PRIMER ACTIVITY: A list of Frequently Asked Questions

PRIMER ACTIVITY: A list of Frequently Asked Questions

Roger_jg 1182266765|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Not everything needs rules otherwise creativity and initiative would quickly be shut down. My approach to a minimum of governance will be dictated by the questions a prospective volunteer would ask about the organisation before getting involved.

The simple "who are you?" raises the question of the organisation's membership policy.

You have read the welcome page and browsed through the forum and have some ideas about the work done from a previous similar experience. What would be the 5 non-technical (i.e. not : where do I post messages?) questions you would ask before joining?

Re: PRIMER ACTIVITY: A list of Frequently Asked Questions

Roger_jg 1182835719|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Thanks to Teresa and Katie for their list of FAQs. I see the concerns of experienced volunteers who already had to face “organic” problems with online projects and organisations.

I think theses questions are very relevant but mine will be different. I will try to go back in time when I knew little about OV and try to remember what I looked for first before joining and OVO (Online Volunteering Organisation)

1. What kinds of projects are supported by the organisation?

I would preferably to do something I am qualified for or for which I have an interest.

2. How much time will I need to spend online?

This is important as I have only a limited amount of time to give (the initial “one hour a day” did turn into a 2 hours a day at some point…)

3. Who is being the organisation?

I am always concerned by the political, religious or other ties of an organisation. This does not mean I would not support an organisation which does not share my ideas, but there are important principles to respect.

4. What contribution am I suppose to make?

This is the “nitty gritty” of the work itself. Translation work usually bores me, as do looking for information, but some people enjoy this kind of work.

5. Will I have an opportunity to network and exchange ideas with other people?

This is very important for me as I enjoy interacting with others.

Of course after several months doing some OV, my questions would now be very different and much more in line with those of Katie and Teresa!

~R

Re: PRIMER ACTIVITY: A list of Frequently Asked Questions

Teresa Flanagan 1182378249|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Hi Roger: Here are a couple of questions I would ask:
1. What is the success rate of finished projects in your organisation?
2. What is the average time frame from beginning to completion of your projects?
3. Approximately how many hours a week, minimally, would I be expected to be online?
4. Is the person leading the project, a facilitator, a project co-odinator, an expert? ie. describe their role
5. Do you partner with other non profit organisations?
6. Is fundraising involved?

These are just a few that come to mind at the moment. More to come, I'm sure, Teresa

Re: PRIMER ACTIVITY: A list of Frequently Asked Questions

Roger_jg 1182397716|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Hi Teresa,

Thank you for taking the plunge and posting the first contribution to this part of the discussion.

Interesting questions indeed and I see that they could be asked both by someone who would like to contribute and by a community requesting help.

Let's keep the questions coming. I'll do a summary of the most frequent FAQs in a few days. They will be useful both for defining good governance practice but also in the Scope of Action of the forum!

We could then start to think about addressing these questions at a later stage.

~R

PS: To add your list of questions, reply to the STICKY post. To reply or comment on my post, please reply to this posting!

Facilitation

timedesk 1182500675|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

As to the role of facilitator I would like to add a different vision. By narrowing down the facilitator as a person we create a boxed in approach, which could mean lack of facilitors in the end obstructs progress. In my definition a facilitor would be anyone or any company or institution that contributes in reaching community goals, whether as sponsor, partner, coach or whatever role you can imagine.

Maybe it will be even more clear to outsiders if we would not even use the phrase facilitator in the first place …

Re: PRIMER ACTIVITY: A list of Frequently Asked Questions

SolinaJoki 1182730093|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Here are the questions that I would want to ask before joining an on-line philanthropic organization:

1. Can I see examples of successfully completed projects?

2. What time commitment is required on the part of the volunteer? What are the consequences of not meeting this time commitment (i.e. Are volunteers who join but never participate removed from the system, so that there is an accurate representation of volunteers available?)

3. How are the projects financed? Is fundraising done within this organization, by the community, or by partnered organizations?

4. What is the scope of projects undertaken both in terms of size of undertaking (books for a school versus building the school) and areas of undertaking (education, health, wat/san)?

5. How is the link to the community maintained? What provisions are in place for areas that have unreliable/no internet service?

These certainly have a lot in common with Teresa's list. I have tried to broaden some of them. For instance, rather than "is fundraising involved?," I have put forth a more general question of "where does the money for the project come from?" I really like Teresa's item #5. Very important. I also agree with the word finished in item #1! My belief is that projects are exciting and easy to start, and get more boring and difficult as they progress, as a rule.

This has brought up a number of questions in my mind, which I will bring up in the appropriate places on the site. It was an interesting exercise. Thanks Roger.

Katie
Katie

Re: PRIMER ACTIVITY: A list of Frequently Asked Questions

Teresa Flanagan 1182779387|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Hi Katie: I completely agree with point number 4 regarding the scope of the project. It is wonderful to think "big",ie. building a school, but that is no small project, and the ongoing, continual dedication of online volunteers has to be in place for the many steps that it takes for this to succeed. I think a new organisation has to start out with smaller projects, develop a track record and some dedicated volunteers that have been motivated by previous successes.

Re: PRIMER ACTIVITY: A list of Frequently Asked Questions

timedesk 1182804918|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

In my recent projects I have learned that, by listening carefully, it's possible to divide the big issue into smaller lots, You could create seperate business ideas that can in the end provide the fianances to fund the big project. By creating sub projects it also becomes easier to interest sponsors, donors, bank's etc as the financial commitment is far less than , ask voor the lump sum to build the school. As long as you don't loose the core vision, this might be a workable model.

Re: PRIMER ACTIVITY: A list of Frequently Asked Questions

Siegfried Woldhek 1183192057|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

How about the more subconscious questions such as:

* can I trust the organization that runs the website?
* who is the person / the group that I am assisting?
* how do I know their questions are for real?
* how can I see the effect of my time and effort

Re: PRIMER ACTIVITY: A list of Frequently Asked Questions

Roger_jg 1183367921|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

A different set of questions but all very important!

Indeed, how do we know that the people are genuine on both side of the keyboard?

Would some institutional backing on the one hand and ground survey on the other reassure potential online volunteers?

~R