Using the Techkit

We call this web site a TechKit because it's designed to give you exposure to all the component parts of a voter engagement or voter education campaign, with particular emphasis on the the data management piece.

It's designed to be a fast read that you can “put down” and return to as you have time. You can complete the materials in sequence and come back to particular sections later for a refresher course.

The horizontal navigation bar across the top of the screen contains the major subject divisions:

• In the Introduction section, you'll learn about the history of voter engagement and what makes the integrated voter engagement model different from traditional voter turnout projects.
• In Project Planning, you'll learn how our contributors put together their 501(c)(3) voter education and turnout projects with an emphasis on what works and some comments on what doesn't.
• In Field Organizing, you can look over all the major components of the field work of a voter project. Most community organizers are familar with field organizing, but there are distinct differences to field work in the voter engagement work that are worth noting.
• In Data Management, you'll be getting exposed to the practical realities of managing all the data that is culled from a typical project. Data management for integrated voter engagement is still more of an art than a routine activity, so we'll share some insights on future directions for community organizations.
• And finally, in Resources you'll find lists of sample resources to get you started in your own project, as well as a list of links to other sources of information.

Navigating the TechKit

If you read the narrative from beginning to end, you'll get a pretty thorough understanding of how the pieces of voter engagement work interact. However, we've structured the navigation so that it aligns with the typical staff division of labor, so you can get by reading just the sections that apply to your job. For example, if your role is to plan the data base work for your project, you're going to need to dig into the Data Management section.

TIP: To get a quick understanding of what we have put together, read the Introduction pages, then skip through each subject section and read the overview pages. Use the site map or the search function to find specific subjects you might be interested in.

On many pages throughout the site you'll see pictures of organizers in the right hand column. Click on the picture and a new browser window will appear. A short video will automatically download and start to play. Turn on your speakers and you can see and hear the organizer talking about his or her experience. We've provided a transcript of the video segment so that if you can't see the video for some reason, you can quickly get the story. The other links will bring up a separate browser window with diagrams or other resources as indicated. You'll want to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your machine for some of the materials. Its a free download from Adobe.com

A work in progress

Like many web projects and pretty much everything we do at Progressive Technology Project, this is a work in process. We will update this as community organizers develop new experiences that are worth repeating to others in the field. We'd like to hear from you if you've done projects that others can learn from. We certainly want to hear from you if you have comments about errors, omissions, praise or condemnation. Use the feedback form link that is at the top and bottom of every page to tell us what you think.

Where to go from here

In the following pages, you can learn about our contributors, find out more about who made this web site, and get a quick overview of the legal issues associated 501(c)(3) electoral work. Or you can skip ahead to the introduction to integrated voter engagement.