User:Randyfisher/TORs/Project Services

= Project Services =

At iCentro Networks, we specialize in Collaborative Engagement: an inclusive, participatory and integrated Organization Development approach for continuous and aligned stakeholder engagement and collaboration, and change/transition management. We have considerable expertise in the blended use of collaborative and social networking technologies to support face-to-face and virtual meetings for greater stakeholder buy-in, ownership and performance. Randy Fisher (aka WikiRandy), MA, OMD is the lead consultant in the Collaborative Engagement practice area. Check out his CE blog!

Strategic Planning / Visioning [[Image:Green-Tick.svg|35px]]
Consultant facilitates strategic planning process to engage key stakeholders in a high level of meaningful collaboration and participation, to ensure that that decisions are based on current realities, organization culture and emerging opportunities. Our six-step strategic planning process begins with developing a common vision of the organization’s future and leads to the construction of an implementation timeline complete with assignments, deadlines and scheduled review sessions: (1) Examining the Current State; (2) Mapping out the Practical Vision; (3) Analyzing the Challenges and Barriers;(4) Setting Strategic Directions; (5) Designing Systematic Actions; and (6) Developing the Implementation Timeline.

Benefits

 * Stakeholder alignment, buy-in and clarity on strategic direction
 * High level of inclusiveness and participation
 * Implementation-focused
 * Development of cohesive, motivated and committed team

Strategic Partnering & Alliance Management [[Image:Green-Tick.svg|35px]]
Consultant will facilitate the assessment, negotiation, management, coordination and implementation of strategic partnerships / alliances and support value-added stakeholder participation, while being cognizant of complexity and strategic alignment, group dynamics, organization culture, language, goals and objectives and opportunities for internetworking and leverage.

Benefits

 * Viable alliances and partnerships that deliver on promises, objectives
 * Aligned communication, reporting and results
 * Extended inter-networking/bridging at different levels of the partnership / alliance
 * Strengthened trust, rapport and productive working relationships

Environmental / Organizational Scan [[Image:Green-Tick.svg|35px]]
Consultant will gather and analyze data (primary and secondary sources), communicate and interpret business (organization) environment information for tactical or strategic (scenario development) purposes. The scan is a comprehensive review of key issues and possible impacts (i.e., political, government / regulatory, societal/demographic, cultural, environmental, business, etc.), and is for tactical or strategic (scenario development) purposes.

Benefits

 * Provides valuable input to strategic decision-making process, including strategic foresight / scenario development
 * Identifies current and emerging issues (i.e., outlier / disruptions / game-changers)
 * Builds stakeholder readiness and buy-in for project implementation
 * Supports development of shared vision and approach for the organization

Needs Analysis (Learning Community) [[Image:Green-Tick.svg|35px]]
A Community Needs Analysis identifies and addresses "gaps” between face-to-face vs. online and blended learning program/course design and/or delivery. Activities include: identifying material problems/deficits /weaknesses and advantages/opportunities/strengths; interests and motivations of (groups of) learners; and evaluation of solutions. Using an action research approach, immediate implementation and iterative development / rapid prototyping is also possible.

Benefits

 * Increased breadth and level of participation
 * Increased learner motivation and retention
 * Easier transition to online (blended) learning program delivery
 * Faster growth growth and sustainability (Learning Community)

Organization Development & Culture Change/Transition [[Image:Green-Tick.svg|35px]]
Consultant analyzes the organization and its culture from a whole systems perspective; involves people in the change/transition process and focuses on readiness (and barriers / resistance) for change/transition, learning and adaptation. S/he helps increase organizational effectiveness through understanding the context/issues/forces/events; identifying stakeholder interests and facilitating dialogue; setting the right direction and buy-in at different organizational levels; and aligning the organization and its culture to its strategic objectives and operational and financial metrics.


 * Organizational change focuses on external events which impact an organization (i.e., merger, acquisition, government change, economic events, technology, new leader, etc.).


 * Organizational transition is a complex, dynamic process that people go through in dealing with change. For Bridges (2003), there are three (3) transition phases including: (1) Endings (2) Neutral Zone - "in-between state"; (3) Beginnings. In transition, people 'lose' their identity before creating a new one. They don't have a clear picture or purpose, and consequently, resist change and their role in it. It is important for them to have assistance - managing expectations, and helping people navigate through the transition. Transitions include, but are not limited to: role change, M&As, job loss, reorganizations, etc.

Reference: Bridges, William (2003). Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change, 2nd edition. Perseus Books Group.

Benefits

 * Actively involve stakeholders and secure their buy-in and ownership
 * Reduce fear, anxiety and resistance through planned culture change
 * Increase the organization's ability to innovate and respond to emerging opportunities
 * Strengthen leadership capacity, relationship building and flexibility
 * Increase return-on-investment and sustainability


 * for Individuals (i.e., career development, performance, coaching/mentoring, training/e-learning)
 * For Teams (i.e., team-building, role-setting, distributed/self-managed work teams)
 * for InterGroup relations (i.e., process consultation, partnering/alliances, and 3rd-party negotiations)
 * for the Organization (i.e., socio-technical systems, strategic planning/visioning, continuous improvement, total quality management and leadership development)

for Organizations
Consultant assesses stakeholder engagement approach, alignment, communications and feedback loops and organizational responses and culture, and recommends timely and appropriate interventions for greater buy-in, ownership and performance to facilitate, support and guide strategies, policies and decisions.

for Communities (Teams, Departments & Learning Communities)
We use an integrated Organization Development approach to build sustainable and scalaeable communities, and ensure stakeholder buy-in, ownership and pride. Our inclusive, highly-participatory and blended approach supports effective engagement, collaboration and action research. We leverage our knowledge of, and relationship with WikiEducator and the International Centre for Open Education / Open Education Resource Foundation in New Zealand, for strategic partnerships and joint-venture opportunities and national and international recognition.

for ICTs, Social Media and Websites
Consultant examines ICT / social media / website purpose, underlying values, key stakeholders and their desired functionality, and evaluates the general appeal, ease of navigation, scope of site, help/tutorials, usability from different parameters (i.e., age, gender, culture, technical proficiency, community engagement, intended ICT use, etc.)

Benefits

 * Increase return-on-investment
 * Clear branding, and increased profile and visibility
 * Better alignment between strategy and implementation
 * Increased community engagement and relationship-building
 * Greater use, communications and leverage among and between organizational departments (i.e., marketing, communications, HR, member services)
 * Project / Program Implementation - engage your stakeholders to achieve goals and objectives
 * Partnering - engage multidisciplinary partners through blended to achieve desired goals and objectives via blended collaboration (F2F and virtual)
 * Member Services - engage, recruit and retain stakeholders
 * Sustainability - engaging stakeholder to effectively work together (through project implementation)
 * Succession - attract and retain stakeholders
 * Knowledge Management - how to increase knowledge-sharing; accelerate transfer of knowledge and capacity-building.
 * Knowledge portals
 * Communities of Practice
 * Mentoring

Program / Project Management, Coordination & Implementation [[Image:Green-Tick.svg|35px]]
Consultant manages and coordinates the implementation of a program or project using an integrated Organization Development approach to support meaningful stakeholder collaboration and involvement. Our methodology includes:


 * designing an integrated OD approach in alignment with your strategic objectives, organizational culture, leadership competencies and available resources;
 * Applying a community-of-practice approach to traditional project management
 * Integrating appreciative inquiry (AI), generative dialogue and inclusive, participatory action research and a learning systems ecology.
 * Using Web2.0 / social media (blogs, wikis, instant messaging) tools for increasing stakeholder engagement, and integrating and leveraging (website) communications, learning and collaboration.
 * Building Sustainable Projects, Communities & Networks

Online Program Management [[Image:Green-Tick.svg|35px]]

 * University or College Education with emphasis on online learning program design, (elearning, instructional technologies, or educational technology), administration, and management
 * Strong experience in online course & seminar development including instructional design, with successful revenue generation track record
 * In-depth business understanding in online marketing including revenue models, social media, traffic generation, search engine optimization, CRM, online target marketing, as well as analyzing research and Google performance metrics
 * Extensive competency in Web/Online strategy, design and development
 * Ability to execute workflow design concepts from thumbnail to proof
 * Experience in managing online program administration, including managing budgets and revenue generation.

Monitoring and Evaluation (Outcome Mapping) [[Image:Green-Tick.svg|35px]]
Consultant monitors and evaluates projects using a diverse variety of techniques, approaches and qualitative and quantitative methods (including case studies, survey research, statistical analysis, etc.). Findings are communicated to enhance individual and organization learning, leadership innovation and performance.

Outcome mapping adds value to existing planning M&E methods: (1) Defines the system borders, roles and responsibilities where the program operates; (2) Identifies the prominent actors (and behaviours) who are the ongoing drivers of the changes; and (3) Sets milestones that mark the path of change. OM recognizes the limits of a project's influence (i.e., time, geography, resources, contacts, politics), and helps shape planning, learning, and accountability functions around “outcomes”, which are further ‘upstream’ from impacts.

Benefits

 * Outcome-focused (i.e., beyond simple inputs - how many meetings, users, website hits, publications and impacts - decrease in learner dropout rate; new policies, access to learning community, etc.)
 * Behavior-change focused (i.e., projects, partners, stakeholders)
 * Delivery of program interventions in context of evolving situation and context
 * Demonstrable partner- and network-relationships that sustain change when program / project ends
 * Visible progress indicators (i.e., dashboard for depth of change; visual signals that sustained (social) change is occurring; milestones, spectrum of transformation)

Performance Analysis/Interventions [[Image:Green-Tick.svg|35px]]
Consultant will recommend, design, test, implement and evaluate timely performance interventions to increase learner confidence and skill development and community cohesiveness, to address individual/group dynamics and gaps identified in the Needs Analysis.

Benefits

 * Prioritize gaps in alignment with organization culture and business results.
 * Adapt, modify and evaluate business processes informed by stakeholder feedback. (Performance Analysis, Action Learning)
 * Focus on continuous and iterative process improvement, using action research
 * Mitigate fear, anxiety and resistance to change (including using ICTs), and build stakeholder confidence, mastery
 * Leverage peer group knowledge and dynamics to increase productivity and motivation
 * Support learners to fully engage in their own learning, including developing (online) community leadership behaviour and job-relevant social media and digital literacy skills.

Leadership Development / Capacity-Building [[Image:Green-Tick.svg|35px]]
Consultant facilitates the development of an improved leadership development architecture for a practical and sustainable metamorphosis in mindset and style. Leaders learn to shift paradigms, take risks, build enduring relationships and partnerships, challenge each other, empower and motivate in difficult times, stimulate innovation and creativity, build common ground, leverage all the talent in the organization, communicate directly and authentically, listen deeply, model, coach and mentor successfully, make congruent decisions, get the most out of their people, influence skilfully with integrity.

The overarching goal is to help leaders build their competencies, practice new skills and broaden the trajectory of what is possible and accelerate the process of transformation in their organizations

Benefits

 * Increase self-awareness and apply learning to deal with change to increase performance (of self, and others)
 * Achieve mastery in leadership competencies
 * Build capacity in others to for greater organizational agility and flexibility
 * Accelerate the process of organizational transformation

Team Building & Valuing Diversity [[Image:Green-Tick.svg|35px]]
Consultant encourages and values the participation and involvement of everyone on the team, to lead and foster productive relationships and coalitions at all levels of seniority (internally and externally); and supports people to value diversity of all types (i.e., gender, race, class, culture, personality types) while building and maintaining positive relationships and networks with all stakeholders. They develop powerful strategies and communicate clearly and directly. They use continuous check-ins and feedback mechanisms for managing diverse perspectives and diffusing conflict. This development clears the way for renewed trust, re-establishing alignment on goals and measures of success; shifting them from limited productivity to dynamic resourcefulness, infusing the organization with their enthusiasm, energy and can-do attitude.

Benefits
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 * A deeper understanding of the business and organizational challenges;
 * Increased resilience and resourcefulness during times of change;
 * Intense level of commitment and alignment to team mission and goals and an agreed upon working approach;
 * Acceptance of both individual and mutual accountability for contribution, performance and results;
 * Ability to demonstrate and leverage cross-learnings and apply them outside their team environment;

Virtual / Online Collaboration for Teams [[Image:Green-Tick.svg|35px]]
Consultant will review, analyze and make modifications to team workflow and online collaboration, to ensure a high level of performance and engagement activities for project implementation, skills development, information-sharing and knowledge transfer. We use proven change management strategies (aligned to your culture) to strengthen stakeholder buy-in and ownership; address fear and anxiety and barriers and resistance to change; and leverage complexity and self-organizing behaviour.

Benefits

 * Easier implementation
 * Stakeholder engagement
 * Reduced travel and logistical costs
 * Mitigated challenges faced in getting stakeholders to use collaborative technologies (i.e., wikis, blogs, social media)
 * Accelerated performance and improve real-time, near-time and asynchronous communications

Professional Development & Learning Communities [[Image:Green-Tick.svg|35px]]
Consultant will review, analyze, recommend and make modifications to professional development curricula based on qualitative and quantitative data collection, to ensure a high level of learning and skills/knowledge transfer in the online learning environment. Consultant may delivery portions of the online program, either directly to learners or to facilitators (i.e., Train-the-Trainer).

Learning Communities can be designed with appropriate curricula and pedagogic capacities, with key employees/stakeholder champions and influencers who are engaged, coached and mentored to lead within the larger community and sub-communities to sustain innovation, change and growth and implement strategies and policies for achieving your organization's stated mission.

Learning Communities

 * are strategically-designed and aligned to organizational vision, mission and culture
 * are an inclusive and participatory action-oriented model for continuous engagement across time and distance,
 * sustainably and scaleably evolve existing face-to-face and elearning training into ongoing global networked conversations
 * facilitate competency development and leadership behaviour, and
 * disseminate and implement the latest evidence for improving your professional field of interest.

Benefits

 * Increase learner engagement, buy-in and ownership in a well-designed, online Learning Community for adult learners;
 * Increase return on investment from social media;
 * Increase individual leadership competencies and community capacity (i.e., using Train-the-Trainer model)
 * Leverage, partnering, learning communities

Community Development & Facilitated Discussions [[Image:Green-Tick.svg|35px]]
Consultant will facilitate the design and delivery of successful meetings in the learning program in various spaces of the Learning Community (i.e., threaded discussions, fora, blogs, wikis, webinars, collaborative projects, etc.) Consultant will ensure a safe and productive environment; achieve a high level of participation from group members, while being cognizant of leadership competencies; group dynamics, culture, language (i.e., English, French, and professional fields), goals and aspirations; and coach and mentor employees to build capacity. Facilitated discussions may be a blend of online and face to face conversations and use social media.

Benefits

 * Increased learner participation, collaboration and interaction
 * Less anxiety and resistance to change
 * Easily assess learner motivation and behavioural changes
 * Increased individual and organizational capacity

Instructional/Curricula Design & Delivery (F2F and E-Learning) [[Image:Green-Tick.svg|35px]]
Consultant will develop, review, analyze, and recommend modifications to curricula based on qualitative and quantitative data collection, to ensure a high level of learning and skills/knowledge transfer in the online learning environment. Consultant may deliver portions of an E-Learning program, either directly to learners or facilitators (i.e., Train-the-Trainer).

Benefits

 * Increase learner engagement, buy-in and ownership in a well-designed, online Learning Community
 * Increase individual leadership competencies and community capacity (i.e., using Train-the-Trainer model)
 * Well-designed collaborative learning strategies and pedagogies have been shown to be effective in online settings (Friesen, 2010)

Marketing, Market Research & Branding [[Image:Green-Tick.svg|35px]]
Consultant develops an integrated marketing strategy which includes market research to engage and sustain internal and external stakeholders in face-to-face and virtual and social networking environments such as blogs, wikis, discussion groups, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn). Consultant tests, refines and evaluates marketing strategy, materials, tactics and activities iteratively via rapid prototyping (action learning) process which continuously engages stakeholders and motivates ambassadors.

Benefits

 * Strengthen your brand and increase your visibility and profile
 * Strengthen and leverage stakeholder relationships
 * Attract and retain stakeholder support to build a solid foundation for growth and innovation
 * Create openness for your message, and readiness for action
 * Receive timely and valuable feedback - to refine your products and/or services

Communications, Outreach & Advocacy [[Image:Green-Tick.svg|35px]]
Consultant develops an integrated communications strategy which includes key messages to engage and sustain internal and external stakeholders and printed and online materials. Consultant tests, refines and evaluates communications through an iterative development and rapid prototyping (action learning) process which continuously engages stakeholders and motivates ambassadors.

Benefits

 * Create openness for your message, and readiness for action
 * Convey concise, well-articulated and accurate information customized to key audiences and to all levels of seniority.
 * Communicate complex and technical issues in simple terms
 * Reduce fear, anxiety and resistance to change
 * Strengthen and leverage stakeholder relationships
 * Attract and retain stakeholder support to build a solid foundation for growth and innovation
 * Receive timely and valuable feedback - to refine your products and/or services

Knowledge Transfer / Mobilization / Translation [[Image:Green-Tick.svg|35px]]
Consultant supports the exchange of knowledge and information between interdisciplinary stakeholders and develops peer opportunities (and Learning Communities) for collaboration, learning and skill/capacity building.

Benefits

 * Increased information-sharing, learning and opportunity development
 * Development of inter-sectoral, national and international partnerships to translate research, build capacity and generate solutions.
 * Strengthened networking and relationships
 * Greater national and international visibility and recognition

Coaching & Mentoring [[Image:Green-Tick.svg|35px]]
Consultant provides positive support, strategies and subject-matter expertise (mentoring) to executives and managers to meet desired goals and behaviours related to leadership competencies, delegation, employee accountability, teamwork, sales, communication, goal setting, strategic planning etc. Coaching for executives focuses on any organizational or personal concerns involving growth, change and restructuring and productive work relationships. Coaching is also for supporting managers responsible for coaching in their leadership roles, as well as key influencers 'tipping points' in a Learning Community.

Benefits

 * Develop leadership competencies and learn new skills in a safe environment
 * Gain insight into self and the people you supervise and collaborate
 * Obtain a fresh perspectives on your issues, and receive trusted advice and suggestions and options