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Managing The Activities

Some projects take a lot of planning over several months and with several people working on them - often in different offices or even different towns. It can be easy to lose track of all of the things that need doing, who was going to do them and when they need to be done. This is why meetings and their minutes are kept so formally- it is very easy to forget what was said, decided or planned unless it is clearly written. Even with the best minutes, though, it can be hard to keep track of a project when there are lots of things starting and finishing all the time, over a few months. Different tools work for different people.

Tools to help meetings

The most effective way of making sure that everyone knows what is happening in a team is to have well run team meetings with accurate minutes. Having an organised agenda will help the whole team stay on track with meetings.  See the Running meetings section for easy to use templates and instructions on how to do this.

In addition to meetings between the members of the whole team, it is often helpful to have individual meetings between workers and their supervisors, outlining what their plans are for the coming week, and where they will be.
This form will help with weekly planning between one person and his/ her supervisor.

Weekly Running Report (62 KB)

Time line- planning

A timeline, side by side with the meeting minutes or boardwalk reports, helps plan activities over a longer period. Here is one example of part of a timeline for a group organising a Reclaim the Night march through Dubbo. Individual tasks, taken from the planning meeting minutes, are listed in the left margin (the yellow section). To the right is the timeline, with columns for each week.

Next to each individual task is a grey line, beginning with the date the task is due to start and ending with the date the task is due to end. It is easy for both the worker and the team leader to see what tasks are due now, what is coming up and what should have been completed by now. In this example, the two red lines show today's date, so we can see that it is week 3 (or 19/11/08).

The activity of "contacting the local community groups and asking if they want to be involved" should be completed this week.

Exploring and applying for funding should be about mid way through. Preparing the budget hasn't yet been written in - maybe they're waiting to see which community groups get involved?

This project planner has space for you to plan activities over a period of 6 months. It includes full instructions. It creates the timeline for you if you type in the other details, or you can print off a blank one and draw it in pen.

6 Month Planner (128 KB)

Time line- on the day

On the day of a busy event or activity, it is useful - sometimes essential - that you plan ahead to do everything that needs doing on the day. It can be very easy to forget something important when you have screaming children running around demanding your attention.

An hour-by-hour timesheet (often called a run sheet) also means that several people can have copies and know what each is up to. This sample run sheet helps plan and keep track of where all workers are. It is also valuable for keeping track of multiple vehicles during events.

Daily Running Sheet (62 KB)

Transport coordination tools

If your activity or event includes pick-up and drop-off vehicles, the team leader needs to know where the vehicles are, especially if there are several vehicles driving around. They should make sure a log book is used to record:

• Who was driving at any time;
• Where they drove;
• What time they started and finished driving;

This information will be needed if the vehicle is recorded as speeding at any time during the day or if there are any complaints about the way the vehicle was driven.

What the odometer reading was at the start and finish of the journey.

This helps the organisation keep track of how many kilometres have been travelled for each project and reduces the chances of the vehicle being misused for private purposes. It is also required for the organisation's tax purposes.

Any maintenance of the vehicle.

The team leader should ensure that the vehicle is properly maintained. A record in the vehicle log book will show when routine services last happened, when oil and water have been topped up and when tyres have been checked or replaced.
This vehicle logbook can be printed and kept in the vehicle, or you can buy one cheaply from most newsagents.

Vehicle Logbook (30 KB)

It is a good idea to make sure that on each trip all bus drivers have a volunteer or staff member with a mobile phone or radio contact with the team leader.

No matter how well organised the event, the buses are often running late or are needed somewhere different. A minor accident or flat tyre can cause long delays. A second person can make a huge difference.
The driver’s assistant should be prepared to supervise all the children so the driver can concentrate on the care of the vehicle and passengers.
This daily run sheet is an ideal way of keeping track of vehicles at any time during an event or activity.

Daily Running Sheet (62 KB)

Food handling fact sheets

Youth events often include sausage sizzles or other food related stalls. Some people are concerned that they will need special permission to do this but you do not need any training for food handling, or notification of the event to the NSW Food Authority at fundraising events for community causes as long as:

• The food does not normally need to be kept hot or cold (eg sandwiches, salads), or
• It will be eaten immediately after thorough cooking (e.g. sausage sizzles, drinks).

You can find more details at the NSW Food Authority website at http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/foodsafetyandyou/keeping-food-safe/charities-groups-and-volunteers
The Food Authority has a detailed manual to make food businesses aware of their legal requirements when operating at a temporary event. In nearly every situation it is recommended that food operators talk to their local council before the event.
http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/foodsafetyandyou

http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/

Specialist workers

If you are organising water based activities, your organisation should have a set of rules (ie: a policy) on water based activities, showing how many workers to have, what training they need, etc.
The Royal Lifesaving Association trains attendants for water based activities. They also have factsheets on such topics as swimming safety in home, farm and inland swimming, at http://www.royallifesaving.com.au/training

For all activities, you should have at least one qualified First Aid Officer who is easily identified and known to all staff, security and volunteers. Directions to the location of the First Aid facilities should also be clearly visible.
If you are organising a large event, it would be wise to have St John's First Aid present - a ratio of two volunteers to every 500 potential participants is suggested. You can contact them at www.stjohnnsw.com.au

Tools to keep track of participants

For every activity, you should keep a list of participant's and their contact details. This should be kept with the workers in charge of the participants, so they can phone the participants family in case there is an accident.
This attendance sheet gives you space to record essential details on the participant list.

Attendance Sheet (88 KB)

You need to get the participants' permission (or permission from their parents if they are children) before they get involved in the activity. Many participants have special needs - perhaps dietary needs such as food allergies, or medical conditions such as asthma.
This form can be given to each participant or their parents to get their permission to get involved. It is several pages long- only the first two pages will be needed by most participants. The extra pages are an asthma management form and an allergy management form, with the details suggested by the Asthma Foundation for the safe care of people suffering from Asthma.

Medical Consent Form (70 KB)

See also

The sections on managing behaviour and occupational health and safety should also be read when planning your activity.