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Technology Initiative 2001
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- What's this about?
- A demonstration of member concern for the importance of upgrading the ways
that the Association uses technology to communicate with the branch and state
organizations and individual members.
- How did this start?
- An individual member hatched
this idea. It did not come from the Association staff or leadership.
It has not been presented to the Board. It has been supported by the member's
branch board.
- So is this just about upgrades
to the Association infrastructure?
- Yes, that is the initial vision. Certainly upgrades to the Association infrastructure
and practices will not have their full effect if the technology use of the
branches and members lags behind. However, the systems at the Association
affect us all, and until they are working smoothly, we won't be able to achieve
maximum efficiencies at the local level. The new 21st Century Branch program
will hopefully be a catalyst for changes in the branches.
- Why is this issue being raised
now?
- How long have you been hearing frustrations about getting accurate membership
information and other data from the Association? The member who started this
had been having discussions with Association representatives since the 1999
Convention and nothing had appeared to change. She's taking advantage of the
2001 Convention to give the issue some visibility and make sure we're not
in the same place in 2003. She has collected sample comments, both frustrations
and ideas that have been brought up during
this conversation.
- What are members being asked
to do?
- Think about this issue and how they can help. Consider if they wish to join
a mailing list that will discuss technology related issues after Convention.
Write down the reasons that this is important to them. Inform the Association
if they have significant resources (e.g. money or professional expertise)
that they would be willing to donate to an Association directed project.
- Why isn't this a "pledge
drive" in a traditional sense?
- It started that way, but discussions with Sandy Bernard and Jackie Woods
(who were both very generous with their time during the hectic last week before
Convention) changed the focus somewhat. The idea was not described in a way
that made sense to the average member, so it became apparent that taking it
to Convention as a pledge drive for contributions would cause significant
confusion. Jackie has a vision of what needs to change at the Association,
and she has already started an IT needs assessment. She does not see a need
at this time for an infusion of funds for Technology in particular. So there
will be forms at Convention for people to "pledge concern" and provide
specifics of how they could help -- online forms will appear here based on
discussions in Austin.
- What if I still have no idea
what you're talking about?
- Don't worry about it. There is no motion on the table, no Association fund
drive planned, and no issue that needs immediate action. Some members will
"get" this instantly -- depend on them to represent your interests
while you concentrate on the AAUW priorities that are of concern to you. If
the Association does need your help here, marketing and development professionals
will craft a message that you will understand.
- What happened in Austin?
- About 40 members from about 20 states completed forms pledging their concern.
About half of them wanted to continue the discussion after Convention.
- How can I help?
- Fill out the Pledge
Form. If that doesn't seem to "fit" your concerns, send a note
to shoemaker@acm.org with your comments
or join the Webmgrs list to contribute to the discussion (see below).
- How else can I help?
- Send this URL (http://www.mindspring.com/~it2001/)
to your friends who have expressed concerns about getting accurate membership
lists or other data to or from the Association.
- More information
- Letter to the AAUW leaders, 6-Jun-01
Comments from those who have pledged
The pledge campaign data was forwarded to Pam Furneaux at the Association
on 25-Sep-01 (sorry for the delay), and she has agreed to send periodic updates
to those who said they wanted to get e-mail on this subject. Sept
26 update
March 17, 2002 update
September 30, 2002 update
Technology discussions are continuing on the WebMgrs list. To subscribe, send
the message
SUBSCRIBE WEBMGRS Firstname Lastname
to "listserv@elists.aauw.org".
For more information on other technology discussions stemming from the 2001
Convention, see
http://www.acm.org/~shoemaker/nes/2001AAUWConvention/
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Nancy
Shoemaker
7009 Jeffrey Dr.
Raleigh, NC 27603
shoemaker@acm.org
Last updated:
03-Oct-2002