PlanWin User -- A Management Tool “PlanWin provided one place to put all information that applies to each project, especially small incidental events that might otherwise not get documented such as phone calls….   I would keep the database open every day and use it for everything from contact information to maintain on-going contact information.”   International Relief and Development Rep., Cambodia Learn more about Integral Design Software, the makers of PlanWin | Contact Us | About Us Copyright © 2009 by Integral Design Software, LLC - All Rights Reserved Miriam’s Story Vision PlanWin Success The Tree Structure provides flexibility to help you decide what makes sense for your organization.   PlanWin User -- Plans and Reports “One benefit I would say is that the current version of plans and reports are available to anybody in [the organization] whereas when things were only emailed they were hard to find and there was always uncertainty that it was the correct version.  [My director] uses it regularly to have a list of plans to ask about/get updated about.... Another comment I can make is that communications is starting to use the database for stories to use in their materials - this is more efficient than asking us for such stories which often takes a while until we can respond.  I think the reliability and quality of the information they use in their promotional materials is getting better as a result.” Program Director’s Story -- Egypt My name is James Wheeler. My experience with this software program goes back to 2005 as co-director with my wife for Mennonite Central Committee in Egypt.  I have five years of experience using PlanWin and made contributions to its development along the way.  Here is a story about one of my own experiences using PlanWin. A Supporting Role I was visiting one of our partners, Youssef, in rural Upper Egypt. I was drinking tea with him, laptop open to PlanWin, collecting information for a progress report on an inter-religious conflict reduction program. Youssef began describing another possible project for peace within his community. I thought, “This is a great opportunity to help him create a plan for his project.” Within PlanWin, I opened a screen for “New Plan” and began asking Youssef questions, collecting information to better understand his vision and how our organization might support it. A few months later, it was time to submit papers for project funding approval. Remembering Youssef’s plan, I pulled up the information I had stored in PlanWin and realized this was a great idea for a new project. I e-mailed him the ideas stored in the database and asked if he was still interested in pursuing this plan. His first reaction was, “I said all that?” I responded that these were his words and that this was a great concept for a new project. After considering, Youssef said, “Yes, this really is what I want to do to make positive change.” He thanked me for supporting him and for helping him stay focused for the benefit of his community. My wife and I entered a program with a long, productive history with partners. We inherited a loose, archaic planning system that included unstructured annual plans, quarterly reports, oral partner agreements, and a confusing filing system. Because of my organization’s accumulated knowledge and best practices in development, a mandate was given to pull these scattered pieces together into a database. Creating this more effective system, which PlanWin gave structure to, would support partners, field workers, and headquarters administrative staff, helping make long-lasting, effective, and sustainable change in the lives of beneficiaries all over the world. As a program manager, PlanWin gave me the structure to support partner organizations consistently, with information stored in one place and easily accessible to me and my staff, service workers, and all levels of headquarters administration. Our partners were able to create and monitor their own plans, and we could give them customized progress reports generated in PlanWin. We program directors could see the plans in a central place and access information to follow up on partner plans and keep track of field staff details. With an updated database of partner information, and of plans completed, in progress, or pending approval, PlanWin also gave us a historical record of all program plans. PlanWin became a very practical tool. At first I was concerned that it would stand in the way of developing relationships with our partners, “drinking tea” and dreaming with them about ways to make positive change in communities. In fact, the opposite was true.  Using PlanWin helped make positive change happen.