Today well cover Tools and activities that can help you Think about what you are doing and why Plan ahead create structure make a road map increase likelihood of success Get multiple people on the same page ID: 356310
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Slide1
Tools for Getting Started on Your ProjectSlide2
Today we’ll cover…
Tools and activities that can help you:
Think about what you are doing and why
Plan ahead – create structure, make a road map, increase likelihood of success
Get multiple people on the same page
Translate planning into action
Be effective with time managementSlide3
The SuperVAD is an important tool!
Some
context: who, what, when, why
Ways your
SuperVAD
can be useful
Limits of the
SuperVADSlide4
Visioning: What do we want success to look like?
What is your host site’s goal for this project?
If everything goes well, how will this project impact the community/individuals served?
Personally, what are your highest hopes and dreams for your work on this project?Slide5
One strategy for planning
Start with your goal and work backwards. What will it take to get there?Slide6
Logic modelsSlide7
A simple logic model
Inputs
Activities
Outputs
Outcomes
Money
Staff
(time, skills)
Volunteers (time, skills)
Curriculum
Books and materials
Classroom space
Weekly parent/ child activities
Literacy activities
in OST program 3 times a week
1-1 tutoring
College visits
15 children ages 3-5 participated in parent-child activities
50 children matched with a tutor
Students taken on 5 college visits
81% of children who participated in at least 5 parent/child activities demonstrated increased school readiness skills
65% of children who participated in our afterschool program demonstrated increased test scoresSlide8
Beyond input, activities, outputs and outcomes….
Community impact
(Theory of change)Slide9
Homework
Find out – does your program already have a logic model (or something similar?)
If not, it could be a helpful to create one. Check with your supervisor.Slide10
Where does VISTA capacity-building fit in?
Improving and/or increasing the inputs
And depending on the project,
H
elping shape the activities
Helping to determine appropriate outputs and outcomes
Inputs
Money
Staff
(time, skills)
Volunteers (time, skills)
Curriculum
Books and materials
Classroom spaceSlide11
A helpful exercise
Back it up a step and create another logic model for your VISTA project and make connections to how it feeds into the program logic modelSlide12
VISTA project logic model
Inputs
Activities
Outputs
Outcomes
VISTA
member
Site supervisor & other staff
Green Book
Resources from: MLC, VISTA cohort, host site, community
CAPACITY BUILDING!!
Build community partnerships
Create a volunteer manual
Write volunteer position descriptions
Create training modules
Develop curriculum
Create marketing materials and an outreach plan
Create a development calendar with grant deadlines
Develop a new database for tracking
Number of community partnerships established
Number of volunteers recruited
Number of staff and volunteers trained
Amount of money leveraged
Increase in volunteer engagement or retention
Increase in funding
Increase in number of people served
Increase in services offered
Increased efficiency
Increased effectiveness of programsSlide13
Taking actionSlide14
Getting organized
Set goals!
Break projects up into manageable tasks and write them down.
Prioritize.
Give yourself deadlines.
Review your goals and tasks regularly.Slide15
To-do lists
Tips & tricks for time management and prioritizing with to-do lists?
Get the most out of your to-do list:
If you can do it in two minutes or less, don’t write it on the to-do list. Do it and move on.
All things being equal, do the hardest, least fun thing first to get it over with.
Cut big jobs into small chunks (more on this later!)
Update your list regularly; checking things off feels great!Slide16
Time management
Email
Flag for follow-up
Color-code similar items
Create inbox folders for sorting
Disabling features for better focus
Rule of thumb: keep up with emails so you never have to scroll down to see them.
Calendar
Use it!
Set deadlines
Reminder function
Accessible on any device
Or… use a planner/paper calendar.
PassionPlanner.comSlide17
Time Management, Cont.
Apps &
websites
Myhours.com
Toggl.com
Manictime.com
Todoist.com
Rememberthemilk.com
myMemorizer.com
Other suggestions?Slide18
SMART goals
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-boundSlide19
SMART goals
Bad example: “I want to get more exercise.”
Better:
“I will walk for 30 minutes, 3 times a week for the next 3 months.”Slide20
Action planning
Identify a specific project (better yet – write a SMART goal)
List out all of the tasks you will need to complete (action steps).
Identify what resources you will need to accomplish each action step and what key people are involved. *Should some tasks be delegated to others?Slide21
Action planning
Identify any potential challenges.
Assign
each action step a
deadline.
Prioritize. Which tasks are essential, and which would be good if there’s extra time?
Track results. How will you know if you’re successful?Slide22
Me – We - You
Identify goal
List action steps
Identify resources
Identify challenges
Assign deadlines
Prioritize
Track resultsSlide23Slide24
Try it out!
Get in a small group
Pick a goal
Work together to fill out your action steps, resources, challenges, timeline, priority, and marker of success on the worksheet
Slide25
Questions?
Ellen Bergstrom
eberstrom@mnliteracy.org
Amy Krill
akrill@mnliteracy.org