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How to...
1
Toolkit
Audit Your Organisation
Jan 10
Overview of this component
Traditionally, audits were mainly associated with gaining information about financial systems and thefinancial records of a company or a business. However, recent auditing has begun to include otherinformation about the system, such as information about security risks, information systems performance.The general definition of an audit is an evaluation of a person, organisation, system, process, enterprise,project or product. Audits are performed to ascertain the validity and reliability of information, so right hereat the beginning of the AmbITion process, be brutally honest with yourselves about where you are at now.By understanding the complete picture of your situation now, you’ll be able to see what your starting point isand so plan accordingly.Any digital development is not just about the technology. Its about enhancing the potential of yourorganisation to be better equipped for the 21st century. It’s about your artistic content, your audiencedevelopment, your organisational and your business model development. If your digital developmentidea comes from the core passion and purpose of your organisation, then you’re starting on the right foot.Do you have experience of implementing change and introducing new systems before? (this experiencedoesn’t have to be digital/IT related – change and new systems tend to impact people and their ways of working, and this will need sensitive management).
What is your Aspiration?
What is your Capability?
The motivation and commitment to the digital development journey needs to be owned by the Chief Executive of the organisation. You may have a digital native in-house who can lead or support the process.It might be useful to carry out a staff ICT skills audit: we usedSurvey Monkey with some AmbITion
organisations to achieve this (it allowed people to complete the audit through an online questionnaire,which could be anonymous, and automatically aggregates responses into easy to read tables, etc.
What is your expertise?
How to...
2
Toolkit
Audit Your Organisation
Jan 10
At this stage you can identify if you need to bring in an expert to facilitate your journey through the thinkingand planning process. Seriously consider whether, if the project is big, complex or involves technologiesthat are new, you might need to work with an appropriate consultant who understands digital developmentwithin an arts sector setting.What else have you got going on? Can you manage an IT implementation/and manage the impact of change on the organisation and staff at the same time as your ongoing activity and any otherorganisational developments currently on the go?
What is your Capacity?
What is your Commitment?
If your board is a bit risk-averse on the subject of Digital Development; or if you’re the
digital expert in the organisation needing to infuence your SMT/board, then AmbITion’s
A digital native is anyone who has “grown-up digital”: they will be under the age of 28, and have a completely different understanding of IT and digital to anyone over that age. Over that age, you may have staff members who are technology early adopters, or digital enthusiasts. These staff are not to become your new IT/digital tsars: that’s not their job; but their enthusiasm, understanding and energy around digital may well help support your digital development journey.
Is the level of buy-in high throughout the whole organisation? Everyone needs to be involved in the thinking,so that the project ends up completely integrated across the whole organisation. That means your boardshould be involved, the Senior Management Team, the digital natives in your team and everyone else!
How to...
3
Toolkit
Audit Your Organisation
Jan 10
Audit your IT
-cales.
Describe what you have done in terms of digital development so far. What impact have these develop-ments had on your organisation’s core objectives and/or particular strategies?What IT systems are in place in each department? You need to describe all the functions that you use IT foroperationally, and list which software and hardware is utilised. What’s your support, back up and replace-ment procedures? Do you have any policies relation to IT or digital in place?How do you use ICT to communicate with:- each other- your stakeholders- your audiences- potential audiencesYou also need to describe how the organisation’s webpresence is set up. What platforms do you use to dowhat, and who updates them? What digital content is made? How and by whom? Capture baseline infor-mation on webpresence platforms (eg. How many Facebook Fans? How many unique monthly visits to yourwebsite? How many podcast downloads? etc.)Note what systems do or do not interface with each other (eg. “we use ConstantContact for our subscribersemail list, but our education database of teachers’ emails is on a different Access database”).
Start an organisational “Tech book” – this could list the kit and software that you have, as well as key contacts and other documentation such as policies and set-up/back-up procedures.
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