I agree with Greg and Ted that it is preferable for this project to be run from where you can meet together most often. So let me, for now, just offer a few notions that you might consider as you wonder how you might regroup to advance together.

Any group of people who want to accomplish something together is automatically being pulled apart by a some of many DIFFERENCES that already exist among them.

Just some of these differences are their respective experiences, beliefs, values, knowledge, expertise, aspirations, personal situation, habits, races, religions, tribes, genders, ages, etc . Let's call these the centrifugal forces they face.

So the success of their project is already under threat from some of such centrifugal forces operating within their group.

It is also under threat from the lack of resources necessary to do the work necessary for their project

They need something powerful countervailing forces to neutralize and overcome these centrifugal forces and resource limitations. Let's call these countervailing forces their centripetal forces.

Unlike the centrifugal forces, the centripetal forces are conceptual and motivational instruments that are common to them, things they can all agree on, can feel strongly about together, and organize themselves around. There are several of these centripetal instruments.

Here are three conceptual instruments that can be employed toward developing centripetal forces:

1. Purpose.

The most powerful centripetal force any project could have is a clearly defined common PURPOSE. If they are an existing organization, they probably have one already.

Just in case they are not clear about it, or not agreed on what exactly it is, here's what one might look like:

A common purpose is the change or changes that will result from the successful conduct of their project. This or these changes are expressed as one or more specific differences that will take place for specific aspects of the lives of some specfic people (their beneficiary constituency).

As their common intent and as the fruits or results of their work together, their common purpose should have been clearly understood and accepted by all of them - as the promise that each of them are making to the others. And they should have discussed it thoroughly until all of them are committed to it.

2. Strategy.

The next most important centripetal instrument they can use is strategy. Strategy is a conceptual tool that enables them to navigate and advance systematically among all the powerful dynamics that are swarming around in their operating environment.

Strategy is based on the simple understanding that any project operates in a dynamic environment, an environment that is full of powerful organizations, laws, regulations, traditions, cultural values, social fears and aspirations, practices, habits, etc.

Strategy is based on the insight that these dynamics fall into three groups:

1. supporting dynamics, those that favor the success of their purpose,
2. opposing dynamics, those that favor the failure of their purpose, and
3. neutral dynamics, those that might be neutral to the success or failure of their purpose.

So strategy is about identifying, aligning and harnessing the supporting dynamics; about identifying, separating and neutralizing, if not reversing opposing dynamics, and about identifying and avoiding, if not enlisting the neutral dynamics.

As the centrifugal forces among themselves also constitute opposing dynamics, strategy also involves identifying differences among themselves, and developing ways to take advantage of these differences, by harnessing the complementarities among the differences to support the various functions that will be necessary to accomplish their common purpose.

For instance, differences in knowledge, expertise, capabilities, resources and motivation - might be transmuted into strength by assigning operating responsibilities and functions according to the specific strengths of the members of the team.

3. Tactics

Tactics are the plans and measures that they undertake to organize themselves to implement the various strategies they identify to address the dynamics in their operating environment. There are many kinds of tactics:

1. The identification and assignment of teams to implement each of the strategies they develop.
2. The problem-solving, decision-making and efficiency-maximization (waste reduction) policies they develop.
3. The administrative processes and organizational structures that they develop to maximize the performance and effectiveness of functional each team.

I hope these notions might be helpful to you. If so, feel free to demand deeper explanations.