How the scoring for the Fan Engagement Index works

The Fan Engagement Index awards up to 240 points to clubs overall based on the quality of their Fan Engagement. It comprises three categories, each offering up to 80 points. Final figures correct as of 31/05/2020.

As the season was affected by Covid-19, and in the case of the EFL League One and League Two, saw no more competitive fixtures played in the normal (league) season, reasonable assumptions have been made in the scoring. Specifically, it has been assumed that where a club commenced a programme of engagement (e.g. had at least one Fans Parliament, Fans Forum or Structured Dialogue with a Supporters Trust/Independent Group before football stopped in March 2020), they would have had the remaining one required by best practice/EFL rules. This applies to the publishing of any reports, agendas and minutes. This does not apply where no such meetings were held before March 2020.

Each category is broken down into a number of areas making up the total score for the category. As follows:

Dialogue (the meetings and processes in place to practice two-way communication with their fanbase and its representatives)
Structured Dialogue with supporters’ trust/independent supporters group
Structured Dialogue with wider group of representatives
Fans Forums
Social Media (does the club have a Twitter Help Channel or a Twitter SLO Channel)
Any other Dialogue initiatives/innovations

Governance (what underpins, or reinforces these relationships)
Are there supporter directors on the board of the club?
Customer/Club/Supporter Charter: rating based on whether it’s easy to find, and contains information about the SLO, fan consultation, and supporter/customer services
Whether or not the SLO is clearly a ‘stand alone’ role at the club
Is there a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or other legal agreement with supporters’ trust or other independent group governing their relationship?

Transparency (what they publish in relation to this dialogue)

• Are reports or minutes published of structured dialogue meetings with supporters’ trust/independent group and/or its structured dialogue with a wider group of representatives?
• Are agendas published in advance of any of these meetings?
• Are reports or minutes published of fans forums? Are agendas published in advance of fans forums?
• Does the club report on its board meetings? Does the club publish an agenda in advance of its board meetings?