Chris Cope (bz787)

Candidate for the National Capital FreeNet Board of Directors

Biography

Chris Cope was NCF's Executive Director from 1997 until the end of 2000. As ED, Chris was directly responsible for day-to-day operations including staff management, volunteer coordination, and liaison with corporate and community partners to deliver and enhance NCF's services.

At present, Chris is Director, Smart Capital Special Projects at the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI) in Ottawa and has a special interest in FreeNet as one of the 14 SmartC@pital community partners.

Mr. Cope has been directly involved with Community Networks and other forms of public Internet access since joining the National Capital FreeNet in 1995.  He is a director of Telecommunities Canada, an organization that represents and promotes the Canadian community networking movement at both National and International levels.

Public Internet access is important to Chris, and he is among the founders of  the Ottawa Community Access Consortium (OCC) and currently chairs both its Steering Committee, and the Technical Working Group.

He is on the steering committees of the Millennium Learning Centres, a public access network that will operate 16 sites on completion, and The Volunteer Learning Network, a project of Volunteer Ottawa. He is a member of the Electronic Public Space Steering Committee, a group that concerns itself (among other issues) with access to the Internet for all Canadian citizens and is past Chair of the Nepean Environmental Committee, a citizen advisory committee of the former City of Nepean.

Skills to contribute

3 1/2 years as NCF's Executive Director equips me well to serve on NCF's Board of Directors. This year there will be a tremendous experience vacuum on the Board and a considerable loss of "corporate memory" as many new faces join.  I can offer a great deal of sensible continuity to NCF's ongoing operations.

Having been a staff participant at many previous NCF Board meetings, I am well acquainted with both the culture and the process. I have already put considerable time and effort into mapping NCF's future, and feel that I am well equipped to offer reasoned input, based on direct experience and excellent community networking exposure.

My business experience prior to being NCF's Executive Director spans a variety of management situations giving me additional business experience, and the business acumen to make a strong contribution to NCF's Board decision-making capability.

NCF is deeply involved in several outstanding community projects and because of my understanding of these projects, I can not only help bring new Directors up to speed, but also can play an important role in ensuring that the Board provides informed and stable stewardship.

I have a wealth of community and private sector contacts and can assist FreeNet in positioning itself well in our community and can assist with the necessary liaison and networking with our community partners. In my present position I continue to be involved in projects that connect our community and will undoubtedly learn about many new collaborative opportunities available to NCF. I hope to bring exciting new opportunities to NCF.

What is important

In 1990 I authored a document called "Opportunities, Challenges and a Sustainable Future." It can be viewed at: http://www.ncf.ca/execdir/ncf2000. A review of this document will give the reader a good sense of my priorities when it comes to NCF's future.

Here are the things that I think we need to focus on doing for our members:

- We need to focus on providing affordable, reliable, up-to-date Internet access.

- We should make getting a FreeNet membership something that is easy, and work on ways to stimulate membership growth.

- We need to focus on people management and community issues, and not be so preoccupied with technology issues.

- We should continue with the mentoring and training which we are well known for, and helping people get online; lets find new ways to offer help to "Newbies."

- We need to rekindle a sense of community and "pride of NCF."

- We need to understand our niche, know and believe in our purpose, and focus on helping the people who need us most.

Why I want to be join the NCF Board

FreeNet is important to its members and is a vital part of Ottawa's community fabric. I sincerely believe that I can help the new Board keep FreeNet relevant, useful and solvent.

I want to contribute my time to something that I believe in; something that creates opportunities for the citizens of Ottawa; an organization that enhances quality of life in our community.

I want to help.