Volunteer Ottawa is partnering with the organization NPO PM Training.org to offer this one-of-a-kind opportunity for non-profit organizations: a Project Management skills workshop, followed by one-on-one support coaching by a certified Project Manager. Are you struggling with how to deliver projects and making the best of donor dollars? Do you know where to even start? Can you articulate your real success criteria?

This program will provide you with high-quality, immediately applicable, Project Management skills specifically for non-profits. Program registration entitles you to the following:

A condensed course in project management, taught by certified Project Management Professionals (PMPs)
one-on-one Coaching on your project for up to 20 hours over 3-4 months (longer by special arrangement).
membership in an online community to share experiences and receive answers to your questions and a set of simple, practical tools to use in your daily work
Learning objectives:

Understand the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), which divides Project Management skills into

Project Initiation,
Process Planning,
Work Breakdown Structure,
Scheduling,
Project Execution and Control, and
Project Closing.
Use the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) to

Plan and Execute more consistently
Utilize your resources efficiently and effectively
Achieve better project outcomes
Who should attend?

Anyone working in a Non-Profit Organization who wants or needs to apply a practical Project Management methodology to their projects will benefit from this training. This may include (but is not limited to): Field Workers, Program Managers and Senior Managers. Senior management are encouraged to attend alongside their Project Managers.

Post-workshop coaching will happen at your office

Cost includes

a full day of instruction, including lunch, and
20 hours of one-on-one coaching at your workplace or via phone spread over three months after the workshop
Workshop facilitators and coaches:

The workshop and coaching are provided by certified and highly experienced project management professionals through NPO PM Training.org, who are also a local non-profit which exists to improve the capacity of local charities and NPOs to deliver on their mandates by managing their initiatives more effectively. The NPO PM Training.org’s leaders are:

Paul Astell is a certified Project Management Professional who has been working as a Project Manager in high-tech for over 12 years. Paul specializes in advanced R&D projects which are unique and have different requirements – not unlike the projects in the non-profit sector. Currently Paul is working at the Communications Research Centre.

Cliff Thornton is a certified Project Management Professional who has been in the high-tech industry for over 22 years. Cliff has worked in various inspiring roles over his 18 years at Cognos / IBM and now as an independent consultant. His roles have included: Customer Support, Software QA/QC, Release Management, Program Coordinator / Operations Management notably covering all areas (hardware, software, procurement, legal, process document, etc.) of deploying an entire lab to handle 300 users, Agile Methodology implementation and has helped organize and provide numerous NPO PM training workshops.

Karen Wilson is a certified Project Management Professional who has been working as a project manager for over 10 years. Karen has been involved in a diverse range of projects types including Hi-tech, IT, and small business. Karen brings a widely ranging background and high energy to projects of all types and sizes. She enjoys sharing her drive and ability to get things done!

Dawn Bailey is a PMP certified project manager with 20 years of experience managing global projects covering a broad range of activities. Her passion is solving problems through diligent analysis of issues and finding creative ways (and people) to solve them. Dawn is currently at IBM where her team is responsible for division wide infrastructure, tooling and projects – including Defect Management, Accessibility, Education, Capital Planning and Resource Management. Dawn is active on the NPO PM Training.org board of directors and is also an avid volunteer and community member for her local school and region.

The coaches are drawn from the same pool of experienced project managers and they will help guide course attendees to use their new PM skills through the early months of the project.