Development professionals know that successful results depend on strong stakeholder participation. The emergence of the Internet has created a new vehicle for emphasizing local sustainability in a powerful way.

Deploying work teams has always been a DAI core competency. Through the use of an Internet-enabled TAMIS, we are able to broaden the interactions among members of a development work team. TAMIS is designed, like a well-hosted conference facility, to enhance the work of a team, including work-flow tracking, scheduling, performance monitoring, and administration. Not only do these tools increase the effectiveness of the on-site project team, but they also allow geographically dispersed team members to add value despite their distance. The Internet and DAI’s TAMIS allow us to deliver development services effectively with maximum impact.

We customize TAMIS, taking into account particular project structures and technical assistance team preferences, and where necessary expand participation in the system by placing TAMIS on DAI’s Web site. With this advancement, TAMIS use is no longer limited to development partners and donors that have access to Lotus Notes. All that is required is access to the World Wide Web through a standard Web browser and a password to the TAMIS application. Participation in TAMIS applications on the Web is specifically tailored to client and stakeholder needs and wishes. For example, stakeholders may wish to see only certain pieces of information from TAMIS that directly affect them. Our client, in contrast, may want to see virtually everything in order to participate in monitoring progress. The name and password of the user control what information he or she is able to access. Currently, 30 DAI projects access TAMIS through the Internet.

The need for this increased participation became readily apparent when DAI won its Broadening Access and Strengthening Input Market Systems (BASIS) Indefinite Quantity Contract with USAID. DAI bid on BASIS with eight subcontractors. The teaming agreement promised transparency with regard to participation in the marketing opportunities and task orders that were funded through BASIS. TAMIS provided a sound structure to track opportunities as they evolved, to monitor task order implementation, and to share information. But getting eight subcontractors up and running on Lotus Notes was neither feasible nor cost efficient. Placing the BASIS TAMIS on DAI’s Web site provided the perfect solution allowing all eight subcontractors to access the BASIS TAMIS through the Internet. DAI has since used TAMIS on the Web to facilitate communication and promote transparency with 75 subcontractors on 11 IQC contracts.

DAI’s long-term development projects also use TAMIS on the Web to share information with their development partners, including donors and NGOs in addition to subcontractors. In one DAI development project in Malawi, Community Partnerships for Sustainable Resource Management (COMPASS), TAMIS was thoroughly integrated into the public COMPASS Web site and open to the public without password entry. TAMIS was used to provide information on grants and best practice sites via entry through maps of Malawi. The user identified the site of interest on a map, clicked on it, and was taken transparently into TAMIS to view the latest grant and best practice information. Also directly accessible from TAMIS through the public Web site were COMPASS project publications; a catalog of 350 natural resource management reference materials; a partner directory with contact information for 200 people in the natural resource management field; information on seminars, workshops, and training events sponsored by COMPASS; success stories; and detailed data on COMPASS achievements as part of the project performance monitoring plan. The beauty sites like these is that there is very little Web site maintenance. In the words of former Chief of Party, Andrew Watson,

“I cannot stress enough how important it is that our partners and clients know that we don’t actually do Web site maintenance other than updating the maps on the site. Just about everything else is taken directly from our TAMIS, so our day-today project management and administration tasks are in fact maintaining the site! “ http://www.compass-malawi.com

Other DAI projects use TAMIS on the Web in a password-protected environment. The Serbia Local Government Reform Project, for example, uses TAMIS with USAID to facilitate the approval of travel clearances and other project authorizations, the sharing of financial data and consultant reports, and the posting of upcoming events and team contact information. Any information found in the project TAMIS can be shared via the Web. In every case, we work with our clients and stakeholders to determine the most appropriate and effective means of using the Web to facilitate our work together and to promote our development objectives.