Municipal finance staff are often faced with travel limitations due to budgetary and timing constraints. As a way to increase accessibility to our training, my organization implemented a live stream option for in-class sessions. To create enriching learning opportunities for registrants attending in person, we design our training in such a way that it incorporates interactive and collaborative opportunities. I discover ways to translate what we do through our live stream platform, so people attending virtually can have a similar experience. Over the past year, the number of live stream attendees has steadily grown, and we have evolved in how we design and deliver our workshops. While attendees from the in-class session found the interactive components useful and engaging, a large percentage of live streamers were often multitasking or did not have adequate hardware to partake in the interaction. We reached a juncture that required re-examining of live stream and to recalibrate how we can further provide training that is accessible, while still using the existing technology that is available. Instead of continuously adapting, it is time to grow and evolve. My vision is to develop and deliver standalone synchronous sessions online that encompasses a learner centered design approach.

Unfortunately, there are competing priorities this year, and my goal of conducting workshops synchronously online will be on hold. As a result, the rest of this blog post will detail my project plan, potential barriers that I may face, and how I plan to overcome them.

I have developed a tentative plan that includes the following steps:

  1. Analysis – using surveys, interviews and questionnaires to gather data and information from speakers, potential attendees, and internal staff
  2. Research – use data from the analysis and look into best practices, existing models and studies that can provide additional insight in executing synchronous training online
  3. Plan – develop a budget, identify key stakeholders that are involved, and put together a comprehensive workback schedule
  4. Training – identify key players that will require training before executing new training format (individuals can include internal staff, speakers, subject matter experts, and potential attendees)
  5. Launch and Promotion – communicate new training format and determine ways to actively promote training
  6. Execute – host online synchronous online training session
  7. Review and Revise – using feedback from attendees, speaker(s) and reflecting on experience, create a plan for future improvements

The barriers that I anticipate relate to receiving buy in from our speakers. We are a non-profit association and often are speakers volunteer their time and expertise. How do we balance not adding too much to their workload, while still being innovative and forward thinking? There is not a simple solution to this, but Scott (2019) argues it is important to look “beyond the efficiency and cost savings, and realise the innovation potential”. Scott (2019) cautions and remind us that being dependent on outside resources can become an unsustainable solution and an increased risk. This argument expands beyond the context of using cloud technologies and can be applicable the scope of this project. What internal expertise do we have that we can leverage so that we can be self sustaining in the future?

Another potential barrier is being able to manage expectations when communicating with upper management. I have a direct manager that I report to, but there are also two department managers, an Executive Director, and Board Members, that will require periodical check ins. It will be important to identify and have a decision-making framework in place to ensure I will adequately manage the decision-making process (Cormier, 2017). With this knowledge, I need to adopt a flexible mindset when it comes to dealing with the power dynamics at play. By examining and understanding the politics and culture of a given problem, I will identify the barriers and use an entrepreneurial mindset to provide a solution to the issue (Conway, Masters, and Thorold, 2017). Identifying the roles and responsibilities of people involved will empower me to lead the charge, make decisions, and to know when to seek approval from upper management (Cormier, 2017).

In addition to managing the change from an empathetic standpoint, as the project manager, I will adopt project management skills that will allow me to be efficient and be in control of the tasks at hand (Watts, 2014). I will be mindful how internal and external factors may potentially affect the “project’s completion, timeline, scope, and cost” (Watts, 2014).

Anticipating the potential barriers and developing a process to manage them from the beginning will keep the project organized and on track. Unexpected circumstances will always arise, but being agile, responsive, and innovative with solutions will do a lot in helping to manage the uncertainty.

References

Conway, R., Masters, J., & Thorold, J. (2017). From design thinking to systems change: How to invest in innovation for social impact.  Retrieved from https://www.thersa.org/globalassets/pdfs/reports/rsa_from-design-thinking-to-system-change-report.pdf

Cormier, D. (2017, December 8). Our schools aren’t broken, they’re hard. [Blog post].

Scott, A. (2019, June 30). Why we need learning technologists. [Blog post]

Watts, A.  (2014).  Project Management.  Victoria, B.C.: BCcampus.  Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/projectmanagement/