Steve and I learned about several new developments for our organization at the 2010 Conference. See below for details:
- Sponsors: Both Boeing, ASCE, and Black & Veatch had a big presence at the event. We heard that Google representatives were present as well (they were impressed at our network after offering a Google Match Program in December 2009). Perhaps we’ll have another sponsor soon?… Also just found out that EWB-USA has started a partnership with the Clinton Climate Initiative.
- NSF: Representatives from the National Science Foundation’s Office of International Science & Engineering (OISE) presented at the conference on potential funding from NSF for EWB research projects.
- Rotary: We were encouraged to continue networking with Rotary groups, with assumptions that they will soon become a big source of funding.
- Project Tracking System: EWB-USA is working on a Project Record System that will help to track all EWB projects – expected to launch at the end of summer. This should really streamline their review process, help with automated responses, etc.
- Discussion Forum: EWB-USA is launching a discussion forum – should be out by May.
- EWB Paraphernalia! Nationals is going to launch a store with T-shirts, water bottles, etc. for sell – which we can customize for our chapter!
- Facebook: I asked one of the EWB-USA tech guys to look into how to get Facebook pages to deliver donations directly to our chapter accounts. He looked into it and found that there is a way to do this. He is going to communicate this to all chapters soon. I’ll follow-up with him (or let me know if you want to follow-up with him).
- EWB Corporate Video. A nice video was created for all chapters to use for spreading the word about our organization. After some final edits, it will be posted soon.
- Other Chapters & Their Tech Tools. As far as tech tools used by other chapters, most use a wiki to collaborate and share documents. Our AMA team is looking into this and may recommend it to us as well. Otherwise, it seems that our chapter is pretty advanced compared to the other chapters. Especially in regards to our npcollab site. I have a few recommendations to look into (feel free to check these out and let me know what you find): dropbox (Brooke already noted this one); SmugMug (photo storage); Cafe Press; iGive; erooms; media wiki.
- “GeoWiki”: A student at U. Minnesota knows a fellow student who is working on developing a GeoWiki that will show the locations of recommended EWB businesses, NGOs, etc. on maps. This should also help us identify the locations of other projects in the vicinity of our projects. Hopefully they remember to let the broader EWB community know when it is up and running!
Ok, that’s all for now. Let me know if you have any questions on these – I might have a little more info.
Advertisement
