Friday, 25 March

Today I got a call from the Dir of FaF who enlisted my help in organising a new set of discussions, different from the Speaker Series, but related. The Partnership is (and has been since last Summer) undergoing a Strategic Planning phase right now. The Speaker Series was part of the Planning; its purpose is to stretch the imagination and boundaries of established thoughts, challenge the current methods we use for assisting homeless people. The Dir asked me to find space for a series of three staff meetings, with attendance mandatory at one staff meeting at least. The purpose of the meetings is to discuss our current Mission and Values Statements, and recap our Speaker Series with thoughts on how to alter our current programmes to better suit our clients and organisation. I'm in charge of gathering all Speaker Series related materials, including all academic papers and published articles that were distributed at each Discussion, locate and book rooms for the discussions, gather and prepare supplies for the meetings (including a summary of each of the panel discussions) and be present at all three staff meetings.

"No prob," I assured her.

And so I embarked on the task of preparing for said staff meetings. I very much look forward to them. I've had reactions to each of the discussions, thoughts about how the new research each Speaker provides compares with our methods of handling clients. I can't wait for this open forum to discuss what I've learned and make suggestions to the group. This process of development based upon research is what I'm good at. It'll be like sitting in a classroom again, debating, respectfully of course, a topic that everyone in the room is vested in and knowledgeable of. In that regard, the meeting will vary from most classroom discussions I've ever sat in on. Fnar. :)

7 hours.