The view from the office - realities of working from home for the ALG-AD team now involve regular contact with the team via Zoom video conferencing software.
Zoom is the new norm
Two weeks into the new world of working from home and the Zoom conference call is now the new normal for the ALG-AD team. In fairness, the team had already been using the platform widely as we’re split across several countries. But in the era of the lockdown, our strong communications foundations have really proven themselves.
Among the many deliverables which are being made possible thanks to this digital technology are the life cycle and techno-economic assessments. These key data sets will form the basis for much of the information that will go in to the decision support toolset which will help stakeholders who are considering adopting the ALG-AD technology.
“Thanks to modern technology and software like Zoom we have been able to continue with business as usual to a fairly large degree,” said Dr Lynsey Melville of Birmingham City University. “My role is to oversee the development of the decision support toolset, and for that to function properly we need data from our pilot operating colleagues.
“During the first week of the lockdown in the UK we conducted a series of workshops using Zoom which enabled us to work through the data needed with the team at Langage in Devon. We are now looking to replicate that exercise with colleagues in Brittany and Ghent as it worked so well.
“The lockdown has also enabled the team’s focus to move away from operational matters and on to consolidating the data we have accumulated so far, and that is helping our job enormously.”
The team now hope to have a working Beta version ready for the Autumn, when hopefully dissemination events can return to normal. In the meantime though, it is very much all hands on deck in terms of building this toolset and ensuring it is effective.