EWB

EWB

BUILDING SMART BRIDGESNAVIGATING EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPSSal Ajek

Steph Tom

EWB

WELCOME!BIENVENUE!

EWB

OUTLINE

Definition Initiation Challenges Maintaining

EWB

DEFINITION

In Your University: The dean The faculty Student organizations

In Your Community: Press Funders Other community organizations Politicians

EWB

INITIATION

A) Questioning:

Why are we doing this? Should we? Do we have the capacity to do so?

EWB

INITIATION

B) Approach:

Use a targeted approach when seeking partnerships

Juxtapose this to being approached Identifying EWB champions

What are the traits of an EWB champion?

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INITIATION

B) Approach: The “EWB image” See EWB through your eyes Business cards

C) First Date! Be aware of their motivations – and try to find

common ground 

Ask: What do we offer as an organization (as a chapter)?

Find commonality in their terminology, speak in their language (faculty, press, politicians)

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INITIATION

Know how to respond to “What do you do?”

Activity: “The 30 sec to 2 min pitches”

How would you pitch what EWB does and what you as an individual do within the organization depending on how much time you had?

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ACTIVITY - SCENARIOS

1. An MP

2. Your professor

3. A major corporate CEO

4. A local community group

5. Media for a 20 seconds clip on the 6 O'clock news

6. Local organization with similar mandate

7. Faculty sponsor

8. A member of the public

9. "Why aren't you involved with (local community initiative?)" asks a community member.

10. "Why should we fund you?" asks a faculty member

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CHALLENGES?

Once you have established a “bridge”, what challenges do you foresee?

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CHALLENGES

Meet the Parents! Be aware of politics

Public support versus actual support(i.e. politicians, profs that agree but limit the degree of involvement, etc)

There are gaps that you just can’t see coming. Be prepared but also be flexible to change

McMaster U. example

EWB

WITH GREAT SUCCESS COMES GREAT….

Case scenario: Hooray! You’re featured on the cover of a first-year engineering publication. You begin to read the article but discover that they give off the impression that EWB sends students overseas to build wells.

Case scenario: You have a major faculty sponsor that suddenly withdraws their funding because one of your JFs is not an engineer!

What do you do?

EWB

MAINTAINING!

How do you maintain the relationships in the face of turnover?

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MAINTAINING AN EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIP

Constant communication (holiday cards, thank you cards, update emails, newsletters)

The idea of having a specific contact person for an organization

Benefits: They remember who you are know, less chance of miscommunication

Drawbacks: Chapter turnover, workload

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MAINTAINING AN EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIP

Your biggest challenge: Turnover! Be really prepared for transition Contacts within the chapter

To maintain ongoing relationship, need to pass on information

Pass on contacts by taking people along with you to meetings

Contacts within the organization Having multiple contacts within organizationYou can also try to see if you can move onto

multi-year commitment so both parties are thinking far into the future

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TO SUM IT UP

What does it mean to have an external relationship?

How passionate, how professional your interaction becomes (subconsciously)

associated with how people view the entire organization. And don’t lose hope if things

don’t come through!

Thank you! Questions?