• Employees• Funders• Volunteers• Government• End users• Pressure groups• Consultants• Researchers/academics
Where they talk
But also off line…
The social space Web-based research can be daunting due
to the volume of conversations, blog posts, tweets and
articles.
Social listening tools
Tools like Radian6, Social Radar, Visible etc. can help identify the most relevant conversations happening on the social sphere, the influencers that boost those conversations and the channels where they talk.
Query design
• Topic• Keywords combinations• Countries of interest• Languages of interest• Timeframe
Elements to consider when designing a query in a social listening tool
Focus: keywords
Words and phrases most relevant to the topic
Synonyms
Keywords variations
Combined in traditional Boolean language
Building the query We can obtain important insights even with the simplest queries.
More sophisticated queries can help your research if you are looking into a specific aspect of the topic analysed.
Example:
Analysing the education system in Ghana
Basic Query set up
Country: GhanaOfficial country language: English
Basic keywords combinations:
- Education system AND Ghana- Teaching AND Ghana education system- Schooling AND Ghana- Pupils AND Education in Ghana- Students in Ghana OR Ghanaian students- Education policy AND Ghana- Education challenges AND Ghana
Query results and metrics
Main metrics obtained:
o Channelso Conversations trendso Conversations
sentiment o Influencers
Most important: Conversations trends
The insights obtained from the social intelligence exercise will provide important elements for policy
formulation.
Compose the puzzle
Presented by Agora Research
If you have any questions with regard to this presentation, please contact Elena Mozzato, Director at Agora Research
[email protected] or @Agora_Research
May 2014