IM/IT Advisory Group Meeting Minutes

October 6, 2004
Volunteer Canada
Ottawa, Ontario

Don McCreesh and Pamela Menchions thanked everyone for attending the meeting and asked participants to introduce themselves.

Participants

Absent

IM/IT Recipient Presenters

The purpose of the meeting was to update Advisory Group members on the status of the five components of the IM/IT Program and to arrive at a decision on the portal governance issue.

Item 1 - Changing Funding Practices Update

• Catherine Ludgate from IMPACS gave a brief overview of the Changing Funding Practices project and proceeded with an update.
  
• Catherine mentioned that in the course of conversations with funders and voluntary sector organizations, it became clear that an additional deliverable was needed: the development of a comprehensive toolkit that would help funders and grant-seekers alike develop strategic technology plans, measure the cost of technology and assess technology needs.
  
• The contribution agreement between IMPACS and Industry Canada is being amended to reflect this additional work. Work is progressing smoothly and on time.
  

Item 2 - Funding Access Project Update

• Alex Gill from the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (CCP) gave a brief overview of the Funding Access Project and its current status.
  
• Work is on schedule except for the business plan which is being revised further to the Funding Access Advisory Committee June meeting.
  
• The main issue surrounding the business plan is for CCP to find a way to allow voluntary organizations to have at least one opportunity for free access. CCP requested additional time to finalize the business plan. The plan is due for October 22, 2004.
  

Item 3 - IM/IT Training and Technical Support Network Update

• Daryl Beattie from the Alberta Network and Peter Frampton from the Ontario Network gave an overview of the deliverables of the Network and the work accomplished to date.
  
• The Network is comprised of nine regional organizations from across Canada who are technology leaders in the voluntary and non-profit sector.
  
• All regional networks have come together to form a pan-Canadian network to share information and resources, and to pool/leverage expertise amongst themselves.

Item 4 - echnology Awareness Campaign Update

• Nicole Beauchamp of Nadeau, Beaulieu & associé.e.s Communications gave an overview of the project and the work accomplished to date on 1) the National Awareness Campaign and 2) the Engagement Strategy. She informed members that the target date for the final drafts to IC were October 13 and October 7 respectively.

Item 5 - Voluntary Sector Portal Update

• Brenda Herchmer, on behalf of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges, gave a brief overview of the project and described the main components of the portal which are being developed and tested.
  
• She also provided an update on policy development (governance, sustainability, user policies, evaluation); on technical development (technology infrastructure, user interface, collaboration); on the library and; on collaboration (Francophone, Federation, IM/IT Canada, open source, moderator training). The project is on target.

Item 6 - Portal Governance

• The Portal Steering Committee explained to the IM/IT Advisory Group the process followed to resolve the issue of governance as the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) does not wish to retain the ownership of the portal past March 2005.
  
• A request for Expression of Interest (EOI) to host the portal after that time, was circulated within the voluntary sector. Eleven proposals were received and were reviewed and evaluated by the Portal Implementation Team and Industry Canada on Friday, October 1, 2004, according to the selection criteria outlined in the EOI.
  
• As a result of this process, three organizations were invited to provide informal presentations at the October 6th (a.m.) Portal Steering Committee meeting. Each of the three were provided with a number of additional questions to which they were asked to respond during their presentation.
  
• Further to these presentations, the Portal Steering Committee deliberated and prepared its recommendation for the IM/IT Advisory Group meeting of October 6th (p.m.), 2004.
  
• Out of the three finalists, the Portal Steering Committee recommended the Community Services Council of Newfoundland and Labrador (CSC), as the host for the portal past March 2005.
  

Decision: The IM/IT Advisory Group endorsed the recommendation and Industry Canada approved it.

Recommendation: The Group recommended that the Co-chair, voluntary sector, write to Social Development Canada and to Industry Canada requesting possible financial assistance for the portal and network activities for next year.

Next Steps: An in-depth orientation must be provided to CSC and a transition plan must be developed. CSC must also be involved in the development of the governance and sustainability plan.