The Coordinating Center for GHWIC (CCG) has been able to react, adapt, and incorporate multiple technologies in response to the barriers created due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
One example of the adaptations made to the administrative meetings, presentations, and the year 2 annual Gathering is CCG’s incorporation of the Miro visual collaborative platform. Miro is an infinity canvas and web whiteboard that allows teams to work collaboratively on the same virtual board.
CCG utilized the Technology of Participation’s structure for action planning, and relied heavily on the Miro system to collaboratively strategize and outline the activities which informed the CCG year 2 work plan. Over the course of 3 days, the CCG team members met on the Zoom platform and utilized Miro to complete the action planning, creating nearly 1,000 items on the infinity board. This allowed for the work to be organized, created collaboratively, and provide a quick and easy reference.
CCG has also used the Miro platform during presentations in other meetings, including at the GHWIC Evaluation Advisory Group (EAG). Miro was used to demonstrate and review the Annual Performance Measure Reporting tool and the Success Story Collection system to the EAG. This allowed for CCG staff to present the various evaluation systems and solicit feedback from the EAG in a novel setting, and give space for the whole group to respond to the systems. Through the use of innovative technology, CCG overcame the barriers of working in a virtual space during the pandemic.
Adapting the Community of Practice to GHWIC’s needs
The Coordinating Center for GHWIC (CCG) leads the GHWIC Community of Practice (CoP) calls. A CoP is a group of people who come together to share a common concern and topic of interest, consistently learning and improving their collective sharing as they interact regularly.
Initially, the GHWIC CoP met once per month with 70 to 80 people joining the call on the Zoom platform. The attendees would be split into one of four different “breakout rooms” with each breakout room having a different topic, typically one of the four GHWIC Strategies.
Responding to surveys given immediately at the conclusion of each CoP meeting and from the yearly CCG feedback survey, CCG restructured the meeting agenda to fit the needs of the Network. First, to better fit the cultural norms within the group, CCG now starts each meeting by providing space for attendees to introduce themselves. CCG also restructured the meeting frequency and topic. Rather than a single meeting, the CoP now convenes twice a month for standalone GHWIC single strategy-based calls, with the strategy topics changing every other month.
In addition to the restructure, CCG also scheduled four “All Hands” CoP calls that are joined by the CDC to learn, listen, and connect with GHWIC recipients. This shift allowed for the CoP calls to return to 1-hour meetings, for conversations to be continued from call to call easier, and for recipients to attend more than one strategy.
