Strengthening the non-profit organisation Sdílení o.p.s. through the effective use of digital technologies

Project facts

Project promoter:
Sharing(CZ)
Project Number:
CZ-ACTIVECITIZENS-0279
Status:
Completed
Final project cost:
€4,000
Programme:

Description

The aim of the project is to strengthen the non-profit organization Sdílení o.p.s. through the effective use of digital technologies, especially in the area of Google Workspace and IT security. In the last 3 years, there has been an intensive development of the organization in all aspects - services/staff/processes/facilities. The number of laptops in use has grown significantly, new software tools are being used and we are exploring the digital world to simplify and streamline our work. We see the current mindset of staff around IT security, the lack of use of existing digital technologies and varying levels of knowledge of the technologies and shared tools used as a challenge. We want to solve the problem through attractive employee training and by consulting external experts. The training of more than half of the employees will lead to the development of digital competences and will strengthen the motivation for further training in these topics. The project will also support digitalization in the area of financial management. In cooperation with an external supplier, we plan to prepare the budget/data and program the connection to our accounting system to make it usable for the financial management of the organization. This will be a major shift for effective management in this area due to digitalization. All training activities will ultimately lead to streamlining the internal processes of the organization, which will have a positive impact not only on the employees themselves, but also ultimately on the clients and patients of our services.

Summary of project results

In the last 3 years there has been an intensive development of the organisation in all aspects - services/staff/processes/facilities. The number of laptops in use has grown significantly, new software tools are being used and we are cautiously getting acquainted with the digital world to simplify and streamline our work. We perceived the current mindset of our employees as a problem in IT security, the lack of use of existing digital technologies and the varying levels of knowledge of the technologies and shared tools used. This was also due to the diversity of our roles, where for most colleagues, IT technology was a rather stressful duty (e.g. nurses, carers) and their setup failed to appreciate its benefits. In relation to this, some processes were inefficient and unnecessary. We needed to resolve the issue of our data storage. Whether or not to make full use of the Google Workspace environment. With the aforementioned growth of the organisation, the question of how to ensure truly effective financial management of the organisation arose in the final months before the grant. Especially in the sense of setting the budget, its spending, implementation, continuous updating, availability of up-to-date economic data for senior staff, the board of directors, etc. The existing way of working with data was already outdated and very tedious. We were faced with the decision whether to use the services of an external company. The grant call transformed our problems into challenges, which the project then helped us to meet.

The project included three main activities.
The activity entitled "Ensuring IT security through standards and training" included an audit with an external firm on IT security in the organization and opened up new topics to address. We found out what we are doing right and what needs to be changed. In this context, we also trained employees in 2 groups (44 people in total). Additionally, we are also arranging the possibility of short training videos for future employees. As part of the second activity "Effective use of digital technologies in the organisation", a full-day Google Workspace seminar was held in an interactive format, where all 19 participants were able to explore the GW environment, set up their "digi office", and connect their knowledge for more effective collaboration and use at work. 
The second area was the cooperation with an external company on the preparation of the budget and the programming of the connection with the accounting system for financial management - i.e. the output is "programmed excel spreadsheets with the organization''s budgets", which are filled with data from the accounting system. This is much needed data that allows detailed monitoring of budget implementation and work with the budget, especially for the Director and for the heads of department + data in an understandable form for the Board. The third area was "Developing general digital competences and strengthening motivation for digital learning". We trained 34 employees in 2 groups on "IT gadgets". Thanks to the seminar, many participants set up their mobile phones, laptops, security properly, learned how to use various "gadgets" to simplify and speed up their work, and we also entered the world of AI. 

The project helped us to move from server to cloud using Google Workspace and to implement the appropriate training that was needed. It also strengthened the general digital competences of our employees and their motivation to further their education. The project was aimed at employees of a non-profit organization in the area. 45 employees were involved.The seminars were conducted by experienced trainers, in an attractive, playful and open way, and the participants used their own laptops and/or mobile phones, where they could set up and try out many things immediately. We broke the myth that new technologies are only "for the young and office-going". Many of the employees are in fact field employees in social and health services. We discovered different tools, apps, tweaks in the setup that can simplify our processes. We have unified the security of our facilities and have shown this important topic through various examples of when this area has been underestimated and the inconveniences it can lead to. We confirmed an important observation, namely that the form of delivery of training, the interaction with the trainer, the creation of a safe atmosphere where questions can be asked, matters a lot really anything, to try everything out for real on your laptop or phone, right in your "virtual office". This way of conducting seminars has the greatest impact on the participants. The second important observation - don''t be afraid to use the services of an external expert for financial management, who, thanks to digitalisation, can prepare and update all the necessary economic data important for managerial decision-making. The impact of this decision is very crucial for us as an organisation. The financial management of the organisation has shifted qualitatively,  enefiting both the senior staff and the Board of Directors.

Information on the projects funded by the EEA and Norway Grants is provided by the Programme and Fund Operators in the Beneficiary States, who are responsible for the completeness and accuracy of this information.