Earlier this week I was asked to put together a plan for a staff/member communications tool for one of the bigger unions in the United States & Canada. In writing it I realized that this is a framework that plenty of other unions and locals could also benefit from, so thought I would re-write it for a more generalized audience and post it up on the web. This is still just an outline, but one which would make unions much more effective in communicating both internally and to the world. Comments, suggestions would be appreciated as this is very much a draft vision.

Union Web Portal Vision

Goal
Enhance communication and collaboration within the union.

Objectives

• Integrate with webmail to ease adoption & regular use
• Provide users with easy access to new information that is relevant to them
• Allow users to upload, organize, comment on and search documents
• Explore new means of communication within the organization, forums, wiki's and even messaging
• Centralize and organize the organization's client relationship management needs

We would want to implement this project over three distinct phases. This is primarily so that users will have an opportunity to adapt and learn how to use the technology and that internal work flow can be adjusted.

PHASE I

The main purpose of phase one is to replicate the functionality of the existing site and enhance it by integrating webmail functionality. We would also be establishing the base for future phases and set up best practices such as a staging site to allow us to test new features, and managing code changes through tools like Trac.

Feature List

• custom theme Drupal Core
• integrate webmail application & incorporate existing usernames/passwords
• import staff/member lists into CiviCRM
• ensure names are self editable
• create howto video screen-cast for webmail usage
• integrate with Exchange server
• install event calendar
• role based permissions for member/staff only pages
• set up rss feed aggregator
• install WYSWYG & image editor
• integrate versioning tools
• build dynamic web forms to speed up & formalize internal requests

PHASE II

After the core functionality is set up we would want to expand the site to allow for more user participation. Although many of these tools are available right now, it would be best to make a slower integration for users to become more comfortable with the technology. In this phase we will offering services to more than just logged in members, but it is using the Intranet as it's core.

Feature List

• introduce document management to organize the site
• build searching within uploaded documents
• install wiki / blog tools
• set up subsites for locals, committees & campaigns
• build tools to allow locals to customize their site colors, upload logos & modify blocks/layout
• create CiviMail for eNewsletters
• integrate surveys & polls
• expand CiviCRM access to allow locals to access/modify information about their members
• create howto video screen-cast on wiki, blog & document management tools

PHASE III

The final phase of this project would include more organization and outreach tools. Staff would be encouraged to adopt more effective collaboration tools and organizers would have access to better tools to communicate to the membership. A rich mix of public and private information would be possible in this phase, with the CMS determining what people can or cannot access based on their assigned role.

Feature List

• create webmail for all members
• build SMS/TXT messaging for more instantaneous communication with the members
• integrate mailing lists/web forums (Yahoo Groups)
• customize event registration tools
• set up project management tools
• shared calendars
• install podcast/video modules
• online campaign tools like petitions & take action tools.
• create ability for members to customize the look/feel of the site when they are browsing & available blocks (myUnion)
• create howto video screen-cast on event registration, podcasting & myUnion