Evolve Your Initiative

Develop new programs and services as your connected community changes

 
With your network and programs up and running and your ongoing governance and operations management structure in place, it’s time for you and your colleagues to congratulate yourself on a job well done! Enjoy the success of what you’ve accomplished thus far: you are playing a major role in shepherding your community into the economy of the 21st century.

As you continue to engage end-users with your applications and generate more and more community interest in your program vision and objectives, it’s important to develop an understanding of the success of your program so far. While there are a variety of methods used to measure this success, often the most straightforward is to consider user adoption of metrics associated with the applications you’ve featured on the network. Whether you decide to focus on one application or several, it’s critical to understand if and how your programs and services are connecting with your intended audience.

This understanding of project success, in turn, helps you to think about how you may want to evolve your program going forward…another critical component of long-term success. As your community shifts and changes, so will its complexion and needs. These changes, in turn, should necessitate the evolution of your program, as it continues to adapt to meet the community needs you’ve identified. This may mean a geographical expansion of your network or the inclusion of additional applications or target audiences. It may means transformations and shifts in services and applications. It may mean that over time your project grows to encompass and partner with additional vertical sectors in your community. Whatever changes you incorporate, remember to stay grounded in the foundational principals defined by your unique community’s needs and your project’s vision.

Please share your experiences with us as you forge ahead on your journey.