InsideNGO's Operational Excellence Week
IT in the Field: 3 Workshops & Roundtable
February 20, 2012
Nairobi, Kenya
Overview
Productivity Tools, Virtual Meetings, Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity and a free-wheeling roundtable to discuss your IT concerns.
Reliable IT infrastructure is essential for effective programs and strong internal operations. Whether your organization has a five-person IT team or one person with IT responsibilities, join this one-day workshop on the IT systems and solutions that your organization should implement to meet critical operational benchmarks and field-tested NGO best practices. Participants will learn the important role that IT plays in meeting organizational objectives, enabling continued operations even during times of crisis, and empowering staff to make greater individual contributions.
This workshop will include three deep-dive modules and a free Roundtable meeting after the modules for participants to share their experiences and questions with peers. Deep-dive modules include:
- Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity in the Field – meeting IT’s responsibility for keeping business going during times of crisis
- Successful Virtual Meetings – IT solutions for improving internal communications
- Productivity Tools to Help You Professionally and Personally – help you and your staff do more in less time
Who Should Attend
IT staff, Operations and Program Staff with IT responsibilities
How do I register?:
Scroll down for the registration form and payment info. You can also register for this event by sending an email to workshops@InsideNGO.org and requesting a Registration Form. You can phone 203-226-3650 for further information on this workshop.
About the Trainers
William (Bill) Lester is the Interim Director of InsideNGO's Information Technology Program. Bill was the CIO at EngenderHealth for 13 years and helped both HQ and field deal with the business continuity problems that arise from keeping business systems up and running in difficult environments. Bill is a visionary in the use of information and communications technologies, and is a popular speaker at many industry gatherings. Bill is on the board of InsideNGO and Aspiration, a former NTEN board member, and is an NPOKI founding member. A strong proponent of social entrepreneurship, Bill works worldwide to promote and encourage other problem-solvers. His personal mission is “Imagine-Build-Connect."
Tentative Agenda
Module 1: Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity in the Field
How prepared are your offices for handling a major disaster, like a fire, earthquake, flood, civil disobedience, or employee sabotage? How long would it take for you and your team to get an office up and running again? How would you facilitate business continuing while you recover and rebuild? How do you insure reliable communications with disabled infrastructure? Is your organization's "master plan" for disaster recovery & business continuity realistic for your field offices in Africa?
Using case studies, best practices, and lessons-learned, this one-day workshop will help you to evaluate your organization’s readiness to deal with unforeseen situations which impact your ability to do business-as-usual. We'll discuss disaster preparedness and risk assessment, share sample disaster and continuity plans, walk you through the process of creating and evaluating your own plan, and discuss getting buy-in from your field and HQ management. We’ll cover:
- Disaster Response and Management
- Risk Assessment
- Recovery Strategy Assessment
- Recovery Planning
Module 2: Successful Virtual Meetings
With technology playing an increasing part in the management of our projects and programs, there is an expectation that we can take advantage of these tools to allow us to communicate better and to hold meetings without everyone being face-to-face. The truth is that these solutions have varying degrees of success, and definitely it’s not one-size-fits-all. We’ll discuss and share best practices and lessons learned about holding virtual meetings, with a focus on low resource environments and meetings that include HQ staff. We’ll cover:
- Conference calls
- Web-based collaboration tools
- Video Conference
- Synchronous and Asynchronous communications
- Mobile phone collaboration tools
- Managing virtual meetings
- Training staff
Module 3: Productivity Tools to Help You Professionally and Personally
Hi-tech tools used to be reserved for IT staff and NGOs with the largest budgets. Not anymore! Today’s tools are often free, easy to use, collaborative, and enable you to work from anywhere with staff around the globe. We’ll share some of our favorite tools, offer demonstrations, and facilitate a discussion of the favorite productivity tools that participants are using to help them in the work they do.
Information Technology Roundtable
We will hold a Roundtable session, bringing together InsideNGO members and colleagues discuss common issues, concerns, and solutions. Bring your questions and tips to this open forum meeting that will be facilitated by Bill Lester, InsideNGO.
Register/Payment Info
Step 1: Fill out the registration form below.
Step 2: Submit fee payment and be sure to meet the payment deadlines shown above. Click HERE for the payment form and instructions.
Please read our Administrative Policies below.
Payment Policy: Payment is due before the start of the workshop.
Cancellation / No Show Policy: Cancellation notification received in writing to
klayton@InsideNGO.org by the Regular Fee Payment deadline will be eligible for a full credit to a future workshop. Registrants who cancel after the Regular Fee Payment deadline will receive a credit of the fee paid less a $100 cancellation penalty. Registrants who do not show up for the workshop without prior notification will forfeit the full registration fee.Substitution Policy: Substitutions are accepted up to and including the date of the workshop. Please provide a written request to klayton@InsideNGO.org indicating the name of the original registrant and the name/contact information for the substitute attendee. Sharing of registrations is not permitted.
For more information regarding refund, complaint and/or program cancellation policies, please contact our offices at (203) 226-3650 or by email at klayton@InsideNGO.org.