Which Custom Fields Are Synced From GPEW Centrally To Action Network?

Which Custom Fields Are Synced From GPEW Centrally To Action Network?

The Green Party uses several systems centrally and information is shared between these systems through various means, and not all information is shared across all systems. In this guide we'll go through the fields that are currently synced to Action Network, and how you can update these fields on behalf of Members and Supporters.
You should avoid editing the values of any of the custom fields listed in this guide. Any changes you make will not be passed through to our membership billing system, and will be rewritten when the record is synced with Chargebee, our membership biliing platform.

Which Custom Fields Are Synced To Action Network From GPEW Centrally?

Contact & Basic Information

  1. First Name
  2. Last Name
  3. Email
  4. Mobile Phone
  5. Home_Phone
  6. Address
  7. City
  8. Zip/Postal Code
  9. Country
  10. Do_Not_Phone: This field will have a value of True if the member has asked not to be contacted by phone.
  11. Birthdate: In the format YYYY/MM/DD
  12. GPEW_Age: This field is calculated by from the value in the birthdate field.

Geographically Determined Fields

These fields are updated based on the postcode provided when a members join, or update their details via the Membership Portal. They are currently only updated for Members. If you require an update of this information for Supporters please raise a support ticket.
  1. Regional_Party
  2. Local_Party
  3. Ward
  4. Parliamentary_Constituency
  5. Local_Authority
  6. GPEW_County_Division
  7. GPEW_County_Council
  8. GPEW_Parish
  9. GPEW_Devolved_Constituency
  10. GPEW_Devolved_Region
  11. GPEW_Combined_Authority
  12. GPEW_Police_Force_Area
  13. GPEW_Westminster_Future (the Parliamentary Constituency value after the next election)

Membership Information

  1. Member: This will have a value of Yes for Members with an active subscription, No for cancelled Members, and will be blank for Supporters.
  2. Membership_Status: Current/Pending/Grace/Cancelled/Expired/Suspended/Expelled. 
  3. Membership_Type: This will show the membership type and frequency, eg. Standard Monthly Membership.
  4. Membership_Join_Date: This field will show the earliest join date for the member in the format YYYY/MM/DD.
  5. Membership_End_Date: This field will show the date the Activists membership will end, or did end for cancelled memberships, in the format YYYY/MM/DD.
  6. Membership_Period_Start: This will show the start of their current or last membership period, the date when their payment was due in the format YYYY/MM/DD.

Contact IDs

  1. Chargebee_ID: This field should be present for anyone who has had an active membership from 2020 onwards.
  2. Salesforce_Contact_ID: This field should be present for almost all activists.
  3. Civi_ID: This field should be present for anyone who existed in our previous membership system. Newer members will not have a value in this field.
All three of these fields help support the communication between our various systems and to help Digital Support staff with data quality diagnostics. They will likely have little importance to the majority of Action Network administrators.

How Do I Update These Fields?

For Members

As the information synced to Action Network for members comes from the membership billing system it's important that this is where their details are updated. Members can update their own details, and manage their membership via the Member's Site or by contacting the Membership Team. We know that not all members will remember, want, or have the ability to update their details themselves. Any officer of the party can contact the membership team at members@greenparty.org.uk to provide updated details for members.
Remember to keep your officer details up to date: How To Add A Local Or Regional Party Officer.

For Supporters

As Supporter information isn't linked to a billing record their basic contact details can be edited directly in Action Network. However, you will require the "Overwrite Network Custom Field Data" permission enabled. You should avoid editing any of the geographically determined field values, and it's a good idea to notify the Membership Team of any change to the Do_Not_Phone field.
Just as with members you can contact the Membership Team to update any supporter details if you're unsure.

Why Are There Duplicate Fields For Some Activists And Are They Kept Up To Date?

During the initial transfer of member and supporter data to Action Network some fields were used which were later replaced. For example, Local Party became Local_Party; Parliamentary Constituency became Parliamentary_Constituency...etc. These old Custom Fields were removed from Action Network Groups, but you may find that a fellow administrator has added them back in error. These fields aren't updated centrally and may contradict the values held in the fields listed in this article.

There are also plenty of examples of Action Network administrators creating new Custom Fields which duplicate existing data. For example, GP Member, Local Party (London), or Local Party For Events. These fields may have served a purpose at some point, but they are likely to cause confusion to other administrators so it's a good idea to check with your fellow admins and remove these fields and their data.
To find out how to remove Custom Fields check this guide: Removing Custom Fields & Questions.

What About Other Custom Fields?

Any other Custom Fields will have been created within your Action Network Group, or within any child Groups that may exist. Some may have also been sent from a parent Group. Most of the data in these fields flows up the network, and so regional parties will see most of the Custom Fields created by their local parties. It's a good idea to plan out how you'll use Custom Fields, whether they'll duplicate existing data, or if they will serve a purpose beyond their initial use.
You can find more information on Custom Field management here: Tips On Tag & Field Management.

    • Related Articles

    • Removing Custom Fields & Questions

      Removing data from Custom Fields & Questions is irreversible. Please ensure you have no need for the data before proceeding. You're unable to delete fields in bulk that are syndicated from the national party but can do so from the Activist Record so ...

    • Using & Customising GPEW-Issued Email Layouts

      To support Action Network groups in maintaining a consistent brand, the Green Party Digital Support team will occasionally release email layouts which can be customised depending on your needs. Email layouts use the same drag and drip editor as you ...

    • Action Network Reports & Data Protection

      Each and every one of us has a responsibility to ensure the data we hold on our members and supporters is protected, and treated with the care you'd expect from those handling your data, and in line with the law. If you have access to Action Network ...

    • Storing Action Network Form Responses In Custom Fields

      There are two slightly different methods for capturing Form responses in Custom Fields in Action Network. It depends on if you are creating a reusable Question for use in the Question Library, or within the Form Builder itself. Here we'll go through ...

    • Using Personalisation Datasets To Personalise Emails

      What Are Personalisation Datasets? The Personalisation Datasets feature was released by Action Network on September 16th 2021. This feature allows you to create custom clips, which return a value based on the value of a Custom Field. How Can ...