product & service

manifestoCreating unique Internet tools

for civil society.

APC

the environment

cheap dial upfree hosting

many NGOs onlineeasy development

Why APC?

Services.Internet.

Unique. Civil society.

examples:lobbying

fundraising

organising

volunteering

solidarity

democracy

... of unique civil society desires & needs.

Unique Civil Society Internet Services

... can meet these needs.

Unique Civil Society Internet Services

... a real opportunity for APC.

=

Unique Civil Society Internet Services

... our killer SEP.

=

Unique Civil Society Internet Services

... attaining civil society goals.

=

Unique Civil Society Internet Services

... sustainability for APC members.

=

Unique Civil Society Internet Services

... foundations of an alternative media system.

=

What’s good ...

... in a civil society Internet service.

Unlike anything offered by the commercial Internet industry.

1

example: online lobbying tools

1

Designed specifically to address NGO needs and desires.

2

example: su training on internet campaigns

2

Easy to integrate with other APC products and services.

3

example: conferences and NGO virtual

office

3

Integrally woven into the 'people network' which makes up the

APC and each node.

4

example: labournet or womensnet

online community

4

Easy to replicate over and over again.

5

example: database-driven action

applications

5

3 categories

value added products

development and support services

traditional internet services

value added

extra or special features which make a product or service more

valuable

extra or special features which make a product or service more

valuable

value added

value added

standardised and easy to replicate

products

examples

action applicationscivil society conferences

NGO virtual officeonline su trainingonline fundraising

online communities

.... of value added products

why?

internet + NGO processes

unlimited number of users

low cost solutions

tools = content

.... of value added products

why not?

harder than services

no betas

marketing is key

.... of value added products

where’s $ come from?

tool accounts

content accounts

publishing tools / publicity

transaction fees

.... for value added products

development &

support services

one time / project based delivery to meet specific needs

examples

site development

face-to-face training

communications consulting

content facilitation

custom documentation

.... of development & support services.

why?

meeting individual needscapacity buildingperpetual R&D

relationships and trustperpetual feedback

good money for good works

.... of development & support services.

why not?

more work = more staff

bad service = big impacts

treating products like projects

.... of development & support services.

traditional internet products & services

the stuff everyone else is offering

examples

dial-upwww hosting

ecommerce hostingLAN support

connection softwarebasic training

... traditional Internet products & services.

why?

platform for unique services

customer perception

customer expectation

customer contact

cash flow... traditional Internet products & services.

why not?

decreased confidence

dial up = value added?

service quality

misdirected resources

technical perception... traditional Internet products & services.

outsourcinghave a clear contract

outsourcinginclude penalties for poor service

outsourcingshare financial risks if possible

outsourcingkeep control of all customer contact

and make sure it pays

building

unique internet services for civil society

dreaming ~ ~ marketing

buildingdreaming ~ ~ marketing

desireNGO-specific

clarity difference

product profiles

clearly describing a product or servicefor yourself

and your client communities

product profiles

1. Product Name

2. What is (product name)?

3. Who would use (product name)?

4. How is (product name) provided?

5. Features and benefits

6. Pricing

products profiles

1. Strategic Importance

2. Pricing Details

3. Conditions of Sale

products profiles

Action Applications:Shared Database Publishing for NGOs

What Are Action Applications?

'Action Applications' provide NGOs with both simple 'cut & paste' publishing for their own WWW sitesand increased publicity through the 'aggregation' of information into issue based communities. At the levelof the individual NGO WWW site, an Action Application is simply a high-impact / low-cost way toautomate the publishing of press releases, job listings, events or other types of information. But the realpower of Action Applications comes at the level of 'collective publishing' and 'aggregation'. Each eventadded at to an individual site is also automatically added to a 'community-wide' site, thus increasing theamount of publicity received by each listing and the organization which posted it.

Individual Action Applications include:

4. Press Release / Action Alert Publisher

5. Events Listings

6. Job Listings

7. Community Radio Program Exchange

Who Would Use Action Applications

Organizations who want to seamlessly combine the benefits of dynamically publishing events on their ownsite and on a high-traffic, issue-based community site. It is especially useful for umbrella groups andorganizations with memberships that are active within a particular sector.

How Are Action Applications Provided?

Action Applications are built using 'shared databases' which both lower setup and operating costs forindividual and make it easy to 'aggregate' related information into 'community-wide' listings. Applicationscan be installed in new or existing NGO WWW sites simply by adding a small amount of additional 'code'.Once an Action Application installed, non-technical NGO staff, volunteers and even end users canautomatically add information to a site simply by cutting and pasting. Each posting is also automaticallyadded to the appropriate community-wide listing. Different levels of security can be implemented to controlwho can post information.

Features and Benefits

applications match NGO 'business tasks'increased publicity for specific postings and NGO site as a wholelow cost automated WWW publishingno need for technical skills to publish to a WWW site

integrates into content aggregation / online community

Action Applications:Shared Database Publishing for NGOs

What Are Action Applications?

'Action Applications' provide NGOs with both simple 'cut & paste' publishing for their own WWW sitesand increased publicity through the 'aggregation' of information into issue based communities. At the levelof the individual NGO WWW site, an Action Application is simply a high-impact / low-cost way toautomate the publishing of press releases, job listings, events or other types of information. But the realpower of Action Applications comes at the level of 'collective publishing' and 'aggregation'. Each eventadded at to an individual site is also automatically added to a 'community-wide' site, thus increasing theamount of publicity received by each listing and the organization which posted it.

Individual Action Applications include:

4. Press Release / Action Alert Publisher

5. Events Listings

6. Job Listings

7. Community Radio Program Exchange

Who Would Use Action Applications

Organizations who want to seamlessly combine the benefits of dynamically publishing events on their ownsite and on a high-traffic, issue-based community site. It is especially useful for umbrella groups andorganizations with memberships that are active within a particular sector.

How Are Action Applications Provided?

Action Applications are built using 'shared databases' which both lower setup and operating costs forindividual and make it easy to 'aggregate' related information into 'community-wide' listings. Applicationscan be installed in new or existing NGO WWW sites simply by adding a small amount of additional 'code'.Once an Action Application installed, non-technical NGO staff, volunteers and even end users canautomatically add information to a site simply by cutting and pasting. Each posting is also automaticallyadded to the appropriate community-wide listing. Different levels of security can be implemented to controlwho can post information.

Features and Benefits

applications match NGO 'business tasks'increased publicity for specific postings and NGO site as a wholelow cost automated WWW publishingno need for technical skills to publish to a WWW site

integrates into content aggregation / online community

product differentiation

assessing the uniqueness of your products and services

product differentiation

product criteria

organizational criteria

market criteria

product differentiationAPC Business Planning Project Service and Product Differentiation Worksheet

Service or Product Name:

Competitors/Competing Products:

Criteria

1) Criteria related to the product or service being offered

Product or service benefits (e.g., cost savings, service improvement, etc.) 0Unique features of offering 0Perceived quality of offering 0Related service(s) provided with offering - pre- and post-sales 0Quality of presentation of offering to prospective clients 0Price of offering 0Delivery method for your offering 0Time to delivery 0Relationship to other offerings you or other APC nodes supply 0

Sub-total

Geographic location of your office(s) 0Convenience of buying from your organization 0Your staff's knowledge and experience with your offering 0Relationship of your organization to customers (e.g., shared knowledge, values, trust, etc.) 0Image of your organization 0Long term vision of your organization 0Strategic alliances, partnerships or memberships 0Financial stability of your organization 0

Position of your offering in market (early, mainstream, late) 0Ease of entry into market (time, cost, barriers to entry, etc.) 0Requirement for ongoing innovation of the offering 0Product obsolesence timeframe 0

0

Competitive Rating

APC Business Planning Project Service and Product Differentiation Worksheet

Service or Product Name:

Competitors/Competing Products:

Criteria

1) Criteria related to the product or service being offered

Product or service benefits (e.g., cost savings, service improvement, etc.) 0Unique features of offering 0Perceived quality of offering 0Related service(s) provided with offering - pre- and post-sales 0Quality of presentation of offering to prospective clients 0Price of offering 0Delivery method for your offering 0Time to delivery 0Relationship to other offerings you or other APC nodes supply 0

Sub-total

Geographic location of your office(s) 0Convenience of buying from your organization 0Your staff's knowledge and experience with your offering 0Relationship of your organization to customers (e.g., shared knowledge, values, trust, etc.) 0Image of your organization 0Long term vision of your organization 0Strategic alliances, partnerships or memberships 0Financial stability of your organization 0

Position of your offering in market (early, mainstream, late) 0Ease of entry into market (time, cost, barriers to entry, etc.) 0Requirement for ongoing innovation of the offering 0Product obsolesence timeframe 0

0

Competitive Rating

product differentiation

Product or service benefits (e.g., cost savings, service improvement, etc.) 0Unique features of offering 0Perceived quality of offering 0Related service(s) provided with offering - pre- and post-sales 0Quality of presentation of offering to prospective clients 0Price of offering 0

0Time to delivery 0Relationship to other offerings you or other APC nodes supply 0

2) Criteria related to your organization

Geographic location of your office(s) 0Convenience of buying from your organization 0Your staff's knowledge and experience with your offering 0Relationship of your organization to customers (e.g., shared knowledge, values, trust, etc.) 0Image of your organization 0Long term vision of your organization 0Strategic alliances, partnerships or memberships 0Financial stability of your organization 0

Sub-total

3) Criteria related to the market you operate in*

Position of your offering in market (early, mainstream, late) 0Ease of entry into market (time, cost, barriers to entry, etc.) 0Requirement for ongoing innovation of the offering 0Product obsolesence timeframe 0Vertical market or niche market opportunties 0

Sub-total

Total

Product or service benefits (e.g., cost savings, service improvement, etc.) 0Unique features of offering 0Perceived quality of offering 0Related service(s) provided with offering - pre- and post-sales 0Quality of presentation of offering to prospective clients 0Price of offering 0

0Time to delivery 0Relationship to other offerings you or other APC nodes supply 0

2) Criteria related to your organization

Geographic location of your office(s) 0Convenience of buying from your organization 0Your staff's knowledge and experience with your offering 0Relationship of your organization to customers (e.g., shared knowledge, values, trust, etc.) 0Image of your organization 0Long term vision of your organization 0Strategic alliances, partnerships or memberships 0Financial stability of your organization 0

Sub-total

3) Criteria related to the market you operate in*

Position of your offering in market (early, mainstream, late) 0Ease of entry into market (time, cost, barriers to entry, etc.) 0Requirement for ongoing innovation of the offering 0Product obsolesence timeframe 0Vertical market or niche market opportunties 0

Sub-total

Total

exercise

pick an SU or ICT service

create a product profile

use the differentiation worksheet

present idea to group

exercise

SU Resource Centre:

Online Community for Trainers(curriculum, tools, resources)

Online Resource Library(SU resources for user communities)

exercise

ICT Toolkit:

NGO Virtual Office(intranets and online collaboration)

Member x Content Community(value added information and content service)