Managing Nonprofit Technology Projects: January 10-11th, New York City

I'm really excited to announce Idealware's very first live event. In partnership with Aspiration, we're sponsoring an informal conference on Managing Nonprofit Technology Projects, scheduled for January in New York City. We're doing some final nailing down of the date, but we're tentatively planning on January 10th- 11th (and will finalize the date next week).

We're going to do a formal announcement and outreach early next week, but I wanted to post it here first to see if any of you had concerns or suggestions about the event or the announcement. Anything we should be taking into account before we publicize this in a bigger way?

Here's the details:

Managing Nonprofit Technology Projects will examine the tools and best practices that will help nonprofits deliver successful technology solutions - whether websites, packaged software implementations, or custom applications.

Interactive sessions and demos will allow a diverse group of participants to compare processes, tools, successes, and lessons learned. We will discuss areas such as team collaboration, project planning, software selection, migration, and project rollout, and map out the software tools – from project management packages to collaborative communication to issue tracking and more – that support successful technology projects.

Aspiration’s skill in facilitating practitioner knowledge combined with Idealware’s experience in providing mental frameworks and research based information will ensure an informal, collaborative, and information-rich event.

What’s On the Agenda?
The agenda will be designed specifically to ensure participants interact with and learn from each other, while also providing a solid grounding in essential topics. Some of the sessions will include:

• Anatomy of a Well-Managed Technology Project: Drawing from case studies good, bad and ugly, this session will focus on key aspects of successful project management.
• What Should a Web Site Cost? Using anecdotal data and participant input, we will explore costing for different types of web sites, from simple “brochure-ware” sites to custom, database-backed applications and points in between.
• Using Wikis for Effective Collaboration: This session will map out best practices and techniques for successfully utilizing wiki technology for project collaboration. Also discussed will be when not to use wikis, and when more structured information sharing tools are advisable.
• Managing Consultants and Dealing with Vendors: This peer sharing workshop will invite participants to compare their processes and tactics for managing critical project relationships that fall outside of organizational boundaries.
• Software Share: Basecamp, MS Project, DreamTeam and more: Nonprofit practitioners will provide a variety of 10-15 minute software demos to allow participants to see the packages in real-life situations and compare the strengths and weaknesses.

See the full description of the event for more sessions.


Who Should Come?
This event will focus on growing the community of nonprofit technology project managers by providing support to those currently practicing as project managers, recruiting and offering support to those new to (or bewildered by) this craft, and creating a space for the "accidental project managers" to share their stories, discover their allies, and grow into more "intentional" project managers. A significant part of the event will be built around mentoring relationships; experienced individuals with knowledge and stories to share will collaborate with participants who want to learn more.

How Do I Get Involved?
Interested in hearing more? View the full description of the event online

We are in the process of setting up the registration process, as well as email mailing list for key registration information and for helping to shape the agenda. At the moment, if you have questions or are eager to be involved, drop us a line at mntp@idealware.org.