Executive Director's Report March 2002 =========================== April 16, 2002 By Ian MacEachern (execdir@freenet.carleton.ca) Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Status report - key indicators 3. Strategic goals and operational objectives 4. Special projects 5. Management priorities 6. Technical priorities Appendices A Chart showing Registration Donations B Chart showing Renewal Donations C Chart showing Membership Activity 1. Introduction =============== This report will now cover the period from the previous board meeting to the Tuesday prior to the current board meeting. The report will be organized as follows: Status Report - the two key indicators as recommended by the Executive Director and agreed to by the Board of Directors are 1) Total Number of Active Members; and, 2) Total Donations from Members. The actual figures, target figures, and budget figures, will be reported on a monthly and a yearly basis. Strategic Goals and Operational Objectives - This section will detail progress towards this year's strategic goals and objectives. Please note that strategic goal #3 is to extend the range of services offered to members, and 4 of 5 of the operational objectives tied to this goal are related to the special projects. Accordingly, discussion of those objectives will take place in the section titled "Special Projects" Special Projects - Currently there are two special projects, HRDC Thin Client and SmartCapital. This section will provide details on the status of the two projects. Management priorities - This section will provide a brief list and discussion of management priorities. Typically the activities described here will be non-technical in nature. Technical priorities - This section will provide a brief list and discussion of technical, system administration priorities. 2. Status Report ================ a) Key indicators - Year to date progress Actual Target Budget % % of Target of Budget ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ 1. Number of Members 6837 6613 6663 103% 103% 2. Donation Revenue $59,064 $52,016 $51,326 114% 115% b) Breakdown of new members, renewals, and donations for February Actual Target Budget % % of Target of Budget ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ Total New 134 208 158 64% 85% Donating New 67 93 70 72% 96% Renewals 548 511 511 107% 107% Donating Renewals 379 296 296 128% 128% Renewing Donations 14442 14371 14371 101% 101% New Donations 1672 2790 2100 60% 80% ------ ------ ------ ---- ---- Total Ind Donations 16115 17161 16471 94% 98% Organization Donations 1524 800 800 191% 191% ------ ------ ------ ---- ---- Total Donations 17639 17961 17271 98% 102% Avg New Donation 24.96 30.00 30.00 83% 83% Avg Renew Donation 38.11 48.55 48.55 78% 78% c) Breakdown of new members, renewals, and donations for 2002 Actual Target Budget % % of Target of Budget ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ Total New 377 554 504 68% 75% Donating New 219 247 224 89% 98% Renewals 1689 1501 1501 113% 113% Donating Renewals 1231 869 869 142% 142% Renewing Donations 48291 42206 42206 114% 114% New Donations 5565 7410 6720 75% 83% ------ ------ ------ ---- ---- Total Ind Donations 53857 49616 48926 109% 110% Organization Donations 5207 2400 2400 217% 217% ------ ------ ------ ---- ---- Total Donations 59064 52016 51326 114% 115% Avg New Donation 25.41 30.00 30.00 85% 85% Avg Renew Donation 39.23 48.57 48.57 81% 81% 3. Strategic Goals and Operational Objectives =========================================== Please note I have added the following Operational Objective: 2.3 Develop and implement a strategy for dealing with SPAM. 1. Goal: Remain donation based. 1.1. Operational Objective: Achieve donations necessary to operate at break-even or at a surplus Time Frame: Performance against budget measured Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 Progress: We continue to over achieve in renewal numbers and donations. The situation with new members, new member donations, average new donations, and average renewal donations is a concern. Next Steps: I believe that the recommendation for upgrading the dial up access facilities will help bring in new members and retain existing members. Making the registration and donation process easier is now the top priority. I am also reviewing our options regarding timing of renewal letters and the actual renewal letter itself for ways of improving in the areas of concern mentioned above. 2. Goal: Improve the reliability of the services offered to our members 2.1. Operational Objective: Solve dial-up access problems Time Frame: Q1 Progress: Reliability on 520-9013 has increased substantially, with few problems reported on that number. The Cisco 5100 terminal server from Mitel continues to operate quite well, handling 46 lines. The Total Control 1000 terminal server is also performing well. We continue to see some problems with the modems on the 520-1135 lines (ring-no-answer) and random disconnects. The refund for the 3com boxes is now in its final stage at Ingram Micro. Keating Technologies has indicated the final refund to us will be pushed through quickly. It is hoped we will have the cheque in hand by the end of the month. On a related note, Carleton has indicated to us that changes are forthcoming to the internet access facilities. It is hoped that these changes that will be implemented over the summer will alleviate the congestion currently being seen when accessing the internet. Next steps: An analysis of the dial up access facilities was undertaken and a recommendation is before the board this month. The plan is to phase in new terminal servers to upgrade to 33.6 kbps across the board, followed by a limited amount of digital lines. This plan, if approved by the board, will be implemented as soon as we receive the refund for the 3com gear. 2.2. Operational Objective: Upgrade the technological infrastructure Time Frame: Q4 Progress: The SmartCapital project budgets have been finalized and we have finalized our requirements for the servers for the web mail and thin client portions of Smart Capital. Next steps: We will be ordering the new servers shortly. In the meantime, I have met with Mark Mielke and Glenn Jackman regarding developing a project plan to revamp the server architecture. This process is in the initial phase but we expect it to move quickly once the new servers arrive. 2.3. Operational Objective: Develop a strategy to deal with SPAM. Progress: On March 19, Andre configured the mail server to use RBL+ in addition to ordb to block spam. In the seven day period running from March 7 to March 14, ordb blocked 78,430 pieces of mail. In the seven day period running from March 26 to April 1, ordb and RBL+ combined to block 124,526 pieces of mail. A good estimate of total mail being received is 1500 per hour * 24 * 7 = 252,000 per 7 day period. So we're blocking half of all e-mail coming in, yet the level of SPAM is unacceptable. We have looked into commercial SPAM blocking software but the solutions are prohibitively expensive. There is a significant amount of discussion on the abuse discussion newsgroup about initiatives to combat the problem. There is a need for a multi-facted approach - filtering at the server end, filtering on the members machines, education of the membership on ways to combat SPAM, research into new software SPAM fighting tools, and public efforts to raise the profile of this problem at the government level. Next steps: Continue in our efforts by supporting member efforts and by researching new software tools and developing an educational program to assist members in fighting this problem. 3. Goal: Extend the range of services offered to our members 3.1. Operational Objective: Roll out Thin Client I (HRDC) Time Frame: Q1 Progress: See section on special projects. Next Steps: See section on special projects 3.2. Operational Objective: Roll out Thin Client II (IC) Time Frame: Q2 Progress: See section on special projects. Next Steps: See section on special projects 3.3. Operational Objective: Roll out Web Mail I (IC) Time Frame: Q2 Progress: See section on special projects. Next Steps: See section on special projects 3.4. Operational Objective: Roll out Extended Access II (IC) Time Frame: Q1 Progress: See section on special projects. Next Steps: See section on special projects 3.5. Operational Objective: Provide domain hosting services Time Frame: Q3 Progress: None at this time. Next Steps: None at this time. 4. Goal: Raise the visibility of the NCF within the community 4.1. Operational Objective: Develop and implement an effective marketing program Time Frame: Q2 Progress: We have received a second cut of the marketing strategy from inMedia and are in the process of reviewing it. Also, we have final copies of the marketing plans created by Prof Judith Madill's Not For Profit Marketing class at Carleton. Next Steps: Review all the submissions we have received and develop a comprehensive strategic marketing plan. 4.2. Operational Objective: Revamp web site Time Frame: Q2 Progress: No activity this month. Next Steps: Continue to work on the content of the lower level pages and then converting those pages to the new style. 5. Goal: Increase the relevance of the NCF 5.1. Operational Objective: Provide members the opportunity and means to become active participants in public debate of community issues i.e. discussions of the broadband initiative, etc. Time Frame: Q3 Progress: None at this time. Next Steps: 5.2. Operational Objective: Provide sponsorship and authentication service for 802.11 community network Time Frame: Q3 Progress: This initiative has stalled somewhat because of higher priority work taking precedence. Next Steps: As time permits, revisit this initiative. 6. Goal: Build useful partnerships 6.1. Operational Objective: Establish significant partnerships with community foundations, local corporations, individuals capable of providing significant donations Time Frame: Progress measured Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 Progress: None at this time. Next Steps: None at this time. 7. Goal: Make better use of our members, supporters and volunteers 7.1. Operational Objective: Establish volunteer management process Time Frame: Progress measured Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 Progress: None this month. Next Steps: To recruit quality volunteers I will be defining specific tasks and projects and recruiting specifically for those tasks and projects. 8. Goal: Improve our operational efficiency 8.1. Operational Objective: Port membership database to RDBMS Time Frame: Q2 Progress: The Algonquin College group have completed classes for the term. They did present to us a document detailing the scope of their project. As we are now working on upgrading the entire technological infrastructure we will be rolling this task into objective 2.2. Next Steps: See objective 2.2. 8.2. Operational Objective: Start porting member service functionality to web-based system Time Frame: Q4 Progress: See Operational Objective 8.1 Next Steps: See Operational Objective 8.1 8.3. Operational Objective: Improve member support services Time Frame: Progress measured Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 Progress: Sheila has provided me with a list of member support activities as a first step to improving the service we provide to our members. Next Steps: Work with Sheila on improving all office operations including member services. 9. Goal: Develop a long-term plan 9.1. Operational Objective: Establish a long-term strategic plan for the organization Time Frame: Q4 Progress: None at this time. Next Steps: None at this time. 4. Special Projects =================== 1. Thin Client I (HRDC) Progress: The initial installation is complete and Comgate is now finishing up the documentation. The pilot test is now under way and we are receiving some valuable feedback and making modifications as required. I went through a project review meeting with the Project Officer from HRDC. Feedback was generally positive with some recommendations for more detailed reporting of the progress. Next steps: We are meeting with Comgate and IKON to review progress in this area. Start developing a test plan for the second phase of the pilot test. Start developing a roll out marketing strategy. Finalize technical support requirements. 2. Smart Capital General Activities (IC) Progress: The Smart Capital Contribution Agreement has been signed and the project statement of work and budget have been finalized. An initial financial claim has been submitted to recover the outstanding receivable related to work performed under the contribution agreement. Next steps: Hire a second system administrator to work on implementing the Smart Capital projects. Develop a comprehensive marketing strategy to promote the projects. 3. Thin Client II (IC) Progress: The Smart Capital Contribution Agreement has been signed and the project statement of work and budget have been finalized. Next steps: Issue purchase order for the UNIX and Windows 2000 servers. Begin process to contract for technical services related to the Windows 2000 application server installation and the technical and user documentation. 4. Web Mail I (IC) Progress: See Thin Client II (IC) Next Steps: Issue purchase order for the UNIX server. Determine the best proposal for contract technical services to install the iPlanet software. Begin process to contract for technical and user documentation. 5. Extended Access II (IC) Progress: We continue to search for a partner for this part of the Smart Capital project. Next Steps: Now that the budget is finalized we can ramp up our search. 5. Management Priorities ======================== 1. Implement the recommended upgrade to the dial up access facilities. 2. Redesign our registration and donation process. 3. Analyze our role as a community network and review requirements for providing community networking products and services. 4. Productivity improvements, volunteer recruitment 5. Projects General - Review staffing requirements HRDC Thin Client I - testing phase Smart Capital Thin Client II - technical design and setup infrastructure phases Smart Capital Web Mail I - technical design and setup infrastructure phases Smart Capital Extended Access - potential partners approached to determine interest 6. Marketing Plan - develop comprehensive strategic marketing plan 6. Technical Priorities ======================== 1. Review the technical requirements for revamping the registration and donation processes. 2. Projects General - Review staffing requirements HRDC Thin Client I - testing phase Smart Capital Thin Client II - technical design and setup infrastructure phases Smart Capital Web Mail I - technical design and setup infrastructure phases Smart Capital Extended Access - potential partners approached to determine interest 3. Technical infrastructure planning 4. Review our options regarding SPAM. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix A Registration Donations ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ No. No. % New Budget Regist Budget Memb $ Budget Memb. (No.) Var Donate (No.) Don Amount ($) Var ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~ Jan02 134 177 -24% (16m) 69 79 59% 1,769 $ 2,370 -25 Feb02 109 169 -36% (11m) 83 75 76% 2,124 $ 2,250 -6% Mar02 134 158 -15% (15m) 67 70 50% 1,672 $ 2,100 -20% YTD02 377 504 -25% 219 224 58% 5,565 $ 6,720 -17% Jan01 186 98 - 83 - 2,252 $ 1,800 - Feb01 141 98 - 88 - 1,996 $ 1,800 - Mar01 159 98 - 82 - 2,172 $ 1,800 - Apr01 120 98 - (19m) 45 - 784 $ 1,800 - May01 154 98 - (19m) 66 - 1,568 $ 1,800 - Jun01 106 98 - (16m) 83 - 1,829 $ 1,800 - Jul01 94 98 - (16m) 74 - 1,362 $ 1,800 - Aug01 131 98 - (24m) 87 - 1,756 $ 1,800 - Sep01 150 98 - (16m) 89 - 2,007 $ 1,800 - Oct01 152 98 - (15m) 72 - 1,788 $ 1,800 - Nov01 150 98 - (19m) 86 - 2,087 $ 1,800 - Dec01 81 98 - (17m) 51 - 1,060 $ 1,800 - Appendix B Renewal Donations ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ No. % No. Budget Renwl Budget Renw $ Budget Renwl (No.) Var Monthly Donate (No.) Don Amount ($) Var ~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~ Jan02 579 446 +30% (120m) 442 259 76% 18,341 $ 12,531 +46% Feb02 562 544 + 3% (123m) 410 315 73% 15,508 $ 15,304 + 1% Mar02 548 511 + 7% (122m) 379 296 69% 14,442 $ 14,371 + 1% YTD02 1689 1501 +13% 1231 869 73% 48,291 $ 42,206 +14% Jan01 674 395 - 460 - 18,874 $ 17,266 - Feb01 451 468 - 364 - 13,597 $ 20,465 - Mar01 405 443 - 441 - 17,015 $ 19,399 - Apr01 521 473 - (83m) 338 - 13,533 $ 20,674 - May01 558 426 - (89m) 395 - 14,525 $ 18,620 - Jun01 393 295 - (94m) 349 - 12,366 $ 12,911 - Jul01 274 155 - (91m) 215 - 6,474 $ 6,779 - Aug01 298 113 - (80m) 183 - 6,709 $ 4,924 - Sep01 226 122 - (111m) 213 - 5,208 $ 5,323 - Oct01 217 133 - (112m) 195 - 4,598 $ 5,813 - Nov01 301 117 - (113m) 258 - 7,760 $ 5,119 - Dec01 313 210 - (113m) 266 - 9,167 $ 9,201 - Appendix C Membership Activity ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |Member | Current |To line| Actual |Ratio |Number Forecast Number Forecast Number Number # of % inc. | |Of New No. of Members No. of Members Members Members -dec. |Lns :1 |Members New Memb Renewed Renewed Un-arch Archvd ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ |~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ Jan02 6,799 +0.37% 37 134 177 579 446 14 137 Feb02 6,790 -0.13% 37 109 169 562 544 33 150 Mar02 6,837 +0.69% 38 134 158 548 511 30 117 YTD02 6,837 377 504 1689 1501 77 404 Jan01 7,565 - - - 186 98 674 395 0 211 Feb01 7,495 - - - 141 98 451 468 14 223 Mar01 7,393 - - - 159 98 405 443 5 82 Apr01 7,259 - - - 120 98 521 473 3 255 May01 7,184 - - - 154 98 558 426 31 250 Jun01 7,235 - - - 106 98 393 295 25 88 Jul01 7,078 - - - 94 98 274 155 14 268 Aug01 6,939 - - - 131 98 298 113 45 333 Sep01 6,786 - - - 150 98 226 122 55 372 Oct01 6,771 - - - 152 98 217 133 28 209 Nov01 6,782 - - - 150 98 301 117 28 176 Dec01 6,774 - - - 81 98 313 210 17 114 Note: Member to Line Ratio only includes full time lines (12 at Mitel, 170 at Carleton) -- *** Ian MacEachern, Executive Director *** National Capital Freenet / Libertel de la Capitale nationale tel. (613) 520-2600 ext. 8024 -or- fax (613) 520-3524