Minutes of meeting of Newham Online Steering Group - 19th. Feb '98
Danny Budzak - LBN - Database editor
Rik Lewis - LBN - Consultant & ELLVTR
Michael Mulquin - Newham Online Chair/UKCommunities Online
Lou O'Connell - Net and Beyond
Gavin Sealey - Newham Young People Online/Newham Youth Services
Richard Stubbs - Newham Online Co-ordinator/UK Citizens Online/CH&CTCRP
Kevin Victor - Net and Beyond
Apologies:
Richard Steel - LBN IT
John Lock - University of East London, Thames Gateway Technology Centre
We reviewed the functions of the Steering Group as agreed by the "Partnership Board" which are as follows: -
a. Take the lead on image, promotion and publicity
b. Represent the partnership
c. Membership
d Uphold our agreed principles
e. Organise meetings, conferences and events
f. Oversee organisational development
g. Seek and manage use of resources
h. Oversee agreed partnership projects
i. Oversee quality of services provided as Newham Online
j. Oversee quality of services provided by partners to Newham Online
We agreed that we should recommend addition of "Propose strategy, objectives and projects" which was similar but not the same as organisational development. We decided to focus our attention on four functions at this meeting. It was agreed to brainstorm the scope of these issues and that Richard Stubbs should write up a draft based on this scoping for consideration by the Steering Group.
Membership of what? - Newham Online is a campaign, project co-ordinator and provider of services. Membership levels include Steering Group, Partnership Board, people to be consulted and people to be informed. Membership of online mailing lists. Membership of Newham extranet when established.
Membership requirements? - Agreement of statement of vision, commitment and values. Individuals who live, work or study in Newham. Organisations that are based in it or provide services to it providing can agree with the vision. Should there be a subscription for large organisations that may wish to be involved but which could not sign up to the vision? Should be free otherwise? Getting rid of members who break the rules?
Members sought from? - All local people and organisations who are online for the campaign in general, key local organisations (not necessarily online) for consultation and key local IT players for Board.
Member benefits? - Contacts, information, influence, profile, reduced costs, partnership projects. Is there a danger of IT masonry? Private vs. public? Password access and member areas.
Nature of issue - NOL as a whole vs. NOL members. Preliminary discussions and sensitive issues can be discussed externally by officers and co-ordinator but cannot bind organisation, confidential issues discussed in Steering Group, collective decisions taken by Board and put on core list. Provision of public information vs. communication.
Delegate or represent? - Authorisation required, clear collective decisions made and recorded.
Scope of NOL's interests? NOL is providing a platform and process for communication and publishing information. It is not concerned in content other than that directly related to platform and process such as freedom of speech.
Conflict of interest - Should have policy to cover those acting in decision making and representational capacities.
Action - Richard Stubbs to approach Richard Steel and enquire whether he is prepared to be nominated as Vice Chair.
Strategy - Purpose, Cross media, online and offline, PR person,
Identity - Name of organisation, Image, Logo, Cards.
Resources - Newham Recorder, contacts, resources, agency, budget
Targeting - LBN (all sectors and general public), National (major companies, national organisations, Govt.), European contacts.
Action - Lou to lead list discussion on role of Newham Online PR person.
Principle - Ensure all projects are adequately resourced and do not depend on voluntary effort. It is better not to do a project than do it badly.
Identify key projects - basis for deciding, strategy, impact, ease of producing and maintaining.
Non cash resources - Local info. particularly that held by LBN, students from UEL, NCFE and NewVIC. Training Centres such as NewTel, NewTec, Net&Beyond, Shed 22(?). Staff of member organisations (e.g. LBN Regeneration & Partnerships?)
Cash resources - ERDF, large private sector firms.
Key people - Influencers, decision-makers, IT staff, designers, students.
Partnerships - Possibility of private/public partnership to develop projects such as the LBN/Bull deal.
Agreed that the Steering Group should meet a maximum of 8 times a year though there might be sub meetings involving people involved in particular projects. No payment would be made for attending meetings. There should normally be a meeting held around three weeks before each Board meeting to plan details. Meeting dates should be arranged online.
Action - Richard Stubbs to arrange date and venue for next meeting
Agreed that we should set up a mailing list for the Steering Group that should have a web archive that is password protected. It was agreed that the list would be used to work up drafts of papers that would then be circulated on core for decision at Board meetings. Once a proposal was agreed the agreed paper could be put out to the consult list. Both "core" and "consult" should remain public lists.
Action - Richard Stubbs to set up mailing list and password accessed archive
Richard Stubbs said that he and Richard Steel had arranged a meeting with BT to discuss the options available to Newham Online. There was a great deal of information available on the web that is relevant that can be found at www.oftel.gov.uk/isp/main.htm
3. Newham Gateway and Extranet We reviewed the Gateway project briefly. We decided that the gateway should present information according to user requirements and not primarily according to source. For example if someone wishes to look for a training course on a topic then any course available in Newham should be presented without consideration of whether it is provided by the public, private, academic or voluntary sectors. Richard Stubbs had developed a list of services that could be provided both at the gateway and within the extranet itself. It was agreed that these lists should be put on the site and used as a basis for identifying projects that we should seek to put in hand.We noted that UKIG was a start-up that depended on the combined resources of a number of separate companies. Of particular interest was Netcall's technology. The strategic suggestion of using LBN as a testbed and rolling out to other areas first in the ELLVTR and then London as a whole was attractive. There was not time to discuss how the Newham Gateway and UKIG could work together in detail but as a general principle it seemed fair that revenues derived from visitors from outside Newham go to the UK Gateway and revenues generated from Newham based visitors go to the Newham Gateway. Noted that it does make a difference whether UKIG bases itself in Newham.
We only had time to briefly touch on this matter. Large national companies such as BT, GPT, IBM and Cable & Wireless could not become members as they could scarcely subscribe to the Newham first vision, however they might become part of local partnerships, which could become members. If business competitors became members it would be essential to be clear about the basis for the partnership purchasing or indeed accepting services. Conflict of interest policies and empowering individuals to negotiate on behalf of the partnership would be important. There was also the issue of different treatment for locally based firms.
Minutes by Richard Stubbs - 23rd. Feb '98