A Circuit Rider Case Study

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Community Voices Heard (CVH) is a New York City organization of "low-income people, predominately women on welfare, working together to make improvements in their community, and advance the political, economic and social rights of low-income people on welfare and other low-wage workers."Along with providing legal workshops and media training for their membership, CVH participates in many coalitions and has spearheaded the campaign for public job creation legislation that is currently before the state legislature and city council.

When the LINC Project began working with CVH, it had existed as an independent organization for over one year.Its technology capacity consisted of three stand-alone computers (one 486 running Windows 3.1 and two Pentiums running Windows '95) that shared a printer via a data-switch.Organizationally, the group was growing in leaps and bounds.New staff was about to be hired, and CVH had just received funding for a Worker's Center that would provide members with training and help in finding jobs.A Georgetown University public policy graduate student, based in Washington, D.C., had recently come on board to work on the group's public jobs bill and a workfare survey project.

The First Step: Getting CVH's Commitment to Address Its Technology Issues.

We first started out by meeting with the CVH staff to hear about how they were using their technology.Together we brainstormed on ways they could get over some of their hurdles. The next step was a presentation to the board about the LINC Project and how CVH could benefit from working with the Circuit Rider.CVH was interested to learn of ways that technology could improve their capacity to conduct outreach, do public campaign work, mobilize membership, and communicate more efficiently with their allies. We were clear with CVH that while we could not provide funds for hardware and software, we would help them identify resources for donations and grants.

The Second Step: Doing a Technology Assessment

To do a technology assessment, the Circuit Rider conducted several one-on-one conversations with CVH staff.He asked them to look at their current communications capacity and to help identify ways to increase their capacity.The Rider heard complaints about computers constantly crashing, damaged floppy disks, problems getting access to the database and concerns about ways to keep track of members for outreach for actions and meetings.CVH was also about to move to a new location and was looking for ways to increase members' use of the new office.

The Third Step: Making Recommendations and Creating a Technology Plan.

The Circuit Rider then made several recommendations to the staff and board. After some discussion about outcomes and cost-efficiency they were ready to begin implementing the plan, which consisted of:

Networking their computers on a low-cost peer to peer network to eliminate the data switch on the printer, allow for easier sharing of files and workstations, and enable their database to be open on more than one computer at the same time.

Upgrading memory capacity in their computers to reduce computer crashes and standardizing their use of Windows 95 to help with compatibility issues.

Switching their database from Microsoft Access, which requires a deal of programming knowledge to manipulate, to Filemaker Pro which is much more user friendly.

Identifying an Internet Service Provider for E-mail, to help with communications with their Public Policy intern in Washington and the coalitions they are involved in, and access to the Web for conducting research on various topics ranging from fundraising to legislative developments.

Hands-on training for staff, including a staff person trained to help members get online and designation of a terminal for use by membership

The Fourth Step: Implementation of the Plan

The number one rule for plan implementation is to stay flexible and be prepared for the unexpected, and CVH was certainly no exception. Though networking is often thought of as a headache-inducing task, it went quite smoothly.The headaches arose when we attempted to upgrade the 486.After increasing the memory of the computer it crashed even more frequently.After several troubleshooting sessions, we discovered that the computer simply didn't work well with that particular brand of chip (even though the computer's manual indicated that it would).

Again, headaches arose when the software provided by the ISP conflicted with existing networking software on the computer designated for access to the Internet.Through trouble-shooting techniques the problem was identified and solved.

These problems had the potential of halting the implementation of the plan and severely handicapping the computer capacity of the organization if it had been left to its own devices.The rest of the technology plan went smoothly without problems.

Going Beyond the Initial Plan: Building Capacity to Use Technology:

cvhaction 1.jpg>After the first plan was implemented, CVH became excited as it recognized the possibilities for using technology to support it advocacy and programs for low income members.

As an organization that thrives on personal relationships, CVH saw the new database as a way of keeping track of the relationships they developed not just with members and leaders active in the organization, but also with other organizations, elected officials and members of the press.They also asked the Rider to explore ways to connect their database with mapping software to see political districts where their members.This helps CVH in its political education efforts and mobilizing members to address concerns directly to their elected officials. After some basic mapping work was done by the Rider, CVH was able to get further mapping analysis from the Pratt Institute to enable them to better target low-income areas for membership drives.

The ISP also provided CVH with free web space, and the Rider helped them create the group's first home page. The site has information about how to get involved with CVH, updates on their public jobs campaign, along with its most recent newsletter. CVH has also posted their report on their survey of 500 participants in New York City's Workfare program.

With the increasing staff and more members visiting the office for meetings and other events, CVH saw the need for more hardware. The Circuit Rider was able to help guide CVH through a process of identifying appropriate hardware to purchase.A new computer and printer were then added onto the network.Several donated computers were set up for use by members.These computers allowed them to practice word processing and to accomplish practical tasks like writing resumes.

The Rider will be continuing his work with CVH by giving periodic training to membership and developing a curriculum for its new Worker's Center.

The Final Step: Identifying Resources to Support CVH's Future Technology Needs.

Work with the LINC Project has led CVH to be able to better solve technology problems on its own. Basic training in trouble shooting has resulted in increasing staff's ability to identify and solve problems.This has also helped in dealing with hardware and software telephone support options.

The Circuit Rider has also worked with CVH to develop proposals for funding for new computers to be used by members in the Worker's Center.CVH has also begun to identify leaders and board members who will continue to develop the CVH web site.Different members of the staff will take responsibility for providing support for different software applications.For Instance, the Office Manager, who is responsible for office correspondence, provides the rest of the staff with training and support in their e-mail and web browser applications.The Lead Organizer, who is responsible for how relationships with the organization is documented, provides the rest of the staff with training and support for their database.

Fitting it all into the Big Picture

By keeping the focus on CVH's interests and need, rather than on just the technology itself, the LINC Project Circuit Rider has helped Community Voices Heard increase its capacity to do organizing and advocacy work. Currently their efforts to push a public jobs bill through the state legislature is being aided by their ability to conduct a letter writing campaign via e-mail.They've been able to distribute reports and publications more widely via their web site (http://www.cvhaction.org). The web site, used in conjunction with CVH job postings on other sites on the Internet, helped attract a wider range of qualified candidates for open positions. Work with the DC-based public policy intern was done more efficiently by sending general correspondence and working documents via e-mail. Using e-mail also saved on long distance telephone bills. Work with other groups in coalitions and collaborations are greatly enhanced by CVH's Internet presence as well.By helping membership get on the Internet, CVH has been able to learn more about their current concerns and issues. The database has helped keep track of membership and increased their ability to turnout folks for actions and events.It has also helped the organization keep on track during periods of staff transition and growth.

As the Circuit Rider travels to other groups, the lessons learned and potential realized with Community Voices Heard are carried with him. The pool of knowledge and resources available to organizations within the Rider's circuit continually grows.