Once your completed technical assistance application has been approved, preparations for a project trip can begin. A Concept Design of your development project is Step 2 of the process. Completing it may take 6-8 months. Following are the key parts of Step 2:

• » Pre-Trip Meeting

  In most cases, the Project Leader will arrange to meet with you in person to clarify project needs and to discuss & schedule the project trip. This 2-3 hour meeting can take place at the eMi² office in Delhi combined with other travel plans you may have. In certain cases it may be convenient or necessary to meet you at the project site.

• » Recruiting a project team

  eMi²’s mission is to mobilize design professionals to donate their time & talents – we give them an opportunity to serve by responding to your technical needs. In order to participate most volunteers need 4-6 months advance notice to arrange holiday or leave from their employment. The full project team will consist of an EMI / eMi² staff Project Leader, professional volunteers & student interns – usually 6-8 people. From time to time, project teams are assembled & led by other EMI offices, such as UK, USA & Canada. In such cases, eMi² typically provides a representative on the trip.

• » The Project Trip

  The Project Trip is the event where the assembled volunteer project team travels to your site for a 5-7 day visit. The team will assess & survey your property and consult with your ministry to develop a concept design for your development project. It is very important that all those involved with the project (board members, directors, persons-in-charge, etc.) be available at certain meetings during this period to provide input and feedback to help guide & refine the design. The goal of the project team is to develop design ideas that interest you and which meet the needs of your ministry.

• » Conceptual Design Documents

  After the Project Trip, some team members will return to the eMi² office to produce the Concept Design documents. These documents are the published product of the groundwork & feedback from the Project Trip consultation and focus on the first phase of the development project. It usually takes 2 months to publish these documents. The Concept Design documents can be used for sharing your vision within & without your ministry to build consensus and support for the project. Concept Design is a base-line for the project & as such can be: refined further with critical alterations, used to formulate informed planning strategies, or given to a local builder to guide construction. An example of a Concept Design plan:
  
  
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  See a full example of a Concept Design.