We think you will find the WorkStation and Online Documentation and Support System (ODSS) to be critical assets to implementing a strategic prevention effort in your community. Over the years, we have partnered with community groups to help provide supports for their efforts. Here are some quotes from the field:
“I consider the WorkStation and ODSS invaluable one-stop shopping for user-friendly supports. We have one-click access to a shared repository of information.
Our project team and our grantee communities are spread out across the state. Given this geographic dispersal, we need a central location for information and a tool that supports communication, accessing resources, and managing timelines, and the WorkStation made that possible.”
n Hope Sullivan McMickle, SPF Consultant
“I think the biggest advantage of the WorkStation is that it provides a single platform for various groups of people to both document and share information. For the SPF-SIG, it allows communities of place and communities of practice to communicate both within and between groups. The SPF-SIG Project Team, Evaluation Team, and Advisory Council also use the WorkStation to communicate and share documents. With internal links to the ODSS and Kansas SPF-SIG website, the WorkStation makes it very easy for everyone to find what they are looking for without having to exit to external sites. The 14 SPF-SIG communities document their activities and successes monthly into the ODSS. As an evaluator, having easy access to community and state data via the ODSS will prove invaluable as we move forward and monitor progress and outcomes.”
n Lisa Cheney, SPF-SIG Evaluation Coordinator
More information about these services:
WorkStations are customized online “toolboxes” for supporting your work. WorkStations support group collaboration, co-learning and information sharing by providing shared space for online discussions, posting documents, linking to supports, accessing a group calendar, and posting success stories, blogs, wikis and more.
Below is a table that outlines the key functions and features of the WorkStation:
|
Key Function |
What do you need to do? |
WorkStation Feature |
|
Communicate |
Post and collaborate on documents (e.g., meeting minutes, action plans)
|
Document-sharing library and check-out system |
|
Track important tasks and their progress
|
Project management |
|
Share meeting times, agendas, track attendees, and share other event information
|
Group calendar (compatible with Microsoft Outlook) and related WorkSpaces |
|
Engage in meaningful dialogue with colleagues |
Group discussion |
|
Communicate in real-time with multiple group members
|
Group chat |
|
Communicate instantaneously one-on-one with other initiative members
|
Instant messaging |
|
Upload and share information that can be accessed and adapted by others
|
Wiki feature |
|
Easily access and share your favorite online resources
|
Link feature |
|
Connect/ Network |
Quickly access group members’ contact information
|
Contacts |
|
Share photos and view slideshows
|
Photo gallery |
|
Learn a Skill |
Link to tips and tools for building community capacity to bring about change and improvement
|
Direct links—and ability to prioritize—capacity-building materials from the Community Tool Box |
|
Solve a Problem |
Submit a question to a consultant or project staff member – and share the response with others
|
Ask an Advisor |
|
Monitor and Evaluate |
Engage in participatory evaluation -- Record, graph, analyze, and report information to different stakeholders (at an optional extra cost)
|
Online Documentation and Support System (ODSS) |
|
Design and distribute online surveys
|
Survey feature |
The Online Documentation and Support System (ODSS)
The Online Documentation and Support System (ODSS) is a web-based recording, measurement, and reporting tool to support the participatory evaluation of your community health and development initiative. The Online Documentation and Support System helps your initiative document its work, and serves as a tool to help better understand and improve collaborative efforts to bring about change and improvement. The ODSS also helps you share change efforts and success stories with funders and other stakeholders.
For more information on the Online Documentation and Support System, please click here.
Or, to ask about creating a customized WorkStation or Online Documentation System to support your SPF-SIG or other efforts, please contact toolbox@ku.edu or (785) 864-0533.
