How To Use The Open Africa Route Toolkit (213)
The Open Africa Route Toolkit is a valuable resource for routes to increase their impacts.
It offers route members advice on various aspects of the good functioning of their routes (through Guides), it tells the stories of other routes (through the published Examples). It also presents various Resources that routes will find of use, such as forms needed for the routes, templates of documents the route can adjust to meet its requirements, and links to video clips on various topics of importance to the routes.
Understanding the Route Toolkit’s structure
The Route Toolkit consists of various interlinked Resources. The best way to explain the Route Toolkit would be to say that it is a cobweb of linked pieces of information, organised into various units.
Each Resource covers two to five pages, on average. The aim is to offer you a concise explanation, with links to other Resources and external resources such as books, other websites, or content that will be useful.
You can read one Resource on its own and it will make complete sense, since it is presented as a stand-alone unit.
Four kinds of Resources
Resources fall into four categories:
- Guides
- Factsheets
- Examples
- Resources.
Guides
Guides offer you advice on a range of topics and issues relating to the good functioning of your route. Guides usually start with the words ‘How To’, since their function is to explain exactly how to get something done or how to achieve a specific desirable outcome.
While Guides are stand-alone Resources that you can read and understand on its own, they form part of the bigger framework of Resources. In the Guides, you will find reference to other Guides, as well as Examples that illustrate advice. in the Resources, you may find useful to get to know more about the topic. All of these are connected through active hyperlinks, allowing you to open these Resources with a simple click.
Factsheets
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Examples
Examples include case studies of Open Africa routes. They tell the stories of what other routes have done to achieve good results. Examples also include short anecdotes or reflections on events or activities.
As a result, Examples are presented in various formats, depending on how the story can best be told.
Resources
Resources offer additional content to help route members in exploring more detailed information or material to use in route educational activities.
It also gives route members access to Open Africa documentation, standard forms that routes may need, templates of documents a route may use to compile its own documents, and video material on a range of topics.
Who may use the Route Toolkit
The Open Africa Route Toolkit is available for use by all active members, as long as they comply to the membership requirements of an accredited Open Africa route. However, when members serve on the Route Forum, they are likely to need more detailed information to fulfil their duties. As a result, Route Forum members are more active users of the Toolkit. But all the content is available to all members.
How to get access to the Route Toolkit
The Route Toolkit is an online resource, available through any device with an internet connection and web browser. Follow the sign-up procedures specified in the Guide How To Sign Up For The Open Africa Route Toolkit.
How to help in improving the Route Toolkit
The intention with the Route Toolkit is to offer useful information to route members and those serving on Route Forums. Members who are active in routes are the most suitable to identify what information is needed, because it is the information that they seek to use that should be available through the Route Toolkit.
Members are encouraged to suggest new Resources, Factsheets, Examples and/or Guides, or to propose edits or additions to existing ones. For more on this, see the Guide How To Propose Additional Content Or Edits To The Toolkit.