A consortium of researchers dedicated to improving the understanding of the human causes and consequences of terrorism

START Website Redesigned

Almost a year ago, we began redesigning our website to make it more user-and media-friendly. Our goal was to showcase in a dynamic and engaging way the diversity and depth of the research and educational products developed at START over the past six years. As you can already see, the look of the website is totally different. Instead of one large screen that you must navigate to get the information you need, we now have six separate information centers that are designed to get you to your desired destination in no more than one or two clicks. Here are some of the most important innovations in the redesigned website:

START in a Flash
We use this section of our home page to highlight important recent START updates. You can click through these rotating images and then use the images to take you to the sections of the START site that most interest you.

Site-wide keyword search
One of the biggest innovations in the redesigned website is that it is now fully searchable. We have added a keyword search feature on the site's menu bar that can be accessed from anywhere in the website. With this feature visitors can search through the contents of all the sections of our website and get to the information they need much more efficiently and rapidly

START Announcements and Events
We have separated our events and announcements to make it easier to find the current news about START as well as upcoming events and materials from previous events.

START Education & Product Spotlights
We redesigned our Education section to better highlight the breadth and depth of our educational offerings. We have also incorporated feature sections demonstrating the various opportunities that are available across the START Consortium from programs open to all START consortium members to educational and training opportunities available to professionals, field practitioners and educators, to programs for undergraduates and graduates at our home base at the University of Maryland.

START Media Guide
Our research consortium represents a diverse range of expertise at over 50 academic and research institutions throughout the United States and abroad. In order to make it easier to access this expertise, we have added a new section for media inquiries. The "Search Experts" function of the Media Guide allows members of the media to search among START Researchers to find the experts most relevant to their topic of interest. This section is searchable by keyword, name, topic of interest, or region of expertise. Additionally, visitors can browse through our listings of announcements, current and past, events, press releases or contact us 24/7 with any media inquiry by simply filling out our Media Inquiry form.

**Coming Soon - START Multimedia Feature**
Now that the new site is functioning, we are already working to improve it. A major improvement that is already under way is a multimedia feature that will provide our visitors with a one-stop-shop for all of our photos, video, and PowerPoint presentations through one convenient portal.

We will continue to expand and enhance our website to provide our visitors with timely and current information about our research, education, and outreach activities and to ensure that the information contained within our site remains a valuable resource to researchers, homeland security practitioners, and the general public.

Best Wishes,
Gary LaFree
Director, National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START)

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