Anna and seven other project leaders learned about sponsoring and communication strategies at the second leadership workshop.

Where we come from

Three month ago, in March 2008, Anna learned team motivation and commitment during the first oikos Project Leadership Programme coaching meeting in Schaffhausen. She applied what she learned about team-working procedures during her first team meeting with her local project team:

 

"We work together much better since we clarified our expectations and have regular group meetings to coordinate our work."  

 

Now her team collects and edits the information for the sustainability report for the University of Bayreuth. But as project leader, Anna Ritschel looks beyond the daily work: How can we best communicate the report to different stakeholders once it is finished?  

 

Strategic Stakeholder Communication

The participants of the second Project Leadership Workshop in Chur from 18-20 July  discussed about the stakeholder communication.  Eveline Kooiman and Peter Paul van de Wijs, communication leaders from DOW Europe, talked about their experiences in communicating with stakeholders and offered a step by step roadmap to plan stakeholder engagement at a students project level.

 

Wolfgang Machur, oikos Hamburg, presented what stakeholders he identified in his project, a sustainability guide for Hamburg:

 

"I realised during the discussions that it is important to talk to the University now. We did not perceive the University as a stakeholder so far, since we do not need information or anything from them. But it is a good point that they should know what we are doing."

 

 

What companies look at if asked for sponsoring

Claudia Genier, from FSG Social Impact Advisors, shared her knowledge of sponsoring  with the project leaders. In the discussion she emphasized the importance to build strong linkages with potential sponsors:

 

"By supporting a project the sponsor wants to receive visibility and image return. You have to point out why the company you target may have an interest to support you."

 

Anna Hofmann wants to get corporations on board to support her India Symposium she organizes in Bayreuth:

 

"I take home the hint that the corporations I approach should have a strong business link with Germany. A very good idea I got is to approach the embassy and have a look at corporations that went on business trips with german ministers."

 

 

From sustainability landscape to project landscape

Oliver Karius, from LGT Venture Philanthropy, had opened the meeting with a  speech on trends  in sustainable management: 

 

"Sharing knowledge on a concrete problem-solving-level how best to serve the poor and disadvantaged (be it people or nature) between corporations, local communities, foundations and public agencies is key."

 

His ideas were taken up in many of the discussions during the weekend.

On the last day, participants designed a landscape of each project. Anna, Wolfgang and the others painted their projects on cardboard, moulded it with clay or designed statues out of office material and other ingredients. Have a look at how the project landscapes look like and discuss with the project leaders what their landscapes mean!