On the basis that good ideas should not be allowed to die I'm forwarding
the attached proposal outline. A detailed WiNS2000 proposal including
financial spreadsheets, job descriptions, and virtual management tools are
available to be shared on request.
Mike Gurstein
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WiNS-2000
The Wire Nova Scotia Project (WiNS) was developed and piloted in 1996 by
the Centre for Community and Enterprise Networking (C\CEN) of the
University College of Cape Breton, in collaboration with the Nova Scotia
Community Access Committee. Industry Canada supports Community Access
CAP sites by providing funding for summer youth workers to help staff the
sites and to help encourage involvement of local businesses, local
government and local community groups.
WiNS'97 was an enhancement to this program and assisted Community Access
sites and summer youth workers in Nova Scotia to reach their potential
through coordinated training and communications resources, including
on-line technical support. WiNS '97 also handled administrative details
such as payroll by means of "virtual management" tools and strategies.
WiNS '97 also helped CAP sites network together with school boards,
regional development agencies, Human Resources Development Canada and
corporate sponsors to create community enterprise networks.
The WiNS pilot was so successful that Industry Canada has adopted it as a
model for the other provinces and territories.
WiNS2000 is a further enhancement to the WiNS model. WiNS2000 will be a
one-year initiative for people who are unemployed or underemployed. The
proposed program will employ approximately 250-270 persons across Nova
Scotia with some 35% of these being in Cape Breton--both as WiNS workers,
and through the WiNS Secretariat (C\CEN). Funding is being
sought from both the Federal government, through the Transitional Jobs
Fund, and the Provincial government, through Community Services.
The main objectives of WiNS2000 are:
* to provide an opportunity for currently unemployed Nova Scotians
to obtain a year of work experience and training in a high technology
environment with a good chance of permanent employment of being able to
create a permanent employment opportunity for themselves
* to provide technical and staffing support to the various
community access and public access Internet sites across the province to
enable them to develop long-term sustainability
* to support the efforts of these access sites to form regional
Community Enterprise Networks that will enable them to build sustainable
business partnerships with both government and the private sector.
The proposed placement of 36 to 50 weeks would achieve the following:
* Re-introduce people who have been chronically unemployed or
underemployed to the work environment allowing them to build a strong
network of potential employers and much needed self-esteem.
* Allow the placement to have a "real shot" at developing Internet
and Information Technology related skills.
* Because the placements are adults, many have children and can
bring these newly acquired skills back to their families who may not have
had the opportunity to experience this technology.
* The community will retain these skills because the participants
reside in the community and most have no plans to relocate.
* With guaranteed staffing for 9 months to 1 year, the CAP will
have time to develop long term sustainability plans.
* Companies who may consider locating in the province may see this
program as a source of employees who are well-versed on the "Information
Highway" and its applications.
* Governments can begin to use the CAP sites as points of presence
in the community for service delivery--thus reducing service delivery
costs in rural areas.
WiNS-2000 is a medium for community capacity building. Community Access
and a trained workforce are both critical to the infrastructure that will
be needed by other technology related development initiatives that will
follow.
After 8 months of negotiation the above project was not funded.
Mikeg
Michael Gurstein, Ph.D.
ECBC/NSERC/SSHRC Associate Chair in the Management of Technological Change
Director: Centre for Community and Enterprise Networking (C\CEN)
University College of Cape Breton, POBox 5300, Sydney, NS, CANADA B1P 6L2
Tel. 902-539-4060 (o) 902-562-1055 (h) 902-562-0119 (fax)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://ccen.uccb.ns.ca
