Dawn

CAIT has many skills and talents and I have highlighted some of them in my past blogs (What Do You Require?  and Three Scary Words (Standard Operating Procedures)).  But for this blog I thought I would talk about something we do that many organizations overlook, Strategic Planning.

What is Strategic Planning?

The first definition of Strategic Planning is:  “The systematic process of envisioning a desired future, and translating this vision into broadly defined goals or objectives and a sequence of steps to achieve them.[i]”  Yeah, and what does that mean?

I prefer this definition by Rena Tom: “Think of a strategic plan as a roadmap to help guide you when there are too many distractions, opportunities, and unexpected problems keeping you from moving forward. Or, consider it preventative medicine that will help you avoid costly and time-consuming crisis management later on down the line.”

But isn’t all planning strategic?  Not exactly, strategic planning starts with the desired end results and works backwards.  So how do you even start one?

One strategic planning tool we employ at CAIT is a SWOT Analysis.  A SWOT Analysis looks at organizations Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats.  By performing a SWOT during your strategic planning, you can begin to see where your organization is the strongest and how to change threats into opportunities.  Performing a SWOT analysis does not equate to completing a Strategic Plan, but it has gathered information that now can be used to develop the strategic plan.

Image credit: scottchan

But before you go running off and creating your own SWOT (they are really a lot of fun), we need to talk about how to create the strategic plan process. As with all processes there is no one way to create the plan.  However, there is one thing that is common “inclusion” of the organization at all levels.   As I am not an expert in Strategic Planning but always strive to provide the best information, I consulted one, Project Manager Larry Martin.    Larry’s knowledge and experience far outweigh mine, well in this area, so look to some future blogs by Larry that will help you begin your Strategic Planning!

Raquel

At DECO, we are well aware of the significance of business incubators in supporting small business start-ups.  Our own incubator is a great source of support and guidance for a variety of companies. As it stands, small businesses encompass 99% of all firms.  They are job creators and contribute to the country’s economic growth.  Supporting and stimulating the creation of new businesses is necessary to stabilize and improve the economy.   Business Incubators nurture small businesses owners and entrepreneurs by providing them with all resources they need to start a business and become successful.  While many people have viable ideas for a business, the majority never take that leap because they do not know where to start.  Additionally, those who own small businesses usually cannot afford to invest large amounts of money to expand their businesses.    That is where business incubators come in.  For an affordable membership fee, they offer office space, employees, exposure through networking events, and expert advice on every area of a business–legal, financial, marketing, etc.

Last year, we had the privilege of working with the Emerging Technology Center (a non-profit business incubator) based in Baltimore City.  Through this partnership, we were able to work with a few of their companies developing market studies.  A market study (or analysis) tends to look at specific characteristics, demographics and trends in a target market.  They can also help project current and future demand of the company’s product or service and gather information about competitors.  This type of analysis is also important because it can allow business owners to estimate how much profit they can generate.

One of the clients that we were fortunate enough to work with was a company that developed a platform for providing online music lessons.  As a former high school band member and a lover of music, I found their product very interesting and exciting.  The main idea behind their innovative service was not only to give individuals a platform to participate in music education but to also act as a link between professional musicians and their fans.  Since our time working with this company, they have successfully launched their website.  You can read more about their product here.  Not only that but they have also developed a huge following on their Facebook page. If you have ever been interested in learning how to play an instrument (and thought you didn’t have the time) or would like to improve your skills with professional musicians, you should definitely check them out!

Allie

Each year, a number of Towson University departments, both academic and administrative, offer opportunities for qualified students to become graduate assistants.  . The process is competitive and responsibilities vary depending on the sponsoring department.  Depending on the number of hours graduate assistants (or GA’s) work they receive tuition remission and a stipend making these limited positions highly sought after.  The objective of a graduate assistantship is to provide the student with rich professional experiences that also support the department’s goals and activities.

Within our department, Center for Professional Studies, we regularly utilize graduate assistants to support a number of areas ranging from customized training programs to continuing education.  For the past two years we have had been lucky enough to have, Jenna Frazzini as a member of our team. Jenna is a speech and language pathology major. When Jenna first joined our group we were in the process of submitting a grant to the Maryland Higher Education Commission and identified an active role for Jenna to play in the proposed project. Over the past two years, Jenna has regularly traveled to Dundalk High School to help high school seniors with the college application process, essay writing, and basic interview skills. Jenna worked one on one with the students and feels confident that her interaction with the students had a large impact on the student’s confidence as it came time for them to begin applying to college.

When I asked Jenna what she’s found most rewarding during her tenure as a GA, she responded, “that the skills that she learned from dealing and communicating with several different groups of people in a business-like setting have been invaluable.”

Our Director, Jeff Beeson, while new to the job, is already looking for opportunities for us to employ more graduate assistants in the future.

Image credit: Desiree Stover

Clay

With the deadline for TowsonGlobal’s second business plan competition just around the corner, I sat down with several people to talk about the competition.  In the first video, I talked with Towson University’s Outreach and Partnerships Coordinator Kelsey Beckett about the competition’s purpose, how it impacts the region’s entrepreneurial community, the many ways it provides entrepreneurs with resources that will be beneficial over the long run, and what participants can expect if they win.

Additionally, I talked with the two winners of the 2011 competition, Ben Walsh, owner of PureBang Games and Lisa Drouillard, founder of My Hopeful Journey, to gain insights on how participating in and winning the competition impacted their business plans and helped move their businesses forward.   Both Lisa and Ben believe that part of what made them successful, was the mentoring and support from experts and guidance throughout the various stages of the competition.  Both also found that access to the broad range of resources and connections at the incubator were truly helpful.

Submissions already have started coming in for this year’s competition, so be sure to get those executive summaries in by February 6, 2012.  We are excited to see which innovative business ideas will advance to the final round, and we will announce the five finalists on February 20.

To ensure that each finalist has the best possible chance, they all will attend a presentation boot camp in March and each will be assigned an individual coach from SCORE, which will help prepare them for the final presentations to the judges on May 2.

For more information visit the Business Plan Competition page on our website or email us at info@towsonglobal.com

Lindsey

As the new year gets into full swing, many companies are planning top priorities for their employees and organization. With multiple projects, short deadlines, and budgets in mind, training is often left as a last priority or is sometimes forgotten.

With the help of Towson University’s Center for Professional Studies (CPS), the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) is ensuring that training remains a priority during 2012.

But how do we make the time? By offering several methods of training, including:

1. In-Service Sessions: Specific dates set out in advance to ensure that training takes place. Similar to a staff meeting or priority project, advanced notification helps ensure that employees will be available to attend.
2. Departmental Retreats: An opportunity for most or all of a specific Department to come together in one room to receive customized training, address questions and concerns, and discuss strategic plans for the upcoming year.
3. Customized Sessions: Requested by and designed for a specific Department on their topic of choice, and scheduled to meet the availability of their staff.
4. Open Enrollment: Offered during various dates and times throughout the calendar year to ensure maximum participation.

These are just a few of the ways we are making training a priority in 2012, and we encourage you to try what works best for your employees and organization. The key to success is making sure you set the date(s) and time(s) for training in advance and follow up to ensure effective employee participation.

Jenn

First of all, you may be thinking to yourself, “What is a featured project?” A featured project is defined as an example of an organization’s work that demonstrates the quality and nature of the organization’s deliverables to potential clients. In other words, featured projects help your organization to communicate its value. Your organization can use the following social media and email marketing tools to get the eyes of the public onto its featured projects:

1.    Blog About It
Blogging may be the best way to get your featured project in front of your potential client’s eyes. Blogs are very visual. You can add pictures, videos, and links so that your potential clients can really get a visual grasp of featured projects. Blogging can allow the client to see the value in your product/service for themselves. Towson University’s Center for GIS recently wrote a blog post about a featured project, the “Maryland Stronger Together Map”.

Photo credit: Renjith Krishnan

2.    Tweet It
Twitter for business is often underestimated. Twitter can be a very powerful tool when used correctly. Be sure that you are following and @mentioning major players in your industry. If your tweets are relevant to Twitter audiences (e.g.  a featured project that ties in industry best practices),  they may be re-tweeted, resulting in increased exposure.

3.    Spotlight It
Lastly, you can leverage your company’s email newsletter to advertise your expertise.  Another idea is to put your featured project in the spotlight by including a link or graphic within company emails. This gives you the opportunity to show off part of your portfolio in a non-obtrusive way.

Anyone who works in sales or marketing knows that it’s essential to show potential clients the value of products and services. Featured projects can assist your organization in communicating value to potential clients, and the above mentioned social media tactics can help you to gain views on your featured projects.

One important tip to remember is to stay current, this means routinely swapping out your featured projects with more recent examples.

Interested in social media for business? Check out my previous post that includes tips for event marketing using social media.

Kelsey

Towson University has long been known as the “teachers college”. Though it is now a comprehensive metropolitan public university, TU still maintains its strong roots in teacher education. The pedagogies and curriculum have evolved over the years as the field and needs of our community and students have changed, today a large focus for TU and educators across Maryland is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education.

The Baltimore Excellence in STEM Teaching (BEST) project, which is funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), realizes this and aims to improve STEM education at high schools and middle schools throughout the Baltimore region. The BEST project is a part of Towson University’s Center for STEM Excellence and offers training and mentoring to in-service STEM teachers and educational outreach to their students. Mentors come from many area higher education institutions, including TU. Participating teachers go through a 6-week summer research experience, which is followed by professional development workshops. Teachers then take what they have learned from the BEST Program and apply it in their classroom.

I was recently able to speak with Julie Damico, the Director of the BEST program. She began her position in July of 2010 and though the program is young, it is growing in popularity. Ms. Damico informed me that for the 2012-2013 school year, there were 52 applicants for about 20 spots. She also provided me with some thoughts from previous years’ participants and they had some great things to say.

• While many of the participants spoke of gaining more skills in their field, I was surprised to see how many talked about the confidence boost they received from the program.
• A lot of the teachers had not done research in a long time and this program was a chance to do just that.
• Many of the participants noted that this research experience helped to confirm that they had chosen the right career path.

This new knowledge and confidence invigorated the teachers and got them excited to take it all back to their students to improve STEM education in their classrooms.

BEST is a great program and it is making strides in the improvement of STEM education in and around Baltimore. I encourage everyone, and especially any middle and high school teachers, to check out the BEST program and see what it has to offer.

Jackie Gratz

Want to know what’s coming up for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute’s spring 2012 semester?   Attend its Preview of Spring Classes to be held on Thursday, January 19 from 10 a.m. until noon in the Merrick Lecture Hall at Goucher College.  There’s plenty of free parking with a short walk to the Lecture Hall.  At the Preview you’ll see and hear teachers as they give brief presentations of their upcoming courses.  A wide array of courses in the Fine Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences will be offered in spring as well as two book clubs and two film series.   Among the courses are

• Cosmic Puzzles
• Russia in Revolution
• Disease and History
• Roots of the Blues
• Jewish Women in the American Labor Movement
• Physics for Everyday Life
• Traits of Triumphant Survivors
• French Wines Demystified
• and many more

Some of these courses are four-week courses and some are eight-week with all offered during the day.  The spring semester begins on March 5 and ends May 3. View the full list of course offerings.

The Osher Institute offers courses to persons 50 years of age and older, but makes a special offer to Towson University faculty and staff of any age who may join Osher at a reduced rate and take one course each semester without further charge.  If you are reading this blog, you are no doubt still employed and may not have the time to attend even one course.  But please spread the word about the Osher Preview and its upcoming spring semester among the older generations of your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.

For more information about the Osher program, visit the Osher website call the office at 410-704-3688.  We’d love to send you a spring 2012 catalog with descriptions of all of the courses being offered and biographical information on the teachers who will teach them.

Sharyn

Months of brainstorming and planning went into this year’s DECO holiday card and I can truly say that is the best video card we have created to date. You may recall the New Year’s resolution card, or even our attempt to re-create the 12 days of Christmas. And then there is this year’s card. Imagine speed decorating while competing to be named the best decorated unit.

Check out our holiday card which show’s all the amazing decorations and teamwork of the DECO staff!

Now that you’ve seen the video, you may be wondering… who won our contest? While most participated, some really excelled.

• Honorable mentions. The Center for Professional Studies (CPS), TowsonGlobal, and the Vice President’s office. These units all tried their very best to pull together various holiday themes in their office spaces. CPS included decorations from all of the staff’s cultural backgrounds, TowsonGlobal’s tasteful blue and green Christmas tree was gorgeous, and the Vice President’s office transformed a palm tree into a Christmas tree and surrounded it with Towson paraphernalia.
• A tie for second. The Center for Applied IT (CAIT), lead by Dawn Bott, and the Regional Economic Studies Institute (RESI), lead by Raquel Frye, had such great concepts the judges couldn’t distinguish between second and third place so it was ruled a tie! These groups really coordinated their themes. CAIT’s winter wonderland and RESI’s snowy village were well thought out and could not be pulled off without the team’s full efforts.
• And the winners! But, in the end, it was hard to compete with two dedicated decorators from the Administration and Finance team, Anna Orfanidis and Lusine Baghdasarian. Their decorations could rival 34^th Street in Hampden!

Jeremy Monn

As readers of Ashley Buzzeo’s latest blog post already know, Towson University’s Center for GIS (CGIS) has migrated its hosted ArcGIS Servers from ArcGIS Server 9.3 to ArcGIS Server 10.  As the migration took place all GIS services were reviewed to make sure they were functioning properly.  While most services were converted without issue a handful would not start post-migration.  After several hours of troubleshooting, the problem was identified as being related to a unique subset of WFS-enabled map services.

What was interesting about this problem was that several WFS-enabled map services worked properly after the migration while a few did not.  Knowing this, I knew that the problem’s solution existed in understanding how the functioning and malfunctioning WFS-enabled map services differed.   By comparing the information contained in the REST endpoints for a functioning and malfunctioning WFS-enabled map service I noticed one difference: the functioning WFS-enabled map service had unique field aliases while the malfunctioning WFS-enabled map service had two fields that had the same alias.  Making the malfunctioning map service’s field aliases unique solved the problem as I was able to start the service and confirm it worked properly.   All the other malfunctioning WFS-enabled map services were also explained by duplicate field aliases.

While this blog touched on only one issue related to ArcGIS Server 10 migration, there are many other issues that one may experience.  Visit ESRI’s Migration to ArcGIS Server 10 page as a starting point for answers to other migration-related questions you may have.