Twelve
Guidelines for Making the Net Work for Organisations
Terry
Grunwald offers a detailed checklist for those planning to
get their organisation online
1
A full commitment by decision-makers (director
and board) is required
2
Be prepared to look at your organisation through
fresh eyes. Rethink, Re-envision. Stretch.
3
Be clear on the Whys Ð before you tackle the
Hows
4
You will need protocols. Establish roles and
responsibilities
5
Integrating ICT requires a deliberate change
in your organisational culture
6
Be aware of the range of ICT tools available
to you
7
Use ICT tools in an integrated way
8
Identify low-cost resources.
9
Consider the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
and the Total Value of Ownership (TVO) for ICT
10View
technology as an ongoing operational cost Ð not simply a
capital expenditure
11Design
for evaluation.
12
Be realistic.
1.
A full commitment by decision-makers (director and board)
is required
The Director has to provide clear, unambiguous leadership.
The
Director also has to model good, consistent use of the Net.
Suggestion:
Develop a task-oriented ICT working group (teamlet) consisting
of (1) the Director, (2) one or more tech champions on staff
and if possible (3) one or more "core" Board members,
and then expand out.
The
Director needs to be willing to be proactive in changing
the organisational culture.
The
Director and the Board must be willing to invest Ð not just
in hardware and software, but in staff time, strategic planning
and workplan revisions.
2.
Be prepared to look at your organisation through fresh eyes.
Rethink, Re-envision. Stretch.
Who
is your audience?: Now you have the opportunity to look
"beyond the choir" to a wider network: other sectors,
media, funders, individual donors, general public.
Who
are your issue collaborators? Local, county, regional, Scotland-wide,
UK, EC, international?
Who
are your resource collaborators? Tech resources, volunteers,
consultants?
What
are your information and communication patterns?
What
are your communications styles?
How
efficient are your administrative procedures?
3.
Be clear on the Whys Ð before you tackle the
Hows.
What
are the compelling reasons?
One
organisation (even an umbrella group) or one person on staff
who assumes the role of techno-Evangelist is easily dismissed.
Need
multiple reasons: May need to first experience "opportunities
lost".
Hard
to predict just what will be the hook?
4.
You will need protocols. Establish roles and
responsibilities.
Goal:
a computer and Internet connection on the desk of every
staffperson
You
will need a process to handle the info flow
How
will it managed? How
will it be distributed? How
can it be organised and archived so it will be available
to others?
Which
web sites will be reviewed on a regular basis, which mailing
lists will be monitored?
Who
can contribute to the body of knowledge on the Net so as to
provide a high, visible profile for your organisation?
How
will online activities be integrated into your overall communication
strategy?
When
does it make sense to launch a web site? Who is responsible
for design and coordinating production? Who will manage
and maintain it?
How
can you integrate your web and print media design strategies?
5.
Integrating ICT requires a deliberate change
in your organisational culture.
The
Director's "buy-in" is the most important element.
Use
it for internal communication. No options. Try instant messaging
( e-mail pops up on staff's computer screens).
Need
an "official" Nudge É and a back-up Nudge.
Make
it a permanent agenda item at staff meetings.
Create
incentives. Make it part of each staff person's workplan.
Stay
positive. Celebrate successes. Make it fun.
6.
Be aware of the range of ICT tools available
to you.
Designate
someone on staff to "keep an eye" on new emerging
technologies.
Look
at how your colleagues or others in your network are applying
ICT in their work. Finds out what works Ð as well as problems
to avoid.
Be
proactive, but take care not to be on the "bleeding
edge" of ICT.
Know
when you are ready to use new technologies Ð and when you
aren't.
7.
Use ICT tools in an integrated way.
The
real benefit comes from the synergies of making these tools
work together.
The
tools need to be constantly reinforced Ð at staff meetings,
in planning sessions, in workplans, etc.
Be
selective about diseminating information. Make it succinct,
substantive, and annotate to make it relevant to local needs.
Be careful not to overwhelm people.
One
important goal: create an integrated web and broadcast list
strategy.
8.
Identify low-cost resources.
Online
In
your local community
From
colleagues working on similar issues and the umbrella organisation
that serves them
Within
other networks and communities of interest
Explore
group purchase of ICT hardware and software
9.
Consider the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and the Total Value
of Ownership (TVO) for ICT
In
determining TCO, budget for staff time to get "up-to-speed"
and institute procedural changes, training and technical
support, staff development, hardware and software upgrades,
increased need for higher bandwidth connectivity, etc.
To
take full advantage of its benefits, ICT should be deployed
in tandem with a change in the "way you work"
Consider
new ways to deliver services, new opportunities for collaboration
and partnership, new communication and public relations strategies,
and new ways to manage your organisation more efficiently,
10.
View technology as an ongoing operational
cost Ð not simply a capital expenditure
ICT
will need to be an item in your annual budget Ð just like
telephone service or printing
Plan
to upgrade every 18 Ð 36 months
Build
ICT expenditures into issue-based funding proposals
11.
Design for evaluation.
Monitor
how ICT is being used by staff and board.
Identify
and problem-solve around barriers .
Establish
feedback loops.
Make
your web sites interactive.
12.
Be realistic.
Know
that outcomes are not immediately tangible.
Goal:
Create a framework for the future.
But
know that once "over the hump," no organisation
ever turns back.
Developed
by Terry Grunwald for the Women Connect conference, November,
1999 in London. Revised March, 2001.
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