Overview
This discussion board is a place for your team to craft a submission for M5.2: Collaborative Assignment: Technology and Communication Plan. Once you have completed your discussion, one team member will compile the information into a submission for the assignment.
Your team will detail your Office of Public Engagement technology and communication plan.
There are three parts to the technology and communication plan. (Our part is PART 2 only)
Part 1
The technology portion of the document should address technology needs for your Office of Public Engagement and address any cybersecurity considerations that may be of importance. You do not have to come up with a complete list of every technology that will need to be used by the office but you need to consider the types of technologies that are needed.
Part 2
The communication portion of your plan should include not only a plan for officially communicating with the public but should also address how social media will be leveraged.
Have you ever created a technology plan? Technology plans are going to be a comprehensive look at the technology assets and functions of your OPE. This will include equipment, software, cybersecurity, etc. YOU DO NOT NEED TO ADD IT STAFF TO YOUR OFFICE – YOU WILL HAVE ACCESS TO IT STAFF THROUGH YOUR ORGANIZATION. You are going to want to do a little research on things to include in your Technology plan – so here are some sources to get you started. They are not going to be a perfect template but should give you some good ideas on what to include in your plan.
- https://www.dnlomnimedia.com/blog/nonprofit-technology-plan/#:~:text=Establish%20your%20team.,Implement%20your%20planLinks to an external site..
- https://www.headstart.gov/organizational-leadership/article/whats-involved-technology-planningLinks to an external site.
- https://www.smartygrants.com/help-sheets/preparing-a-technology-plan-for-your-organisationLinks to an external site.
- https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2005/tech_suite/part_1.aspLinks to an external site.
Herer are some things I encourage you to consider the following (this is not all inclusive though):
- What are your IT needs?
- Who are you stakeholders?
- What are your equipment needs & do they match your budget from last week? (think beyond laptops – i.e. phones, ipads, tablets, etc) NOTE: If you need to update your equipment needs beyond what you requested in your budget, the technology plan is where you can do that.
- How will you manage network security?
- Will staff need at remote access? VPN?
- What are your software needs? Do you need to purchase licenses?
- What are your digital tools and digital platform needs? Consider this from a security access position
- Consider researching community engagement software
- Does staff need any IT training?
Communication plans on the other hand, are the front facing part of the OPE. The part that is directly connected to the folks you will serve. Again – do your research – here are some sources to get you started:
- https://www.ca-ilg.org/public-engagement-technologyLinks to an external site.
- https://www.nonprofitam.org/guidelines-and-principles-communicationLinks to an external site.
- https://www.anedot.com/blog/nonprofit-communication-strategyLinks to an external site.
Things to consider (again, not all inclusive):
- What is your target audience? Who are you communicating with?
- What are your communication objectives?
- Different groups have different ways to communicate (think generationally) – how can you capitalize communication with all of those groups?
- What tools can you use to communicate with constituents?
- How can you share your “content” with the public?
- How often will you need to update content?
- Who is responsible for managing public information?
This tasking is more extensive than your past taskings and while you will probably split these two parts, make sure both your technology plan and your communication plan are aligned when you bring it all together.