Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/323328
ActivatingOnlineCommunitiestoMaximizeImpact 14 ClosingThoughts Theorganizationsthattookpartinthisdiscussionindicatedastronginterestanddesireto continuetheexchangeofknowledgeandexpertiseintheareaofactivatingonlinecommunitiesto maximizesocialimpact. Giventheinternationalscopeofmanypa rticipatingorganizations,thesurvey waslaunchedandgeneratedaresponsethatstrengthenstheinsightsandsectorperspective. With77%oforganizations highlightingthe importanceofcollaboration ,theneedfornurturing spacesfordialogueisclear. Oneofthebiggestconcernsduringthetakeawaydiscussionwashowto managetherelationship withcommunitiesinblendedvirtualand face to face environments . T wo key questionswereasked:' Whatarethebestwaystomeasureengagement indifferentcont exts ? 'and 'Howto weensuretheopportunitiesforparticipation havesustainedandlastingimpact ?' Thegroup startedtodiscussgamificationstrategiesalongwithotheropportunitiesforsystemsofrecognitionand leadershipdevelopment. Inmost cases, thoseorganizations primarilyoffer ing in personprogramming looktovirtualenvironmentsasawaytoexpandandenhancetheconnection.Theorganizationswitha strongervirtualnetworktookakeeninterestinhowtostrengthenrootswithinlocalplace b ased settings.Anareaforfutureexplorationwouldincludemappingthecross overbetweenonlineand offlineoutreachandengagementstrategies. Theemphasisofhavingamobilestrategywastheotherkeythemethatemergedfromboththe roundtablean dsurvey. Assmartphonesandtablesarebecomingmoreaccessi bletothepublic , the needtoconnectwith stakeholders via native applicationsordevice optimizedwebsites willbe critical todeliverapositiveuserexperience .Thatbeingsaid , most organ ization s whoparticipatedin this discussion expressedconcerns aboutfindingortrainingstafftocreatetheseplatformsandalsothe coststh ese typeofprogram s willentail. O rganizationswanttocreatewebsitesandappsthatcanbe both mobile accessibleandcosteffective,and identifiedtheimportanceoffocusingfuturediscussions onsharingmobilestrategiesandapproaches. Thekey themes thatorg anizationsarelookingforintechnologies toachievetheirmandatein theupc omingyear are adaptability and monitoringandevaluationofoutcomes .Thereisrecognition thatawidesetoftoolswillcontinuetobecomeavailableforuse , anditistheintelligentcombination andapplicationofthesetoolst hatwillultimatelycreateanexperienceforcommunitiesofpeopleto becomemoreinvolvedincivilsocietyorganizations.Regardlessofthespecifictoolsthathavebeen identifiedinthe TechToolsforChange Infographicgeneratedfromsurveyresponse, theneedfor ongoingsharingofpracticeontheapplicationofthesetoolswithindifferentsocialimpac tcontextswill beessential.