The Goal

The overall driving principles guiding the conceptual idea are those of community and significance.  What we lack in these areas we make up for in good intentions and determination, but those won’t provide the motivation needed for long-term organizational success or the regenerating energy needed for protection against a director’s or member’s loss of interest.  If there was a framework that could facilitate our groups functions in a manner that incorporated our membership and board members in a more meaningful way, I think we’d all benefit.  What would it look like?  Well, to me, it would look like community engagement.  People actively engaging in a collaborated effort towards a common goal.  Participation would involve the board while building up member participation and create organizational community that would be synergistically perpetual.

The Concept

Either a Professional Member or Board Member can submit a project proposal to the Board of Directors, (BOD).  The proposal would address the project’s scope, team members, associated costs, and timeline.  The proposal would be reviewed by the BOD for approval or disapproval.  If a project is disapproved the petitioner would be notified by email that their project was not approved along with an explanation.  Disapproval explanations might include recommendations for resubmittal or disapproval with prejudice.  An approved project would get a board member(s) assigned to it; the board assignee(s) would be the individual(s) most interested in the project proposed.  The assigned board member(s) would be tasked with overseeing the project to ensure projects’ progress and success.  They would help ensure that the project plan met the SMART goals to a reasonable degree.  Project files would be hosted in the google drive public folder during the project and archived to the WYGEO Board folder after.  The projects story would be told in a story map hosted on WYGEO’s AGOL account and shared to the public for organizational promotion.

Submitting a Project Proposal

A project proposal can be submitted by a WYGEO Professional Member(s), or BOD Member(s).  A project proposal template is available here.  Project proposals submitted without using the project proposal template will still be considered but may be subject to higher scrutiny.  Submission of a project can be done by emailing the proposal to projects@wygeo.org.  Please add “WYGEO Project Proposal” in the email’s header.  Once submitted the submitter will receive a replied confirmation email.

Project Proposal Review

Once received the BOD will both individually and collectively review the proposal.  The BOD will respond within one (1) month after the project proposal’s submission date with a decision of either Approved or Disapproved.

Approved Projects

An approved project will be one who has found a majority vote from the BOD as approved.  Approved projects will have a BOD member(s) assigned to them.  The assignee(s) will be responsible for project management guidance and support for the submitter as well as project updates to the BOD.

Disapproved Projects

A disapproved project will be one who has not found a majority vote from the BOD as approved.  Once a decision of disapproval is made the submitter will be notified of the disapproved status within twenty-for (24) hours of the date of disapproval.  The notification will include an “explanation of disapproval”, which will outline the contributing factors for disapproval. 

           A submitter can choose to amend and re-submit their disapproved proposed project based on the BOD’s comments in the explanation of disapproval up to one (1) time.  If the BOD decides by vote that the amended project proposal is disapproved, it will be disapproved with prejudice and will no longer be considered.

Project Management

The BOD assignee(s) should oversee and support managing project finances, contracts, operations, and schedules.

Scope/Schedule/Budget Tracking

The BOD assignee(s) should perform ongoing tracking and monitoring of the scope, schedule, and budget to keep the overall project on track while simultaneously communicating any specific requests from the submitter back to the BOD.  Any requested budget changes made by the submitter should have an accompanied estimated projected change in overall scope and schedule for review by the BOD.  The BOD assignee(s) should be involved with regular communication on project status to keep submitters focused and working efficiently.  Any additional necessary support can be requested from the BOD.

Project Reporting

The BOD assignee(s) will provide project status reports to the BOD on a schedule to be determined during the kickoff meeting.

Project Invoicing

The submitter will provide invoices to the BOD via the assignee whether on a month-to-month basis or by project milestones, the terms will be mutually agreed upon with the BOD during kickoff.

Kickoff

The submitter will set up the project for budget management and perform project startup tasks. The BOD will conduct a project kickoff meeting with The BOD assignee(s) overseeing the project, as well as the submitter and any others deemed appropriate to attend the meeting. The meetings’ intent will be to establish a solid understanding of the project goals, timeline, and approach. Project team members will be introduced at the kickoff meeting, and their project roles and responsibilities will be defined. The project schedule will be presented, with focus on the dates for key milestones, and the project management approach will be discussed.

Support

The BOD assignee(s) support can begin immediately after project approval.  Communication can get underway to investigate any issues or unknowns that can begin to be worked through and addressed.  With the mutually agreed project management system in place the support should remain accessible and reliable.  Support will continue to be provided as needed until the end of the project.