Operations Report - Wednesday, 14 June 1995 By Lisa Donnelly, Executive Director 1. Administration of Information Providers (IPs) and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) ------------------------------------------------- The replacing of Al Seaman (xx331) as our on-line administrator for Information Providers and SIGs has proved difficult. Al was unable to make a gradual phase-out of his work at NCF as planned. Replacement efforts were further complicated by both my absence on vacation and the modifications we wanted to make to the applications required for the NCF Administrators. Processing and installation of new Information Provider and SIG menus has been stalled for over a month - but we are now moving forward. The following steps have been taken: a. Ian has modified the root commands required for these tasks so they can be performed at shell level, thus eliminated the need to issue root accounts for these volunteer positions. b. Pat Drummond (ad995), Mike Jankulak (am821) and Stephen Toy (aa102) have been selected to assist NCF in filling Al's shoes and are in the process of being trained. Pat will be away for most of July so for now Mike will be handling IPs and Stephen will be handling SIGs. c. We are in the process of overhauling the task descriptions, responsibilities and reporting structure for all on-line, menu-oriented tasks. This is a big change in how NCF functions and has required a lot of thinking, discussion and work on the part of many volunteers and staff. Thanks are in order to all those who have helped out - and to all the IP s and SIGs who have been so patient. 2. Insurance ------------ We have finally received the official copy of our Directors' and Officers' Liability Insurance. Photocopies are available for the Board Manuals. We have also been given a quote on Commercial and General Liability which I am turning over to our Treasurer, Jeff Bossert (au025), for research and implementation. 3. Spending NCF Revenues in 1995 -------------------------------- If we are to order additional equipment this year we need to begin thinking about what we want. There has been discussion about developing off-line tools instead of continuing to work as we do. The 1995 budget called for purchases which would reiterate the way NCF has grown in the past - but may not be the best direction to go at this time. We need to think about this and come up with an equipment list quickly. There has also been some speculation on how we should spend the grant and donation revenue we will be receiving this year. There are many things NCF needs beside hardware and software. As with most grant money, there are some parameters tied to how an organization can spend the funds. We are still waiting for final word from Gordon and the Region on this. In order to assist in this process the finance group will be meeting in the first week of July to discuss our revenue stream and feasible purchases for the remainder of 1995. We will send our recommendations to the Board via e-mail immediately after the meeting. The Finance team consists of: Jeff Bossert, Treasurer Jean Wilmot, Past-Trreasurer Lisa Donnelly, Executive Director Rudy Wytemburg, NCF Accountant 4. Media Information on the Increased Ease of Getting On-line at NCF -------------------------------------------------------------------- NCF's Administrative Coordinator and media liaison, Mike Anderson (bc574), is including information about the time limits and the improvement in access to NCF in all of the project-related press releases he is sending out. This approach was decided upon over the option of sending a specific press release on the improvement in the time required to log-on to NCF. Most forms of media utilize information that is tied into a large scale event so the likelihood of getting any coverage based on a "we want you back" campaign was judged as less productive. 5. Hiring and Conflict of Interest Policies ------------------------------------------- We are still researching suitable policies to adapt for NCF's use as Hiring and Conflict of Interest policies. If any one has access to some well written ones via their work place could you please get them to me at your earliest convenience. They can be faxed to 241-2477. The adaptations should be available to the Board at the July meeting. 6. Procedure for Finalizing the NCF Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) --------------------------------------------------------------- Robert Pless (xx246), our Complaints Administrator, has submitted a second draft of the AUP. This is a crucial document should be finalized quickly. I recommend that we assign a Board member to work with Mr. Pless in finalizing the document, integrating the Board comments and getting it officialized by the July or August meeting. 7. Volunteer Coordination ------------------------- Due to job and life demands on our volunteer coordinators, this area had a slow start for the first quarter of 1995. Throughout the second quarter we have been working to re-define how responsibilities and task are handled by the volunteer coordinators. This is a crucial area for NCF. I estimate that our volunteers cumulatively provide well over 200 hours of work a week - the equivalent of five full-time employees. Managing this resources is key to our survival. As we have continued to grow, we are requiring more volunteer coordination efforts. Fortunately, we have inducted Andre Ouelette (bf766) into the Volunteer Coordination team. Andre and Natalie Munro (aa966) will be handling the day to day requirements. Brian Monkman (af088) will be getting more involved in the project management of several of the volunteer projects. For comments or questions, please write the Volunteer Coordinators at xx088. 8. Creation of a Translation Task Force --------------------------------------- We finally have an official Translation Task Force on NCF. This group will be working on the french translation of key NCF documents. The task force leader is Michel Charlebois (az311) who will be assisted by Ginette Leduc (az253). Both Michel and Ginette have assisted the NCF staff and volunteers with translations in the past and we are thankful to have them heading up our new team. 9. NCF Volunteer Recognition Party a Success -------------------------------------------- On Sunday, 4 June NCF held a Volunteer Recognition party at Riley's Pub on Rideau Street. The event was sponsored by Riley's and coordinated by Andre Ouelette. We had a very large turn-out and a good time was had by all. Thanks to all who attended. We hope to have more of these types of events in the future so that everyone who participates in NCF has an opportunity to be thanked and to meet the faces behind the member IDs. 9. Sample List of Operational Indicators: ----------------------------------------- The Board Planning committee is in the process of developing indicators for use in a quarterly report. Here is a selection of data that was easily obtainable for this month. Some of the non-financial figures are estimates only. As we develop the list of quarterly indicators we can automate the process allowing for timely and accurate data collection. Operational Indicators Measure ---------------------- ------- Registered Users 43,515 as of 14 June Unique Users (Week) 13,517 for 7 -14 June Registration Turnaround (Avg. Days) 3 Incoming Registrations (Per Day) On-line 75 Mail in 50 Information Providers 300 as of 14 June Volunteers very active 25 moderate involvement 30 occasional participation 60 total listed in database 200 For May of 1995 --------------- Volunteer hours (Avg) Difficult for all Active 200 hours per week Donations $18,947 Donations per user (Avg) $18.66 Corporate sponsors $25 Donations per sponsor (Avg) $25 Grants $20,000 (half of the Economic Development grant from the Region) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- End -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lisa K. Donnelly, am412@freenet.carleton.ca Executive Director, National Capital FreeNet/Libertel de la Capitale nationale -----------------------------------------------------------------------------