Planzone and the Observatory for the Forests of Central Africa

In  "Our customer testimonials section," Carlos Wasseige of the Observatory for the Forests of Central Africa presents his work and talks about his experience as a user of  Planzone for the management of  his organization :

We thank Carlos for his testimony,

Happy reading!

Your Planzone team.

The Observatory of Central African Forests (known by its acronym in french - OFAC) has been created to meet the needs of the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC), namely: the permanent availability of information and data on the forests of central Africa.

In brief, OFAC is an association of partners that employ a technique that measures the evolution of the forest with regard to varied criteria  (economic, social, and environmental) through a series of key monitoring indicators. The credibility of OFAC requires that transparency and consensus be applied throughout the process, from the definition of the type of monitoring indicators to the uploading of data online. OFAC also coordinates the publication of "Report on the State of Forests in the Congo Basin", published every two years (Report available on the website of OFAC).

Whether for data collection or for the development of the online database, OFAC has established synergies with several key partners, both private and public. These partners are found in the 10 COMIFAC countries but also in Italy, France, Belgium, USA and Indonesia. OFAC needed an entirely online method that allowed it to (i) facilitate communication (ii) share files while managing access rights and (iii) ensure planning and allow activities to be monitored (including the collection of field data and development of computer coding interfaces) between the different partners.

After a quick review of potential service providers and testing the different features offered by the majority of these products, OFAC chose Planzone as the product that best met their needs while being relatively easy to use and with reasonable rates. The only apparent constraint was the limited number of users. This constraint was quickly removed following the recognition of OFAC as an association of non-profit partners working under the umbrella of COMIFAC.

The most useful Planzone features for OFAC are; the management and planning of activities (the heart of project management), file sharing, and communication between partners. But by far the most important feature of Planzone for OFAC  is it´s permanent 24 hour/day availability online, irrespective of the location of the partner.

However, for Planzone's project management to function optimally, it is essential that all employees have the same drive and have the same objective and rigorous managment practices with regard to the OFAC projects. The methods for using and updating Planzone must be stipulated on the work procedures of all participating partners. The philosophy of project management and usage by some employees are obstacles we have yet to overcome. Planzone is easy to use but requires a little basic training and regular use to fully exploit all of its potential.

Carlos Wasseige