Manage Circles: Features

Communicate (Screen Sharing, Conference calls)

Your Community Impact Circle has access to computer screen-sharing and conference call applications allowing you to have virtual web-based meetings without leaving your office.

Important Note 1: The Providers

The services we have found to date that provide good functionality at a low cost are all private firms. This is not a tailored service designed for the Platform. We are always open to any suggestion of other provides or options. But this is the lowest cost and highest quality (based on cost) we could identify at this time.

Important Note 2: Long Distance Phone Charges

You are not charged any fee by the Providers. But, your phone company will charge you your normal long-distance charges to the number you are dialing into. These charges will be charged to the person “organizing” the meeting and will be on a per-participant basis.

For example: If you have a long-distance plan that allows for minimal rates per minute (e.g. 3 cents) and your conference call partners have a similar rate. Here is a potential cost for a one-hour screen-sharing conference call with 10 participants.

10 participants x 60 minutes x 3 cents = $18 for a one hour meeting.

Important Note 3: Getting a Standard 6 cent rate

If a member of your Impact Circle does not have low cost long distance plan they can obtain a standard 6 cents per minute using http://www.Simpletollfree.com

Important Note 4: Remember to Disconnect

You must not only hang up the phone when you conclude a screen-sharing conference call, you must also close the URL on your computer. Otherwise the meter is still running and you are being charged.

Screen-Sharing

Up to 96 persons on a computer sharing conference call. Allowing you to share computer screens, talk and edit LIVE.

* http://www.freescreensharing.com (long distance charges apply) * http://www.wiggio.com (long distance charges apply)

Conference Call (Phone contact only)

* http://www.freeconferencecall.com (long distance charges apply)

Meeting Planning

* http://www.doodle.com (No cost)

Doodle helps scheduling meetings and other appointments. Doodle is simple, quick, free and requires no registration.

Document Vault and File Sharing

The Document Vault and Knowledgebase allows groups to share documents and knowledge among its members. At their discretion, users can also opt to make resources public for all Community Platform users.

Circle Project Management Tool

Project management tools let you create projects and associated tasks and assign them to users. Track assignments, due dates, completion dates and more.

Circle Performance Measurement Tool

Track the performance of your programs daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually and assess their performance over time or with a group of peers. The tool comes with pre-defined measures developed by the Urban Institute and the Center for What Works in thirteen program areas; you can select from these, choose from our standard measures or create your own.

Other Tools (Mapping, Tracking, Calendaring and more)

You can map the location of programs and keep a calendar of important events as well.

Learning & Resources

On Effective Collaborations

In this section you will find PDFs, PowerPoint’s, URL links to resources and recommendations of books that will help you operate your Community Impact Circle (collaborative).

On Results-Based Accountability®

Results-Based Accountability is the only accepted performance measure accepted by the Connecticut Legislature Appropriations Committee. If you seek one penny of funding by the State of Connecticut, and a growing number of private funders, you must use a Results-Based Accountability approach and reporting mechanism. This is why we seek to teach best RBA practices here on the Platform.

In this section you will find PDFs, PowerPoint, URL links to resources and recommendations of books and trainings that will help you master the approach, process and tools of strategic planning, management and evaluation using RBA.