COaTI
What is the Community Organizing and Technology Institute (COaTI)?
The COaTI trainings aim to improve the effectiveness of organizing efforts in two main areas, 1) communications and 2) data management and planning.
The COaTI trainings help your organization:
- Build capacity to substantially advance strategic use of technology in organizing
- Achieve deeper integration of technology with campaigns
The COaTI trainings help you:
- Increase your understanding of strategic technology use
- Increase your knowledge of specific technologies that support organizing work
- Develop an understanding of how databases can support organizing
- Increase your skill and comfort in using technology
- Increase your ability to assess technology use
- Learn techniques for effectively communicating with technical assistance providers to get what they need.
- Become a valuable part of a growing peer-to-peer network of support
The Communications COaTI
Effective organizing depends on strategic communication at various organizational levels, including communications with your membership through flyers and newsletters, conveying your message to your allies, funders, media and other supporters through your website, or eliciting action through email blasts. Good organizing is contingent on the ability to leverage technology to reach the right audience at scale. The communications COaTI covers desktop publishing, online strategies, video, and audio communications for organizers.
Download a Communications COaTI sample agenda.
What's covered at the Communications CoaTI?
- What's possible with communications technology and organizing
- Understanding Online Social Networking - Facebook, MySpace, and more
- Design for organizers
- Hands-on work with basic design tools
- Hands-on work with basic Desktop Publishing tools
- Understanding how the web works
- Hands-on work with HTML
- Developing a website strategy
- Understanding website planning and implementation
- What’s possible with online engagement tools and strategies
- Using Audio and Video in your communications
- Developing a training plan to support your technology use
- Understanding and using Web Publishing tools and Content Management Systems
The Database, Assessment & Planning COaTI
Organizing is about getting folks in action to change conditions. Tracking all those folks requires technology that supports your strategy. A key technology for organizing is a well used database. If your organization is looking to improve its database, this is the program to dig in and find out what PTP has learned from the best practices in the field. Our Database, Assessment, and Planning COaTI is designed for organizers who want to build their database skills, develop a better understanding of what databases can and can’t do, and deepen their understanding of how a specific technology fits into a broader vision for your organization and its technology use. This COaTI features a combination of large group, small group, and hands-on work. While we will provide computers for the training, participants are encouraged to bring a laptop and a copy of your organization’s database.
Download a Database, Assessment & Planning COaTI sample agenda.
What's covered at the Database, Assessment & Planning COaTI?
- Technology Assessment – what it is, why do it, how it helps
- Technology Planning – how to plan for technology use, hardware and software needs
- Developing a technology strategy
- Understanding the technology life-cycle
- Databases – what to track, and why
- Databases – examples of strategic database use, database use case studies
- SQL – Structured Query Language – the language of databases
- Mapping data/information flows
- Hands-on work with tools for data manipulation
- Top data-systems and database tools for community organizers - strengths, weaknesses, costs
Registration information:
Each COaTI session is limited to 24 participants and we expect it to fill fast. Organizations are encouraged to send more than one participant to COaTI to make it easier for staff to implement technology learnings when they return. Each session costs $616 per person. The program fee does not cover meals, lodging, or transportation.
