Transforming Oxford's Digital Communications Programme

Transforming the University's digital communications

This Programme will create new, world-class web and intranet platform solutions driven by user needs and capable of adapting and evolving with the University. ​

​Our new platforms will prioritise security, scalability and accessibility, ensuring that they meet the full spectrum of our requirements. By adhering to core principles of simplicity and clarity, we’ll provide excellent digital experiences for all our internal and external audiences, making them feel more connected and informed and safeguarding the University's global reputation.

This will ensure all our audiences - staff, students and external visitors - can find information, access online services, and keep up to date on what’s happening across the University, and ultimately support our academic mission.

Latest News

Transforming Oxford's Digital Communications June 2025 Update:

​Why are we doing this?

Effective and impactful communications with staff, students and the public are critical to digital transformation at Oxford. To achieve this, we need to transform our communications platforms and approach.

Transforming our platforms and content will improve the quality and effectiveness of our communications. It will also improve the experience for content creators, with easier to use tools and clearer processes.

Our new platforms

At the heart of this change are two new platforms for everyone at Oxford:

  1. Oxford Fresco, our new web Content Management System (CMS) platform, will be a secure and versatile platform for the majority of public-facing content at the University. It will enable easy and secure publishing with flexible tools, replacing the existing solution, Mosaic, which goes out of support in 2026. Oxford Fresco aims to enhance the digital experience for hundreds of creators and the audiences who use our websites.
    Find out more: Oxford Fresco
  2. OxIntranet will provide a singular digital experience for all staff and students - bringing together content published across the University. This will be underpinned by enhanced people data - allowing information to be targeted to the needs and interests of the individual based on where they are in the University. In the future we’ll also invest in our email and additional communications tools, making it easier for everyone at Oxford to find the information they need to study and work.
    Find out more: Intranet and internal communications project

Our existing platforms 

Oxweb, the University's main website, will be migrating to a new build based on a more up to date, secure platform. In the first instance, only external-facing, Oxford-wide content will be included on Oxweb. Departmental sites will be migrated to Fresco, and we will work hard to ensure content and visual alignment with the main University site. Oxweb and Fresco sites will be aligned using a common design library and aligned governance and content approaches.

Making the change

Migration

Moving our content to the new platforms will be a large undertaking, and the Migration Project will ensure this critical activity receives the level of attention needed.

Content currently hosted on Mosaic will be prioritised for migration to the new platforms. This is because these platforms are built on technology that is going out of support. The Migration Project is working hand-in-hand with the Fresco, OxIntranet and Oxweb development teams to enable migration to take place in a smooth and timely way. More information about the Migration Project can be found on the Migration Project page.

Content

We have published the first iteration of Oxford's Digital Content Strategy.

The strategy outlines how we will publish, organise, manage and govern content - informing how we manage content across our platforms, both internally and externally.

This Digital Content Strategy is a live document, designed to support our needs around digital content. It will evolve as platforms and governance become more established, but the principles articulated will remain the same. 

This includes establishing principles for content, and ways of managing and refreshing it over time. It also outlines how we plan to publish content across web and internal platforms, to ensure relevant information is available to internal and external audiences.

The strategy has been developed collaboratively with input from communications staff and other key stakeholders around the University, and the latest draft has received positive feedback.

We would welcome any feedback you may have.

Skills and capability

To enable the flexibility and scalability of the University’s communications platforms, we are working to build skills and capability across our teams, including the successful recruitment of a Web Experience Manager and an Intranet Manager, and to share best practices through the introduction of a community of practice.

Platform and content governance 

Ongoing, joined-up oversight and decision-making regarding the new platforms will ensure we continue to provide effective and supported communications platforms for the University. We are working closely with colleagues across the University to develop the governance framework in more detail and will roll this out alongside the new platforms.

More information

We are committed to providing regular updates about the programme and these pages will be updated on a regular basis with the latest information.

Briefings

Since December 2023, we have been running briefing sessions for current Mosaic users. Copies of the slide packs and recordings of presentations are available on the Web CMS project page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please see our Frequently Asked Questions that cover the Transforming Digital Communications Programme and the individual projects.

Contact

If you are unable to find the information you want in our Frequently Asked Questions, please email us: transformingdigitalcommsprogramme@it.ox.ac.uk.

Contact

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