Once your completed technical assistance application has been approved, preparations for the project trip can begin. Conceptual Design of your development project is the goal of Step 2, reaching it usually takes 6-8 months. Here are some key parts along the way:

• » Pre-Trip Meeting

  To clarify your project needs and discuss the project trip, it is best if the project team leader is able to meet with you in person. This 2-3 hour meeting could take place at the eMi² office in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand or at a convenient meeting point (i.e. Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow, etc.), combined with other travel plans you may have. In certain cases it may be possible or necessary for us to meet with you at your project site.

• » Recruiting a project team

  eMi²’s mission is to mobilize design professionals to donate their time and talents to serve your ministry – we want to give our world-wide network of over 7000 design professionals the opportunity to respond to your technical needs. However, it takes time and advance notice for any volunteer to join an EMI team – usually 4 to 6 months. The team will consist of an EMI / eMi² staff project leader, volunteer design professionals, and student interns. Also, from time to time, project teams for South Asian client ministries are assembled and led by other EMI offices, such as USA, Canada, and UK. In those cases, eMi² will attempt to provide representative support during the project trip.

• » The Project Trip

  Once a project team is assembled, a project trip will be scheduled at your project site. This team of 4-8 volunteer architects and engineers will visit your site for 5 to 7 days to survey your property, consult with you, and develop a conceptual design for your development project. It is important that all those in your ministry involved with the project (board members, persons-in-charge, etc.) be available at certain times during this consultation to provide input and feedback to help guide and refine the design. The goal of the project team is to develop design ideas that interest you and that fit your ministry.

• » Conceptual Design Documents

  After the project trip, some or all of the team will return to the eMi² office to produce the Conceptual Design Documents. These documents are the published product of the work and feedback from the project trip consultation. It usually takes around 2 months to produce and publish these documents. The Conceptual Design Documents are meant to be used for sharing your vision within and outside of your ministry to build consensus and support for the project. Conceptual Design is a base point for the project and as such can be: refined further with critical alterations and changes, used to formulate better informed planning strategies, or given to a builder to proceed with construction. You can see an example of Conceptual Design Documents here.