Arts Wire SpiderSchool: What is Technology Planning

Alliance for Artists Communities:
Integration of Technology Planning With Strategic Planning

There are two clauses in our strategic plan that aim to keep technology as a constant in Alliance operations:

Guiding Principles & Operational Practices
Whenever possible, the Alliance uses technology such as the Internet and electronic mail to facilitate distribution of information and member access to the Alliance database.

National Agenda/ Communications
The Alliance will communicate the values and activities of the organization through regular press releases, high quality publications, a web site, expanded outreach efforts and press coverage, while also investigating other media such as CD-roms, videos, or a picture-book history of the field.

Integration of technology into the strategic planning process
The Alliance has a strategic plan in place that was developed with significant board and constituent input; the plan was recently adopted with unanimous support at the 2000 Annual Member Meeting. Although technology is addressed in the strategic plan and has always been an important element of the Alliance's operations, members expressed the need to more fully leverage technology's capacity to aid in the fulfillment of the Alliance's mission and services.

During the 2001 calendar year, the Alliance plans to:

* make content improvements to the web site,
* institute a member listserv,
* continue to survey members and other arts service organizations about their technology needs,
* upgrade/purchase equipment (including a PC, digital camera, and a new phone system),
* upgrade our Internet connection to DSL,
* begin more intensive staff training,
* test shareware programs (like a donation page) on our web site to determine future needs. .

These developments will prepare us for a comprehensive technology project in 2002-2003 in which the Alliance will fully integrate technology into the delivery of member services and support of our national agenda through an interactive web site and online searchable database. These two goals - delivery of member services and promotion of our national agenda - are at the core of the Alliance' long-term strategic plan.

Accountability to our strategic plan and its mission and goals has guided technology planning efforts every step of the way. After careful review, the Technology Committee will present a draft of the technology plan to the board for adoption. The tech plan will then be distributed among members for final approval as an addendum to our strategic plan. Technology issues and goals will be reviewed in Alliance strategic planning board sessions as well as at Annual Member Meetings. As with other board committees, the technology committee will give a report as a part of each board meeting agenda.

Board involvement in technology planning and implementation
The Alliance established a Technology Committee with overlapping members in the Communications Committee in order to better coordinate the efforts of these two initiatives. The committee is composed of board members, technologically savvy volunteers, and directors/staff of member organizations.

The technology committee will meet quarterly in its first year. Meetings will occur with greater frequency during 2002 and 2003 for the implementation of the interactive web site and database.

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