7 free collaborative tools you can use

Nowadays, more and more teams/companies are forced to work together remotely. But switching from a regular day-to-day work-flow to a complex and expensive project management software is very difficult to do.

Have you ever struggled to successfully collaborate online with your clients or suppliers?

Which Collaboration Tools Should You Use?

During the last 3+ years we have successfully managed to work on several projects using only free online collaboration software (we switched to some paid plans though over time). Some of these tools might be already familiar to you. But still, we want to share them with you.

1. Dropbox

dropbox for online collaboration

Dropbox is probably one tool that we use most for collaboration. With this little software, we are able to have access to all our documents, files, articles and everything else.

As we are all tech junkies, we own quite a few pieces of technology, including multiple laptops, tablets and smartphones. And we can access our files from each gadget we own. Dropbox is compatible with all popular computer- and mobile platforms. There are native apps built for Windows, Mac, Ubuntu, Android, iOS and Blackberry. Also, you can access your Dropbox from the internet browser. Check out the Dropbox system requirements.

If you aren’t using Dropbox for teamwork, you should definitely consider doing it immediately. This tool allows you to create so-called “shared folders“, which will appear in every team member’s computer. Any file, which has been uploaded to those folders, can be accessed by every person with access to it.

It is as simple as creating a new folder on your computer, putting files in there and sharing a link with your friend or co-worker. Now, if this person accepts your invitation to the shared folder, all the stuff that you add to it on your end will magically appear on the other person’s computer!

Make sure to check out our post about unusual ways to use Dropbox and how to get more Dropbox space for free!

Dropbox is a must-have for everyone. Seriously.

2. Google Docs

use google docs to edit together

Sometimes we need to work on one document together at the same time. With Google Docs you can do that very easily; This tool allows you to create online documents, presentations and spreadsheets. You don’t even need to have any office software installed – everything happens right in your browser or via the mobile app for iOS and Android.

Just create a document and share the link with other people. Now you can edit the document together at the same time in live-mode.

By now Google Docs is my go-to tool for all things content creation. The beauty of Google Docs is not only the fact that all your content is automatically saved and stored for remote access from any device, but it can also show you a history of changes made to a given document, it’s easily sharable and it’s absolutely free!

Of course, every document you create online can be exported and used offline.

3. Slack

FYI, I’m not getting paid for what I am about to say about this wonderful piece of software.

So yeah, we tried Slack… It is probably one of the best ways for teams to communicate with your team members.  To put it simply, think of Slack as a chat client on steroids.

With this communication tool you can get all your different conversations sorted into different “channels”, you can integrate tons of services and so much more! For example, you can connect Slack with IFTTT for some awesome automated action! Here’s list of all the possible software tools you can integrate with Slack.

After switching from Skype to Hangouts, we have noticed that we are somewhat limited by our main communications channel, which is chat. We couldn’t put important conversations into places where they could be easily found for future reference, searching for past messages was a pain in the a** and the services that we use didn’t really seem to work hand in hand with tools that we’ve used before.

Need to integrate your favorite project management tool with your chat client? Getting updates on new customer support tickets? With Slack you can get all of that in-stream, so you can discuss with your team who will take over the latest bug or task. To fall in love with Slack you need to try it first. Lucky for all of us, small teams can use it for free and update when they need to. Not convinced? Check out this video:

 

4. Skype

online communication and collaboration with skype

Skype is my go-to tool for all things video chat. It offers the best quality among all the other free tools, doesn’t consume too much mobile data if you’re on the go, and is generally something that most people have already installed on their computers. So, if you schedule a remote video call, all you need to send over your Skype username and you’re good to go.

All internal communication within the trendblog.net team used to happen via Skype, either throughIM Messaging or video-calls. In spite of being separated by at least 1.500 miles (2.500 km) from each other it seems like we are sitting together in one room.

5. Google Hangouts

use google hangouts for collaboration

With Skype you can only video-chat with up to 10 people. And that’s the reason why we sometimes use Google Hangouts. This tool allows you to have a video-conference with up to 100 people for free.

The new Google Hangouts are great to keep all your communication in one place and synchronized. It’s still widely used as a chat client in the business world, mainly due to the fact that it integrates with Gmail for the search history and contacts import. The video quality can be bad at times, but I usually have a great experience when it comes to video conferences with Hangouts.

The quality issue was already addressed by Google in 2013, but only now the big G made an actual move to improve it. With the latest update people should see a significant increase in video conferencing quality, along with a simpler and cleaner interface for the web client.

6. Trello

trello project management tool

Over the last few months we have tested pretty much every free team/project collaboration tool out there, including popular ones like Asana and Podio. After trying them we didn’t really feel that these tools were making our lives easier. Instead, managing our projects has become a complicated chore.

*Update: as the projects got more complex, we decided to switch over to Asana after all. More on that below.*

But there is one tool out there which is different. Trello uses a card-based system for keeping your project overview as simple as possible. You can create custom columns like “To-Do” or “In Progress” which you will use to organize individual tasks. The tasks will be then added as a small card to the column. For each card you can set a due date, write comments, assign people to it and many more.

Asana, Podio and alike are made for managers. Trello is made for people.

One especially great thing about Trello is the user experience. The interface is very simple to use. For example, you can drag every card from column to column (i.e. after completing a task) and assign people to the card by dragging their profile picture onto the card.

Also, Trello probably has the best mobile and tablet collaboration app out there. The experience is exactly what you would expect from an app, with many features taken from the system it runs on. For example, you can delete tasks on your iPad by swiping them to the left, which will reveal a red “delete” button. This looks very much like the native iOS deleting feature. All of these combined make sure that your learning curve is as smooth as possible and you won’t get a headache while using it.

Check out the video below for a demonstration of how Trello works.

7. Asana

As the projects got increasingly more complex, we decided to switch from Trello back to Asana. For me, personally, the amount of tasks and sub-tasks across 10+ different projects was difficult to keep track of with a card-based system, but that’s only my personal view.

Asana is a nifty task and project management tool, that works especially great for remote teams with a complex project setup. Right now I use Asana as my personal to-do list, because it consolidates all the tasks assigned to me personally across projects and teams, and sorts them by priority! And, as those who work on multiple projects at the same time know, one of the most difficult things is to prioritise.

The video below will demonstrate the basics of working with Asana. Don’t let the design of the user interface scare you away. It has recently been updates, and now looks much cleaner (especially on mobile).

What tools do you use to collaborate with your team?

Prospecting the future

Prospecting-the-futureProspecting the future’ is a new rapport from from Social Enterprise UK and the Access Foundation that shows that social enterprises in the UK, businesses with a social or environmental mission, are increasingly in need of working capital to finance their operations and deliver contracts.

The report also revealed that larger amounts of finance were likely to be raised by social enterprises in the most deprived areas, and that a large minority continue to apply for grants as part of their income mix.

‘Prospecting the future’ provides a snapshot of social enterprises operating in the UK and their finances.
The research draws on findings gathered between 2011 and 2015.

According to Peter Holbrook, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK,Research shows that access to finance has always been an important issue for social enterprises and is one of the key barriers for those both starting-up and seeking to grow.

 

More Information can be found here

 

Download the rapport here

 

Source: Social Enterprise UK

 

Social Enterprise Summit taking place in Vilnius for the 3rd time this April

Social entrepreneurs, private businesses, public officials and NGO representatives are gathering for the annual Social Enterprise Summit in Vilnius on April 13-14. The Summit is being organised and supported by the Ministry of Economy, the British Council, NGO Bee Hive and NGO Geri norai. 

This year the main topic of the Summit is Social enterprises in urban areas – solutions, ideas, cases. The event is split into two days – the first day is for presentations by local and foreign speakers and the second day is for discussions in groups.

More information is available online: www.socialinisverslas.lt

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5 powerful ideas for global impact from social entrepreneurs

All of us wish to feel a sense of purpose in our careers and make a meaningful contribution to society, but it can be hard to know where to start. Social entrepreneurs offer a fascinating model. They combine compassion and business acumen to scale solutions that are needed now more than ever.

More than a year in the making, this video series featuring leading Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurs talking about their journeys is packed full of surprising insights, powerful ideas, and lessons learned the hard way.

Whether you are an established social entrepreneur, a corporate executive considering your next career move, or a recent graduate launching a start-up, these videos constitute essential viewing.

5ideas

Lesson 1. Leverage partnerships for scale

Martin Burt draws on decades of experience to explain why the era of the lone social entrepreneur is over. And he should know: he is the widely celebrated founder of Fundacion Paraguaya, Teach a Man to Fish, and most recently, thePoverty Stoplight, a diagnostic tool that allows families to diagnose their level of poverty and create an action plan to overcome it. In Paraguay alone, dozens of companies are using the tool to eliminate poverty among their labor force. “We are seeing businesses talking to the government about the housing needs in the slums near their factories,” he says, “and they are finding they have something nobody else has: the power of leverage.”

Martin Burt also draws on his experience in the public sector as the Mayor of Asunción and later as the Chief of Cabinet in the previous administration. The keys to success? Start by recognizing that government officials face structural and legal limitations, then strive to identify and empower elected officials who genuinely want to create change.

Lesson 2. Combine Focus with Flexibility

Mark Ruiz was an executive at Unilever in the Philippines when he had an insight that led him to create the social enterprise Hapinoy with his co-founder, Bam Aquino. Why can Coke products find their way to every rural village, but medicines and financial services do not? Rather than create a new distribution network from scratch, Mark and Bam decided to piggyback off of existing infrastructure – tiny “hole in the wall” stores called sari-sari shops – by formalizing them into a network, thereby creating a channel to get much-needed services such as mobile banking into rural communities.

His advice to other social entrepreneurs? Never lose sight of your social mission. Make sure your investors have the same values as you. Find ways to create economies of scale to attract large companies as partners. And most importantly, follow your passion. “You cannot be the best at everything,” he says. “Ultimately, you have to decide what you’re going to be the best at, and that entails a certain focus.”

Lesson 3. Design Is important, distribution Is key

D-Rev is a non-profit social enterprise that designs and develops medical devices for poor people such as prosthetic knees for amputees and phototherapy units to treat jaundiced babies. d.light is a for-profit social enterprise that has distributed more than 50 million solar lights and power solutions to off-grid households. Both organizations are widely respected as market leaders in human-centered design, and both Krista Donaldson, a mechanical engineer and CEO of D-Rev, and Ned Tozun, a co-founder of d.light, offer surprising insights about the design process.

Given both social enterprises are so famous for their product design, it is telling both Ned Tozun and Krista Donaldson emphasize distribution as the toughest nut to crack. “We thought if you have a great product at a great value for money, it’s just going to sell,” said Ned Tozun. “But distribution, marking, and branding required even more innovation than on the product side.”

“We realized early on we can’t do everything, so we work with partners – NGOs, faith-based groups, and for-profits – to achieve our mission, which means getting our products to our target users,” says Krista Donaldson. “Once the product hits the market, it needs to be entirely economically self-sustaining with profit margins built-in so that if D-Rev disappears tomorrow, the product will continue to be sold.”

Lesson 4. Use technology everywhere you can

Dr. Shannon May, an anthropologist, and Jay Kimmelman, a tech entrepreneur, founded Bridge International Academies in Kenya in 2008 with the goal of providing affordable world-class education to families living on $2 a day. In less than seven years, Bridge International Academies has opened 400 schools serving 120,000 students and aims to reach 10 million students in the near future. They have achieved such staggering scale by using technology at every step, from how they process school fees and assess student performance on a weekly basis to how they distribute daily lesson plans to every one of their 5000 teachers and even monitor teacher arrival and departure times.

Shannon May’s advice to social entrepreneurs is simple, though executing it is anything but. “Leverage technology everywhere you can to make the radical disruption you are seeking,” she advises, and she would know. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook was so impressed with Bridge’s use of technology he invested $10 million in them after a meeting in Davos.

Lesson 5. Scale your solution, not your organization

All social entrepreneurs, even those who by any objective measure have reached significant scale, are frustrated by the staggering gap between the people they can reach through their direct service model and the size of the global need. Kovin Naidoo movingly described this phenomenon as “being responsible for an island of success in a sea of despair.” Solving the social problem you are passionate about at massive scale is the dream of every social entrepreneur. The question is, how do you get there? The insights of Sébastien Marot and Elizabeth Hausler start to offer some answers.

Sébastien Marot founded Friends-International in Cambodia to rebuild the futures of homeless and marginalized children. Even working with such a deeply challenging population, Sébastien found a way to improve the sustainability and scalability of his intervention by turning all of their vocational programs into social businesses that now generate 40% of the organization’s overall operating budget. Even so, the numbers of marginalized youth Friends-International can reach directly – 50,000 in eight countries – pale in comparison to the half a billion marginalized children and youth worldwide. Rather than expand his organization, Sébastien is spreading his market-based approach through the CYTI Alliance, a network of 51 organizations working with homeless and marginalized children in 11 countries.

A skilled mason with a doctorate in civil engineering, Elizabeth Hausler founded Build Change in 2004 to change the way post-disaster reconstruction is done. “We started small and on the ground,” she says. “We got our hands dirty figuring out how to actually build an earthquake-resistant house.”

Recognizing she would never been able to hire enough engineers and builders to respond to disasters, Elizabeth instead open-sourced the Build Change methodology. Build Change’s design and safe construction guidelines are now used by dozens of other NGOs and have been adopted by seven major relief agencies. “We’ve expanded our model from a direct service approach to a system change approach,” Elizabeth Hausler explained.

Ned Tozun of d.light offers one final piece of advice to social entrepreneurs. “To all of the social entrepreneurs out there, persevere and keep at it,” he said. “If you’re thinking about taking the plunge, I really encourage you to do it. It’s the most fulfilling thing I could imagine doing.”

Reposted from: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/12/5-lessons-from-social-entrepreneurs-on-making-the-world-a-better-place