“How to organise a project”

Idea You need an idea that sparks your interest in order to have the passion to investigate it Do some background research about the idea / topic

Background research I did a Google search on ‘Organise a project’ 4 million+ results! Online project planner How to organise, plan & control projects Step-by-step Beginners Guide to Project Management Business orientated, but provided plenty of good suggestions

Suggestions what, why, who, when & how of project management flowcharts and checklists for tasks e.g. gear that you need before leaving home template forms (data sheets) for tasks e.g. capture sheet / observation sheet Marilyn Court would like to organise a project on Royal Spoonbills in the Bay of Plenty so I’ll use that request as our example through this presentation

What project do I want to carry out? Topic Royal Spoonbills in the Bay of Plenty What is already known? do a review / background research Has such a study been done in part or whole previously – national / regional study look for methods, locations of counts, census data Where is information likely to be? paper/article in a journal (Notornis, Southern Bird, other journals), Classified Summaries Notes, Birding NZ, HANZAB, Heather & Robertson and other bird books, BOP regional records, OSNZ members known to have carried out similar studies (Peter Schweigman), Google, Wikipedia, etc

Why do such a study? What is the objective(s)? To determine the locations (foraging and nesting) and numbers of Royal Spoonbills in the BOP (Title) At the end of the study what products do you want available? summary of data for your own interest prepare a newsletter and/or an article for Southern Bird give a presentation at a meeting prepare a poster prepare a paper for Notornis results, statistical analyses, maps, graphs, photos

How will the study be carried out? List locations where spoonbills have been seen previously how many locations is it likely to involve? what distance will you need to travel? will you need to access islands (boat travel)? Determine other likely locations Ask OSNZ members / public to report sightings Frequency of observations (quarterly, monthly, weekly)?

How will the study be carried out? How will you observe the spoonbills? binoculars, telescope, blinds / hides notebook, data sheet on clipboard, electronically (laptop, etc), camera? How will the data be stored? At home in notebook only, copied to a data sheet, computer data file, memory stick, eBird, offsite (someone else’s computer)? Checklists people to contact beforehand, things you need to take

When will the study be carried out? Particular time of day, month, season? Does state of tide influence spoonbill locations, and therefore time of observations? What is your plan B if the weather is unsuitable on the scheduled day? How long will the study continue for? 2 yrs, 5 yrs, 2 yrs repeated at 5/10 yr intervals

Who will do the study? Can you do the field observations on your own or will you need assistance? factor in absences (holidays, illness, etc) Even if you can do all the field observations, will you need assistance / training for other aspects of the study? computing: data storage, analyses, graphs photography

Who will do the study? If you involve others, you will need to: provide training carry out a familiarisation trip locations, standardised methods consider health & safety issues what could go wrong / accidents / communications

Other things to consider Will you need funding for travel (aerial searches) / equipment / and other expenses? OSNZ regional / national funds other sources – F&B, Lotteries, etc Will you need permission for access across private / Council / etc land

Pilot study – reality check! Even with the best organisational skills, and knowledge of the species and district, there is likely to be the need for some refinements of the field programme Reassess field processes after each of the first 3 field trips or until operating smoothly Is there a need for additional data / observations (e.g. distinguish juveniles from adults)?

Summarise data Summarise data after each trip or first year’s observations Do the results suggest any changes / additions are necessary? other data (tide, weather, etc) more frequent observations during some months

Once the systems are running smoothly DO IT!

Debrief Particularly if you have people assisting with the observations it is always a good idea to have a debrief at least once a year, but probably after the first 3 months (if monthly observations) to ensure people are: keen to continue to be involved, and opportunity for them to discuss any problems and suggestions for improvements Consider following the debrief with some social time together, e.g. pot-luck meal

Feedback – is really important! Provide feedback to all involved, and those you are dependent on, at least annually email up dates / observations of note email newsletter etc