Your Technology Team

What Is a Technology Team?

The Technology Team is responsible for guiding the strategic technology planning process and its implementation. It will help the organization's stakeholders define a vision, establish goals, and develop a plan that will result in the blueprint for implementation and sustainability. The technology team is also responsible for overseeing the implementation, evaluation, revision, and refinement of the plan. They serve as the organization's "brain trust" for technology.

The Importance of the Technology Team

A successful technology plan should be the product of an entire organization, not just one person's vision and knowledge. If one person creates the plan, the organization can put itself in danger of losing it's technology knowledge if that person should change jobs. Having a technology team helps institutionalize technology knowledge within your organization.

Technology has an impact on everyone's job. Most likely, your plan will include implementing some changes in the way your staff does its work, whether it be upgrading equipment, adding new software, or redesigning entire information systems. It essential to include the people who will be affected by the change and get their buy-in.

Members of a Technology Team

The idea of thinking about, understanding, and planning for technology within our organization requires a cross section of individuals working together. On our team we each come to the table with very different ideas and levels of knowledge about technology. We share ideas and visions for what role technology should have on the future of our organization, and we design plans to reach our expectations. As a team, we determine where we are, where we need to go, and how we get there.

- A board member who is also part of a Tech Team.

Think carefully about the makeup of your team. It is important to include people who have skills and knowledge about technology, but even more important is the involvement of those who understand your organization's mission, programs and administrative operations. The Technology Team must include key stakeholders and should consist of a mix of your organization's key leadership, administrative/program staff, and those with specific technology-savvy or experience. Some people to consider include:

• Executive Director
• Board Members
• Administrative Staff
• Fiscal Advisor/Officer/Staff
• Program Managers and Staff
• Clients/Audience
• IT (Information Technology) Staff from local corporations
• Volunteers with particular expertise
• Consultants

It is also important to represent many perspectives from your organization. Be sure to include a mix of people with different experience levels and attitudes. Find someone who is excited about technology, a technology novice, expert and someone who is skeptical about how technology will be used in the organization. Try to include people who have some power or sway in actually getting the plan implemented and accepted. Encourage "naysayers or vocal critics" to join the planning team. It is better to deal with their concerns or ideas within the team rather than outside the team. Consider people who are connected outsiders, including clients, local technology experts, etc.

Keep the size of the team manageable. While it is a good idea to gather a large range of opinions and perspectives, having too many people involved in absolutely everything will slow down the process. There are additional opportunities during the planning process to involve people. The key is to find a good mix of people who can define a vision together, form strategy and complete tasks.

Responsibilities

In addition to providing information and feedback, our Tech Team has several important responsibilities:

• influencing the culture of the organization regarding the use of technology
• understanding and sharing the values and the responsibility for technology
• developing (and sharing with others) the complexities of using/maintaining technology
• continuing as advisors to administration regarding our progress, needs and successes with technology

- An Executive Director of a Massachusetts based community action agency

Your Tech Team should gather information from the organization's many stakeholders and form the tech plan. To do this the team will research and assess, help define a vision, establish goals/benchmarks, and create a blueprint for implementation. The team should meet regularly, form clear agendas, assignments, and timelines. Choose a facilitator for your team who can keep the team on task. Include someone who can serve as "Recording Secretary," who will take excellent notes and distribute meeting minutes. This is absolutely critical to ensure that the collective knowledge of the group is tracked. Discussion and consensus building is an important part of the team's work and the team leader will need to be a person who can facilitate the process in a creative manner.

Whatever tools you use and steps you take to develop your strategic technology plan, having a Tech Team in place to move things forward is essential. For a sample of some tools your team can use to start the planning process see Summit Collaborative's Strategic TechnologySection.