Family Connection Partnership News

FCP Pilots New Collaborative Web Sites

Family Connection Partnership recently implemented a new communications tool to help collaboratives market themselves across the World Wide Web. The Public Affairs and Policy team has led efforts to help Family Connection collaboratives develop and launch their own new Web sites. Fourteen collaboratives in Region 8 have launched their sites and are currently testing them in a pilot program.

"We wanted to offer a tool that was easier to use than traditional Web design programs," said Laurie Searle of the Public Affairs and Policy team. "We were delighted that our test group implemented their Web sites after a short overview."

The team began working on the collaborative Web pages last year after receiving feedback from focus groups that collaboratives wanted a better way to promote their work, share resources, and keep in touch with their partners and communities over the Internet.The team then worked with i360 Group, an Atlanta company specializing in Web-based application solutions, to build the final product.

"Collaboratives will see the immediate benefits of developing, launching, and updating their own Web sites," said Taifa Butler, director of the Public Affairs and Policy team. "They can now create and maintain their own sites for free using user-friendly technology, and they can schedule meetings with the event calendar. This new tool helps collaboratives promote themselves individually and the entire Family Connection network of 159 counties across Georgia."

Each collaborative Web site has a consistent design with six standard pages-home, news, success stories, event calendar, about us, and contact us. Each collaborative also can customize the Web site with photos, documents, and additional pages, including goals, links, resources, partners, photo gallery, reports, publications, annual plans, and fact sheets. In addition, two global pages link to the Family Connection Partnership Web site-FCP home page and FC search.

Seated (l. to r.): Coordinators Rachel Oliver (Macon County), Angela Westra (Sumter County), and (standing) Sherry Witherington (Stewart County) recently implemented their new collaborative Web sites.

According to Sherry Witherington, Family Connection coordinator of Stewart County, some smaller counties who may not have their own Web sites now are considering using their local Family Connection collaborative site as their official county Web site, drawing an increase of Internet surfers to information related to their county.

"Our county doesn't have the resources to develop a Web site, so our collaborative Web site has the potential to serve the whole county. In my opinion, this is one of the best services Family Connection Partnership has offered."

Family Connection Partnership will provide training and technical support and launch an official rollout of new Web sites for all collaboratives in phases through next year. The sites are offered free to all collaboratives.

Family Connection Partnership also will offer a workshop on how to launch your Web site at the Family Connection Conference, Oct. 16 - 18, in Athens, with additional trainings through next year.

For more details from a collaborative perspective about the new Web sites, read the related article in the Family Connection Collaborative News section of this issue of Connected.

View collaborative Web pages for the following Region 8 counties by clicking on individual county names:

Chattahoochee, Clay, Crisp, Dooly, Harris, Macon, Marion, Muscogee, Quitman, Randolph, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Webster

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