Board of Directors | Policies & Procedures | Office Space | Original Proposal | Database | Website
Communications | Halifax Meeting | Network Agreement | Incorporation | Host Institute Relationship
The purpose of this letter is to update the AquaNet community on the activities that have occupied AquaNet's management committee and staff over the last two intense months.
The management committee - the scientific director, theme leaders and the network manager - has now taken over from the original AquaNet steering committee which saw the project from the letter-of-intent stage through the writing of the proposal to the early stages of establishing the Board of Directors. The management committee met for two days in Vancouver in April with the aim to get AquaNet up and running. We addressed issues such as membership on the Board of Directors, the network agreement, the budget, network meetings, administrative practices, proposed network committees, their functions and membership, etc..
Notwithstanding the operational guidelines established by the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE), we have been given considerable latitude to steer our own course, including determining the nature, structure and tenor of the organization. This has translated into a lot of decision-making over the last two months.
We now have on staff a Communications Officer and a part-time Web/Computer Specialist (until June 30, 2000) whose support has made our progress possible.
The template of the network agreement handed to us by NCE sets out the organizations and interests that must be represented on AquaNet's Board of Directors (BOD). After wide consultation and discussion, we have produced the final slate of officers and have submitted it to NCE for formal approval. The next step is to organize the first meeting of the Board in June.
Other critical committees are the Research Management Committee (RMC) and the Education Committee. The former will be responsible for recommending the research agenda and the research budget to the BOD and the latter will oversee the teaching aspects of AquaNet including computer-aided, web-based educational components and face-to-face courses. Both of these committees have been filled now and the names submitted to NCE for formal approval.
AquaNet faces many issues common to all new organizations. The decisions to be made range from the theoretical to the mundane. What policies and procedures will we follow that will help us operate efficiently and effectively? How will information flow throughout the network and between the network and external groups? How will AquaNet funds reach their target in a timely manner? What financial and administrative information do we need to track and how should that be done? Other tasks include ordering computers, supplies and business cards, and the myriad other details involved in setting up an office.
We have identified appropriate space at the Ocean Sciences Centre at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) for administrative offices for the network and have had an estimate prepared on what it will cost to have the space renovated. MUN has agreed to provide some support for the capital cost of the project in addition to substantial operational support. We have submitted an application for funding to an external agency for the remaining renovation costs.
The original proposal was subject to strict length restrictions and was, therefore, formatted to save space. To improve readability, we have re-formatted the entire document in preparation for reprinting.
We have begun collecting information for a database/Management Information System on the AquaNet community including investigators, BOD, industry partners, students and technicians. We are required by NCE to track a wide variety of other data such as graduate students' employment after leaving AquaNet; cash and in-kind contributions from all sources; publications on AquaNet research and financial data.
The list of tasks associated with setting up a web site for AquaNet is the responsibility of our Computer Specialist, and includes the following:
1) finding an acceptable web address. Our first preference was AquaNet.ca but this address was taken so we have submitted other names to the domain name authorization committee;
2) researching other NCE sites to determine site content of NCE programs;
3) developing a site plan, layout and logistics;
4) designing and developing site elements (graphics, logo, style sheets, borders, text, etc.);
5) programming site skeleton;
6) collecting site information and producing appropriate file types for posting;
7) posting information to site, testing it and implementing site security;
8) rolling out for public consumption.
We are at the latter stages now and are waiting for authorization of our chosen web address.
We have also commissioned a graphic artist to design a logo. The original design has gone through some revisions and we are now satisfied with the result. You will be viewing it on the web site and on all AquaNet correspondence.
Until the public announcement by Industry Canada and NCE of the funding of AquaNet, our communications activities must remain low key. The date of the announcement has been changed several times by the Minister of Industry's office and is subject to his timetable. As we wait, our Communications Officer, Michael Riehl, is designing an ad for release to appropriate newsletters and a poster advertising our network. We also have a booth booked at the Aquaculture Association of Canada annual meeting taking place in Moncton.
Principal and co-principal investigators of AquaNet have been invited to a meeting in Halifax on May 19-20, 2000 to discuss the direction of AquaNet research. Logistical details were handled by Michael Riehl and, along with the agenda, have been finalized.
NCE has provided us with a template of a network agreement which we are in the process of reviewing. We have the option to add clauses so that the agreement ultimately reflects the distinctiveness of AquaNet. The document is complex and since it will govern our activities from the beginning, we must be careful to craft it well. The intellectual properties and confidentiality clauses are particularly sensitive. We are seeking advice from several quarters to ensure that the agreement suits our needs. The network agreement must be signed off by the board of directors, the partner institutions, NCE, and the network investigators.
We have begun the process of incorporating AquaNet as a not-for-profit organization. After consulting with other networks and our NCE program officer, the management committee has decided that this option will give us the most flexibility.
We have opened negotiations with Memorial University on how AquaNet will operate vis-à-vis the university. As an incorporated entity, we will have the freedom to conduct business separately from the University, but our status as a "guest" of the university may constrain us in unforeseen ways. We are looking closely at this issue.
Joan Atkinson
Network Manager