Members Sharing Ideas

You might have noticed several messages in recent days that share information or call for help using the tools of top-network.org. Some messages you may want to check for if you missed them include:

• Ann Epps (May 20, 2013) shared that Jo Nelson of ICA Associates Canada will receive Gold IAF Facilitation Impact Award for 2013. The massive strategic planning project she facilitated was with the University of Toronto, involving 500 faculty, staff, administration and students over 6-months. The opening session of the IAF meeting in Orlando on June 6 will include honoring Jo and this project. Several ToP Network members will be in attendance. 

• Dennis Jennings (May 19, 2013) shared a resource that really caught his attention.  This is an article on "The Art of Powerful Questions" by Juanita Brown, David Isaacs and Eric Vogt. He notes it “complements and expands upon our contribution to focused conversation and the power of creating questions”.  A link to the article is Art-of-Powerful-Questions. 

• Irina Fursman (May 4, 2013) called for input related to the 2014 Gathering in Minneapolis. View/join the 2014 Gathering Circle and offer your ideas at this link.

Did you know you can view past email from us? After  login, click on "Email History" on the "My Profile" tab.  It's easy!

We Helped - ICA Won!

The ToP Network and the ICA demonstrated their collaborative influence that resulted in the ICA winning the Ford Community Green Grant at the Chicago Green Festival, A Project of Green America and Global Exchange.   There are similar Festivals happening in Los Angeles (Oct 19-20), San Francisco (Nov 9-10), Washington, DC (Sept 21-22), and New York (April 19-21).  This signals the potential of how our two partnering organizations can continue to work together to influence and shape other future initiatives.

Groupsite Data Transfer  Complete

As a result of this project, top-network.org holds 21 more pages and nearly 900 files transferred from Groupsite. 

ICA - ToP Network Conciliation Team Created

The new training registration system highlighted a few gray areas in the ICA Licensed ToP Trainers Agreement.  This agreement is covered in an MOU between the ToP Network and ICA.  To address the grey areas, and bring new clarity, the ToP Network has created a Conciliation Team.  The team is empowered to step in where action or clarification is needed to ensure that people are honoring their agreements.

Any Licensed Trainer, ICA or the ToP Network can refer issues to the Conciliation Team to address concerns around copyright issues or License Agreement terms. The Conciliation Team is composed of a ToP Network member, ICA Board Chair and ICA staff. Nadine Bell, Cheryl Kartes and Terry Bergdall make up this newly appointed team.    Read more at ICA-ToP Network Conciliation Team

Methods Modules & Magic About to Launch

Riding on the wings of those with vast ToP training experience, and building on deep consideration of how to stay current, relevant, profitable and accessible, the MMM team is about to gather for 2.5 days design, redesign, and add to ToP curricula.

When gathering in North Carolina this past January, many new(er) to ToP questioned why we employ the intensive two or three day training construct. Equally important, they asked how other training opportunities tie to and augment our fundamental ToP offering. We accepted these challenging inquiries and have designed several days to map a possible ToP training pathway;

• The first stepping-stones are ToP fundamentals, but what then follows?
• What are possible on and off ramps that connect with ToP?
• What are the many, many courses being offered by ToP Trainers and facilitators that we could add to the path?

We will also explore adaptations and enhancements to ToP TFM, design a ‘one day per method’ module, and adapt and edit both manuals. Ambitious? Yes. Exciting? Absolutely! More to come in late June.

Anyone who has a relevant training to offer or an adaption to TFM that is working for you, please contact Judy Weddle, (email [email protected] or phone 815-663-8005). Examples of courses we have so far are “Making Data Dance”, “The Fundamentals of Facilitation”, or “The Shadow Side: When the Facilitator is the Problem.”

Public Health & ToP (PHiT)

PHiT is gearing up for its second quarterly meeting. It has selected four areas of concentration for 2013 include:

1. Logic Models – how logic models and ToP interrelate,
2. Marketing ToP to public health organizations,
3. Success Stories, and
4. Mapping Public Health Models and ToP Methods.

A notice has gone out to PHiT members for final date selection for this next meeting. PHiT members can check their committee workspace (go to "My Profile" and click on "My Features"  to access committee folders) to review files and messages for more information.

Public Health afficiendos - did you see this?   Deb Burnight posted a time limited notice: "Facilitation Job Opportunity with Safe States - Due by May 30" in the PHiT Circle.  The notice includes a link to the RFP.  Read more.

Did you know you can receive an automated message when someone adds information to a circle you have joined?  Go to "My Profile", select "Contact Preferences" and choose the options you prefer.  It is an easy way to receive updates without having to log in and check all the time.  

ToP Cares (formerly Membership Action Team) will be exploring ways to link new members to established ones as a strategy for building new member engagement and loyalty. The team is just embarking on this topic, so stay tuned for more. If you have ideas in this area, please share them with [email protected]. 

We're Out There!

Here are just a few stats to encourage us to perk up and take notice. Website analytics for the first four months of 2013 provide some interesting stats:

• 891 unique visitors made 2,859 visits to our website between January and April.
• Visitors came from 262 cities around the world and viewed nearly 21,000 pages.
• By the end of April, ICA Roots had been opened 894 times.   Benefits of Membership – 853, ToP Champions page – 467, Upcoming events – 443.

What would you like these visitors to know about ToP, ToP Network and ToP Network members? Now that we’re consolidated into a single website, it is time to focus on how to make it work for us. 

What would you like them to know?  Let us hear from you [email protected]