ADRA Source Launch Webinar

Thanks for your interest in ADRA Source!

If you missed the Launch Webinar, you can watch the recording by clicking here and entering the password J0B=*.69

There were some great questions asked during the webinar and, unfortunately we didn’t get time to answer them all. However, we are committed to supporting your office, so have addressed each of these questions below.

Don’t forget to register to get the latest from ADRA Source at source.ADRA.cloud/register

Or, if you have any more questions simply email the support team at [email protected]

When will the ADRA Source Resources be available?
The first set of solutions, the ADRA Host Hub, is available now. Additional technology solutions, along with support and training documents, will be available at source.ADRA.cloud. You can ensure you keep up to date with the latest news by registering at source.ADRA.cloud/register

What will the ADRA Source technologies cost?
ADRA Source brings the best technology solutions to your office for free. At this stage there is no charge. In the future, there will be discussions around cost-coverage (aiming to recover through your project and not Administrations budget) to ensure we can continue to sustain and enhance the technology tools available for the ADRA network.

Will it be possible to link the ADRA Source Project Management Tool (Logalto) with the tools our office already uses (Navision, SunPlus etc)?
Integration has been a key driver for developing the technology solutions that make up ADRA Source. Integration to external systems (such as Navision and SunPlus) are certainly possible – but a lot depends on what the desired integrations are, the type of data you want to integrate and how common the need for the integration is. At this stage, a lot of work has been done by ADRA Germany to integrate Logalto and Navision, and SunPlus integrations are also under development.

Will domains be patronized for email and websites (such as @ADRA.countryoffice.com)?
Every ADRA office will be able to keep their own domain. ADRA International or the network is not going to force anyone to use this service or change how they have named their domains.

Best practice for Not for Profits is to use ‘.org’ (or your countries equivalent), followed by the country code, such as ADRA.org.vu. This gives your office more credibility as a locally registered organisation, while the consistent visual branding and key-messaging links you to ADRA’s global brand. In some situations, offices are concerned that during unrest local governments may retract their local domains, so prefer to register and use ADRA.org, which is outside the control of their government.

Some offices have also expressed interest in having websites such as ADRA.org/CountryName. In the past this was implemented but sourcing the required information from a large proportion of countries was problematic. However, there is scope to implement re-directs from ADRA.org/CountryName to a separate URL such as ADRA.org.vu
Similarly, there have been discussions about email domains such as @CountryName.ADRA.org – however there are much broader implications that would need to be discussed and wider agreements made.

If there is interest in centralising web and/or email domains, please contact [email protected] so we can assess interest and scope out potential solutions.

Do the cloud storage solutions (NextCloud, Resource Space) include document management functions, or do they only work like One Drive or Google Drive?
These solutions are similar to OneDrive and Google Drive – you will have access to secure cloud storage that allows you to add, update, delete and search your files. If you edit a file through the platform, version history will be available.

Is the Host Hub more for offices starting out rather than established offices that already have email and office licenses covered by their Division IT departments?
The ADRA Source team have worked with various Division IT departments throughout the development of the various hubs – and will continue to do so. If your hosting and email are currently managed successfully by your Division’s IT teams then it is recommended to leave it that way. However, if it is not being carried out successfully, or you currently do not have this support in place the ADRA Source support team are always happy to help.

Also note, that ADRA Source will cover more services relevant to your ADRA office that Division IT teams typically support. So even though you may have hosting and email solutions in place, ADRA Source will allow you to grow the technology solutions you have available, such as cloud storage and backups, or marketing and fundraising platforms as they become available.

Why can’t we use country-specific domains, such as ADRA.ca or ADRA.rw? ADRA.org is too long.
When choosing a domain name more effort should be placed on ensuring it is easy to remember, than making it short.
Ideally, your domain would be something like ADRA.org.ca or ADRA.org.rw – .org denotes a not-for-profit organisation, while .ca or .rw (without .org) typically reference to for-profit companies.

There is concern in some countries is that the ADRA.org. domains are controlled by the national government, meaning that there is potential that your website will suddenly go offline if the government does not agree with your content, or the infrastructure within the country fails.

In that case, ADRA.org would still be easily remembered by people interested in ADRA’s work in that country.

Note, that every ADRA office is able to make decisions around their domain name. The ADRA Source team can provide advice and recommendations and facilitate links from ADRA.org (such as ADRA.org/country/Canada) or ADRA.cloud (such as ca.ADRA.cloud) – however none of these are short or easily remembered and would only serve as an additional pathway to your primary domain.

We already have a subscription to Microsoft365 and TechSoup. I understand these are part of ADRA Source – so do we need to switch over? How does it work?
Fantastic! There are a number of offices that have already taken up these services, and there is nothing you need to do or swap. ADRA Source has been launched to help the rest of the network service become aware of these services and offer support to offices as they sign up for them.

If you do have your own registration, we can still offer ongoing support by just emailing [email protected]. When you add our support team as a user on your instance of Microsoft365 (either as primary, secondary or backup support) we will be able to add or reset passwords for your users.

Are digital certificates also including in the hosting solutions?
The short answer is, ‘yes’. The longer answer is that the level of security provided by the hosting platform depends on where your Domain Name Servers (DNS) are managed. If ADRA Source manage the (DNS) we can offer additional protection against large-scale server attacks and direct server hacking attempts. If we do not manage the DNS, then you are in a similarly vulnerable situation as any typical third-party hosting provider.

If your WordPress website is hosting by your own provider, the ADRA Source support team can still provide recommendations on how to ensure the site remains as secure as possible. Remember, we are here to help.

What is happening with Facebook Workspace since it is becoming a paid service? Is ADRA Source going to include some of these services?
We are currently investigating alternative solutions to provide a ‘social-media’ style site for sharing and commenting on the ideas, activities and resources of the network.

I think it might be interesting for some European offices to get together to discuss the upcoming marketing platform, particularly around things like SEPA (Single Euro Payment Area).
This would be a great initiative. The more common the needs are across the network the higher priority they become – that is, the more countries that need a solution, integration or recommendation the more effort can be put in to making it happen. A key part of the development of ADRA Source is the Steering Committees connected to each product – it is through the information provided to and feedback from these committees that good decisions will be able to be made for the future.