I’m a freelance advisor, trainer and writer from Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa New Zealand.
Three of the ways I help tangata whenua, community and voluntary organisations are listed here: providing independent advice, delivering training and writing and wrangling web content.
Contact me about any of these areas, or if you’d like my input in any other way.
1. Independent, ad-hoc advice, bespoke training and project management
As a freelance advisor with a background in community development and IT capacity building I can help your organisation in a variety of ways. I am available for ad-hoc advice and bespoke training development, or I can contribute to longer-term projects.
Some of the things I can assist with include:
- Project planning and implementation
- Selecting web designers and software
- Matching activities, processes and online tools to your organisation or community
- Understanding and measuring the impact of websites and social media
- Using ICT to support community development
- Design, run and analyse surveys, including annual customer satisfaction
- Bespoke training to cover a specific area of the online world, eg blogging, using wikis for sharing knowledge, online project management.
My hourly rate for consultancy work is available on request.
Recent work includes:
- Advising on options for using online communications to create social change, covering everything from big picture concepts to nuts and bolts
- Working alongside an organisation introducing an online component to its learning network
- Investigating options and planning for an online product launch
- Preparing a background paper on community ICT for a philanthropic funder
- Conducting and analysing customer satisfaction surveys for two national organisations.
Client feedback:
You have been invaluable in steering us in the appropriate direction, providing robust advice and guidance and generally keeping us honest! Thanks heaps!
Julie Watson, Forest & Bird
We are really thrilled by the quality of the research you have done for us - it’s really outstanding - logical and it means we have developed some good grounds upon which to go forward on - that are tested and make sense! Thanks for the really fantastic job you have done for us and exceeded all our expectations.
Robyn Scott, Executive Director, Philanthropy NZ
2. Training workshops
My interactive approach gives people a chance to share their hard gained knowledge, calmly talk about fears and start thinking about how you’ll do things differently. Creating an environments where participants share is as much a key to good training as a knowledgeable instructor at the front of the class.
Workshops I offer include:
“Exploring social media” - quickly get to grips with how Facebook, YouTube and other social media could be used to support your organisations to engage with people, collaborte and/or friend or fundraise. Find out more
“Getting the quality website your organisation deserves” - managers, coordinators and other staff with overall responsibility for an organisation’s website need to have a grasp on what quality means in the online world. This workshop provides a broad overview of everything involved in running a successful website, and looks at key areas where you can make a difference in terms of quality. Details coming soon.
“Blogging - nothing personal, this is an organisational blog” - before you introduce a blog into your organisation, think through all the angles so you can thrive. A three hour workshop on high impact blogging for your good cause. Details coming soon.
Each workshop can be customised to meet your organisation’s individual needs. I am also available to design and run workshops to meet your specific needs in the online world, eg using wikis for sharing knowledge, online project management, searching, website analytics and social media metrics.
Client feedback:
Your help to me was invaluable as it gave me a really good understanding of what was available and what we really want, I didn’t understand this before your came to see us. I have gone back to your notes and powerpoint many times to make sure that I had a really good feel of what could be done.
Carolyn Cummins, Jigsaw
Thanks for a fantastic workshop on Friday. I really found it useful and learned quite a few new things. I will definitely look at for any future workshops you are offering.
Cara Anderson, Website Manager, The OSCAR Foundation
3. Web content writing and wrangling
Do you need some help writing new webpages or converting an old website to a new one? I am familiar with a variety of content management systems and HTML mark-up. I can help get your new website off to a good start-up.
I have 20 years practical experience writing for a wide range of audiences in many mediums. As part of my ongoing commitment to refresher training I’ve completed the following courses:
- in 2004 the Professional Writing and Editing course as part of the Christchurch Polytechnic Graduate Diploma in Information Design,
- in 2008 the “Contented: online course in business writing for the web”.
My hourly rate for web content writing and wrangling is available on request.
