Posts Tagged “vegetable patch”
Weeknote 3
by andystew on June 7, 2010
Procurement
Having recently put out a call for tender it was decision time this week. It’s such a difficult thing to do. the quality of tenders received were unbelievable and it’s more often than not somebodies livelihood. The thing that stands out for me is that information in the tender is well ordered, tells you everything you’ve asked for, provides relevant experience and has a slice of personality. I’m confident we’ve made the correct decision and look forward to working with the successful applicant!
Soundbites
Publicised some soundbites that we had recorded in August 2009. Their main purpose was to help staff internally understand what was going on in and around the subject area. From memory I believe we used a Zoom H4n recorder for anyone that might be interested.
Cleared the Air
A decision was made this week that really did sit well with me. Instead of holding back and letting the issue eat away at me I decided to speak out as soon as possible. It resulted in those involved sitting down together and discussing exactly what we are trying to achieve, why and how. I think it resulted in a much better feeling amongst the group with everyone more informed. It’s always a difficult thing to do but one thing I must emphasise is that an argument you put forward must be constructive not destructive!
Veg Cover
I actioned my action and now that pesky pigeon won’t be eating my cabbages, broccoli and cauliflower! The image below was work-in-progress; I now have a mechanism that allows me to open the net for easy access – oh yeah!
Weeknote 2
by andystew on May 31, 2010
Style & Formatting
I spent half a day this week trying to ensure a range of case studies, our service is publishing, were formatted correctly and were all of the same style. I think this is a largely underestimated part of the publishing process in terms of both time and importance.
Managed Expectations
I maintain a blog for the area of work I’m involved with. The system is undergoing an upgrade (WordPress) and so I took this as an excellent opportunity to question people on what they’d like to see added in the future. This was internal at the moment however I’d definitely like to do something similar with our wider audience.
Creating a Video
I wasn’t planning on creating a video for a meeting I was attending but thought it might really improve interest in my area of work, described under networking. I’m glad I did as it definitely added some fun to the subject, and I’ve never had so much interest at a conference before. The one thing I struggled with was exporting the video. I’m going to have to look back through some resources to streamline the process.
Networking
I attended the ‘Employer Responsive Provision’ cross programme meeting on Wednesday; a great day organised to help JISC, and some wider, projects share findings. The day was well paced with lots of opportunity for networking. Pre-meeting activities added to the fun with the creation of posters and videos. You can view my video on YouTube. As @fredgarnett described it, “Desmond Dekker joins JISC!”
Crying
Not really, but nearly. Upon arriving back from Birmingham during the week I was shocked to find something had eaten a large proportion of my veg patch! Mainly the cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower leaves. Bit gutted but hoping they’ll still grow. Must get that previous action sorted and build some cover!
