CET+-+Meeting+Logistics



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1.0 Before Your Meeting
The S&I Framework administrator will be scheduling the WebEx meetings. One important thing to remember about our WebEx accounts is that they do not allow for recurring events to be scheduled. Instead, each instance of a workgroup meeting must be scheduled separately. As long as you indicate with your original request that it is for a recurring meeting, you need not submit a request for each instance of the meeting. The account limitation means that each instance will have a unique audio passcode and corresponding URL. Most S&I Framework workgroups use their wiki pages to post the link to either siframework1.webex.com or siframework2.webex.com (depending on where the administrator schedules it) along with the audio passcode for that week’s meeting.

1.1 Scheduling a Meeting
The S&I Framework uses WebEx to host all workgroup meetings. We currently have 2 WebEx accounts: siframework1.webex.com, which can accommodate up to 500 participants, and siframework2.webex.com, which can accommodate up to 100 participants. Only one meeting can be held at any given time on each account. Because of this limitation, it is important that you consult the S&I administrator before scheduling your meeting.

Please follow the steps below in order to successfully schedule a meeting:
 * 1) Reference the S&I Framework Calendar at: http://wiki.siframework.org/calendar to get an idea of what times may be available
 * 2) Submit your preferences to admin@siframework.org, including the meeting Date and Time, as well as whether or not the meeting is recurring. Also make note of whether or not you'd like the meeting to be recorded. //NOTE: As a general rule, you should try to submit your request at least a week before the event.//
 * 3) Confirm that the meeting information is correct


 * Solicit opinions from entire workgroup about recurring meeting times**. In the past, Initiative Leads have used websites such as, [|www.doodle.com] and [|www.whenisgood.net] to distribute surveys to find out what meeting times work with the majority of participant’s schedules.

1.2 S&I Framework Calendar
The S&I Framework calendar can be viewed at http://wiki.siframework.org/calendar. Each Initiative is included and can be distinguished by a unique color. All community-driven events will also be shown on the calendar in the same color.

Note: anyone can subscribe to these calendars with the directions on the wiki page, but due to the sheer number of events and participants, meeting invitations will **not** be sent from this account. To add or edit an event to this calendar, contact the S&I Framework administrator at admin@siframework.org.

1.3 Posting Pre-Meeting Materials
Limiting the amount of time for each topic on the agenda, helps to help provide clarity and create boundaries for workgroup participants.Compose a time-boxed agenda post it to the wiki before each meeting. This will prove beneficial especially when the meeting consists of SWG report outs. Reviewing the agenda at the beginning of the meeting also helps to set the tone for the way the meeting will be conducted.

1.4 Launching Your Meeting
Only ONC contractors/staff have access to the WebEx account passwords. Because of this, they will have to log in as the host in order to launch your meeting. You should determine in advance who will be running the meeting and inform the S&I Framework administrator. Once the designated community lead is logged into the event as a participant, they will be made a panelist, and subsequently given the role of presenter. For the first several meetings the S&I Framework administrator will remain on the line to provide technical assistance. Going forward, they may simply make the community lead the host after starting the meeting.

//**NOTE: Before attempting to host any meeting, you should be sure that you have Event Manager set up on your computer.** To do so: go to siframework1.webex.com or siframework2.webex.com, scroll down and click on the **"Event Manager"** link under the Set Up section of the left side navigator. On the Set Up WebEx Event Manager page, click **"Set Up."**//



1.5 Other Pre-Meeting Tips
//**NOTE: Should you decide to send out a reminder e-mail to account for participants who may not have internet access, it is imperative that the meeting details be accurate in order to avoid confusion. Cross reference the WG page and the S&I Framework Calendar.**// Back to Top
 * **Set up a standing meeting with your co-leads to plan the agenda, prepare materials for the meeting, discuss issues or risks, etc.** It is important for the workgroup members to have cohesion amongst the workgroup leads and this will allow for a more effective result of the meeting. As the nature of the S&I Framework is participant-based, many times both workgroup leads aren’t able to attend every meeting. Having this standing planning meeting will at least allow for the views of each lead to be expressed and incorporated even if they cannot be present during the actual call.
 * **Determine who will be the presenter of the documents during the meeting.** Identifying this individual before the workgroup call commences will be beneficial for the workgroup leads to have a common understanding of responsibility regarding what to expect during the workgroup meeting. As seen through past initiatives, being an impromptu presenter does not always go well.
 * **Send a reminder prior to your meeting with the dial-in and WebEx information.** In order to accommodate participants who may be in transit and unable to access the Wiki, it is useful to send out a reminder via e-mail, a few hours prior to commencement that includes the meeting details (i.e. dial in information).

2.0 During Your Meeting

 * **Be sure to start your meeting on time and end it five minutes early.**As S&I Framework activities are participant-based, it is important to respect everyone’s time. Promptness should be encouraged and latecomers should be told to reference the meeting minutes for material they may have missed.
 * Because many of the workgroup calls are back to back for the multiple Initiatives, it is important to end the call five minutes early so that the next group using the WebEx line can log on and begin on time as well.

2.1 Leading a Meeting
After the S&I Framework administrator makes you a panelist and gives you the presenter privileges you will be given the option to share a document, an application, or your desktop. Each option has pros and cons, depending on your circumstances. The options are outlined below.



**2.1.1 Presenting a document**
This is often the best way to share something simple, such as a PowerPoint presentation or a .pdf – something that you do not intend to edit during the course of the meeting. When you click on this icon, a window will appear which allows you to browse the documents on your computer. Upon selecting a document, you will see that it opens as a new tab within your WebEx window. To ensure that the appropriate tab is being shared, be sure that you:
 * 1) **Click on the title of the desired tab**, and
 * 2) **Click on the button on the bottom of the screen to sync all displays**.



**2.1.2 Sharing an application**
This is a good option when you want to ensure that pop-ups on your screen (Outlook notifications, etc.) are not visible to the meeting attendees. You can use this to share any open application on your computer. After clicking on the Share an Application button, a window is displayed that shows you all of the programs currently running on your computer. **Select the program you wish to share and then click the Share button.** Alternately, you can click on Other Application to open a new program to share. //**NOTE: open windows in front of the application that you are sharing may block the attendees’ view (though they will not see what is in the window, only a hashed-out box).**//



** 2.1.3 Sharing your Desktop **
This is the easiest way to use WebEx, especially for workgroup meetings when you will likely need to switch between several programs. After clicking Share your Desktop, you will begin broadcasting your screen. NOTE: The attendees see what you see at all times, unless you use the controls in the bottom right of your screen to Pause screen sharing. As a precaution, you should close any windows that may display sensitive information before sharing your desktop.
 * **To change the presenter, simply ask the S&I Framework administrator to give those privileges to another individual.**

**2.1.4 Chat**
This is another feature that is available for panelists. If you have several people leading a meeting, you may request that all of them are made panelists so that you can take full advantage of this capability. To chat, start by **opening the chat box.**




 * Next, **select your recipient(s), type your message, and click send**.



**2.1.5 Recording a Meeting**
If you intend to record a meeting, the first step is to notify admin@siframework.org of this when scheduling the meeting.

Upon logging in, before attempting to record, the host should check the recorder settings. To do so, click on **Event** and then **Recorder Settings**. The selected setting should be **Record on Server**, and **Record Audio** should be checked.



After the settings have been confirmed, the host must open the Recorder panel within WebEx. Depending on the item that is being shared, the Recorder panel will either be at the top of the screen or on the right side.



From there, the host simply shares their screen in the same way that they otherwise would, and presses the **Record** button when ready. //Note: to simplify the process of uploading and posting a recording to the wiki, please wait to start the recording until the actual content of the meeting is about to begin.//



If for some reason it is necessary to pause the recording, simply press the **Pause** button.



When finished, use the **Stop** button on the Recorder. Alternately, ending the meeting for all participants will also stop the recording.

Recordings are generally available for posting between 24 and 48 hours after the conclusion of the meeting. Contact admin@siframework.org for specific details.

2.2 Conducting an effective meeting
Facilitating a workgroup meeting can be challenging at times. Below is a compiled list of best practices when it comes to conducting the workgroup and/or sub-workgroup meetings that will help foster creativity and active discussion amongst participants.


 * 1) **Request participants who are not logged into WebEx to announce themselves on the call**. This will ensure that all participants are accounted for within the meeting minutes and for any round robins that you may decide to conduct.
 * 2) **Use WebEx chat feature when applicable.** This feature of WebEx allows you to respond directly to particular participants and address questions/concerns for those who may not wish to speak up during the workgroup calls. Note: Even if you are the presenter, this chat feature will not be visible to participants.
 * 3) **Use** **the Round Robin tactic**. As defined earlier, in order to use this method you will need the complete list of participants who are and who aren’t on the WebEx. Then you will go down the list one by one to get opinions and answers from all participants, regarding the topic at hand. Below are three examples of where this method can be applied:
 * 4) Hear other opinions before specific individuals become the “voice” of the WG
 * 5) Assign people to sub-workgroups
 * 6) Send out targeted recruitment e-mails to those community members who did not participate in any SWGs to increase participation
 * 7) **Be a strong moderator.** During workgroup meetings, participants can stray from the main discussion. In these situations, bring people back to the topic at hand in order to achieve the actual goals of the meeting. If necessary, you can offer to take the conversation offline as well to help explain a point or bring people up to speed. Be as cognizant as possible to ensure everyone has a chance to articulate their thoughts, especially if the discussion is being dominated by a few individuals. **Continually remind workgroup participants to utilize the discussion tab on the wiki** if they have other comments to make that they did not voice during the meeting.
 * 8) **Constantly strive to get community approval on content**. In order to keep the S&I Framework and open and transparent process, it’s important to engage the community in the direction and content of the work product. As leaders, it is important to encourage participation rather than taking it upon yourselves to create all the content, thereby becoming the sole proprietors of the information. Consistently ask the workgroup if they agree with the updates made.

//**NOTE: Using the WebEx to edit documents during the meeting is a great way to solicit valuable feedback from the Community members as they can see the changes being made in real time.**//

2.3 Capturing Meeting Minutes

 * **Focus the content of the meeting minutes.** In the past, S&I Framework workgroup leads have found that compiling meeting minutes can be cumbersome and tricky when they start to read like transcripts. When taking the minutes, focus on including the attendees, agenda, key discussion points, decisions made and any action items. This will make them easy to read and navigate for members who were not present during the actual call, or those who need a refresher before the next meeting. **//NOTE: As a general rule, all meeting summaries should be posted 48 hours from the start of the meeting time.//**

A new meeting minutes wiki page can be created by using the template, as outlined below. A Word document version is also available [|here] and in the Appendix.

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3.1 Contacting Your Workgroup

 * **Send thank you / follow-up e-mails to participants after calls to remind them of homework items.** This is a useful tactic as many people may sign off of the calls early and/or forget about assignments.
 * **Encourage interaction and discussion on the wiki.**The wiki is the chosen tool for communication and it is crucial for our committed members, participants, and contractors to use the various functionalities to share their perspectives.
 * The discussion tab will be utilized to track stakeholder comments on work products, documents, and overall WG progress.
 * The individual wiki pages can be directly edited as needed by members for any changes including content, structure and format. The guidelines for page edits will be discussed during WG meetings and specified on the WG homepages.



//**NOTE: One of the goals of the S&I Framework is to keep as much of the discussion as possible on the wiki so that we preserve the truly [|open government] nature of the project.** At times, of course, e-mail is necessary to convey certain information. The key is to keep all conversations as transparent as possible to balance the interests of all stakeholders and S&I Framework participants.//


 * **Cross reference your attendance list with the committed member list on the your workgroup’s wiki page.** If there are participants who attended the call but are not listed on the workgroup’s wiki page, reach out to them offline and find out if they have submitted a statement of commitment or if they would like to be recorded as an “other interested party”. After hearing back from the identified participant, be sure to update the wiki accordingly.

3.2 Mailing Lists
The S&I Framework contractor staff cannot provide support for keeping an updated list of your Initiative members; however, it is possible to create a mailing list for you to contact them more easily. If you would like a listserv created for your group, contact admin@siframework.org and provide a list of your workgroup participants’ e-mail addresses.

//**NOTE: The mailing list should be used only for cases such as meeting announcements, meeting follow-up (sending a list of action items), etc. Other uses may limit the effectiveness of the tool in the future.**//

3.3 Updating the Wiki

 * **Post consolidated list of action items to the wiki and review them during the call.** Reviewing action items helps maintain accountability within the workgroup and therefore helps its progress.
 * **Post meeting minutes and track action items within 48 hours of the WG meeting.** The minutes will include discussion highlights as well as key decisions and any new insights uncovered, and the action items will be concise and include information on the owners.

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