Thank you also to funder BC Ministry of Community Development, Co-operatives and Volunteers through the InVOLve BC program.

Introduction:

The Technical Volunteer Web Initiative’s purpose is:

“To develop a set of practices for connecting technical volunteers in voluntary sector organizations with a larger technical resource network that can provide additional recruitment, training and support to complement the non-profit organization’s volunteer program.”

In other words the Technical Volunteer Web (TVW) initiative was designed as a bridge between the technical needs of not for profit organizations and the services that the Vancouver Community Net (VCN) are able to provide. By assisting non-profits in navigating technical needs VCN would be meeting its own objectives of:

· encouraging the developments of a wide range of electronic community information and communication resources

· encouraging the broadest possible participation of community voluntary sector and other organizations in making their information available on the VCN and

· working with the community and non-profit organizations to make VCN a capacity building tool.

To that end, and to build community capacity (in conducting evaluation) and to encourage community ownership of the initiative, the Technical Volunteer Web participatory evaluation was designed to involve the four main stakeholder groups as much as they chose to be involved. These stakeholder groups are:

· Non-profit organizations

· Technical volunteers

· Education institution

· Volunteer Centre

The evaluation consultant has also worked closely with Vancouver Community Net (VCN) staff.

The initiative ran from the December of 2000 to January 31, 2002.

The following final report contains the evaluation plan, activities and results, and conclusions and recommendations.

Evaluation Plan:

The evaluation plan was designed by the four major stakeholder groups (technical volunteers, non-profit, volunteer center, educational institution) plus VCN staff. Participants were trained in outcome-based evaluation at a workshop in April of 2001. During this workshop they designed the outcomes and indicators for TVW. These outcomes and indicators formed the basis of the evaluation. Participants were also asked to envision what other questions they would like the evaluation to answer.

Evaluation Activities and Results:

Task	Notes
Evaluation training for four stakeholder groups	Completed: 12 people present
Outcomes and indicators designed by four stakeholder groups; evaluation plan drawn up	Completed: 12 people participated
Questionnaire for non-profit groups (designed to gather baseline data)	Completed by 8 of 10 groups
Interim report	Completed and shared online with stakeholders
Focus group – with non-profit organizations	Completed: 2 groups present
Focus group – with technical volunteers	Due to low attendance, changed to an online survey; completed by 9 volunteers[1]
Interview – with educational institution	Completed
Interview – with volunteer centre	Volunteer centre did not participate in initiative to any great degree following evaluation training so interview did not take place
Interview – with key VCN staff	Completed: 5 staff participated

As mentioned, during the evaluation training workshop each of the four stakeholder groups collaborated to design outcomes and indicators for the TVW. These outcomes and indicators formed the basis for the project’s evaluation. Each outcome is presented below with a summary of the data. The details of the data and each indicator is included in Appendix A.

Data was gathered from the appropriate source for each of the indicators (e.g. from the educational institution, technical volunteer survey, non-profit survey, non-profit focus group, VCN staff focus group and / or program records).

Information in italics is direct quotes from participants in the evaluation.

After the eight outcomes, other questions that the stakeholders wanted answered are presented along with the data collected on them. Finally, the outputs that the stakeholders designed are listed.

Together, the outcomes, indicators, other questions and outputs form the evaluation framework.

Summary of Outcome 1: Non-profit groups share technical expertise

It appears that non-profit groups are sharing their technical expertise due to the fact that a forum for discussion exists (though all may not be aware of it), slightly more organizations are beginning to share their technical expertise, and the number of volunteers recruited, trained and placed has increased. Non-profit volunteers who are general in nature tend to stay that way, as opposed to becoming technical volunteers. This is likely due to the very different skill set required, which in turn, may make is more challenging for technical information to be shared.

Summary of Outcome 2: Unification of non-profits over the net

Non-profits are increasingly becoming unified due to more sharing of information between them. The in-sectoral collaborations taking place have a mixed review, though at least one non-profit wants to increase their level. Considering the environment of increased accountability for funding and more pressure to collaborate, this range in reviews may be due to the newness of the work.

Any increase in unification is not occurring due to rotating volunteers, which for these non-profits does not happen at all nor from sharing common workspaces.

The understanding of other non-profits has increased during the TVW initiative. A total of 63% reported in the first survey that their understanding had increased an average to above average amount, while 100% of the non-profits in the final focus group reported that their understanding had increased (it increased a small amount but it was still an increase).

Summary of Outcome 3: Voluntary sector groups increasingly have access to appropriate technical volunteer support

Non-profits are definitely receiving technical volunteer support and all report at least an average degree of satisfaction with the support received. The response time ranges but it is neither increasing nor decreasing. Non-profits are experiencing decreasing amounts of frustration when dealing with technology and all are experiencing appropriate technological support to their stated need (though some find it difficult to judge).

Non-profits report a wide range in technological abilities themselves. VCN registration forms are somewhat difficult to fill out, as reported by the non-profits. For the most part, training dates and times are convenient.

Summary of Outcome 4: Instant access to friendly help

Technical volunteers report a high level of comfort in dealing with diverse issues and users. Support is gained fairly quickly by non-profits who also report a high level of comfort when asking for help (with the exception of when they are unclear as to what they can ask for help on). Non-profits say that the technical volunteers are supportive.

It is unclear whether support is needed outside 9am to 5pm.

155 requests have been received by Help Queue with 9 remaining open, which is a 94% completion rate. Web-Admin received 199 requests with 103 remaining open, a 48% completion rate. Due to technical difficulties it is unclear whether this rate is changing (increasing or decreasing) or remaining constant.

Summary of Outcome 5: Volunteers are increasingly trained and become better able to meet the needs of voluntary sector groups; volunteers "de-bug" technology

Volunteers see volunteering through TVW as a positive experience. Non-profits report that their questions are answered correctly and that the technology provided is user-friendly. Non-profits vary in their technological abilities. Inappropriate usage of technology is an issue for non-profits. The latter two give evidence for the continued need for the services that TVW provides. Lastly, the technical volunteers rate the training they have received very high both in content (what is taught) and in process (how it is taught).

Summary of Outcome 6: Volunteer opportunities are increasingly accessible to those in post-secondary programs and using volunteer centre

The number of student placements has increased. It is not clear whether the number of volunteer referrals has increased, decreased or stayed the same.

Summary of Outcome 7: Increasing level of collaboration among technical volunteers

Most technical volunteers communicate with each other and almost half see the rate of communication as increasing. 78% of the technical volunteers say they seldom require assistance while 22% say they often require assistance. Interestingly 40% of the VCN staff report volunteers often ask for help and 40% of staff say volunteers seldom ask for help. Technical volunteers are participating and collaborating in non-profit organizations and more than half are collaborating with each other.

Summary of Outcome 8: Increasing involvement of volunteers in technical maintenance, user training and help support

The feedback regarding the training sessions varied between that received from the overall 95 technical volunteers and that received from those 9 that responded specifically to the TVW technical volunteer survey (the former is more valid and reliable as the sampling is larger). Overall the training process and content was rated very highly. A full 100% of the volunteers responding to the survey reported being very satisfied with their volunteer placement. Half of the volunteers completing a term at VCN said they were satisfied and the other half stated they were very satisfied.

Other questions the stakeholder groups wanted the evaluation to answer:

a) What’s happening in other communities that we can connect with?

None of the technical volunteers, non-profits or the educational institution knew of anything happening in other communities to connect with. The VCN staff had the following feedback:

Some groups in the Down Town Eastside that are trying to develop.

The next round of CAP sites outside Vancouver e.g. Surrey

Probably models in Ottawa / Toronto worth looking at

Have started building – training other organization’s volunteers by expanding the invitations to our trainings

A huge number of online resources and information have been found that can support non-profits in their technical volunteer programs and their use of the Internet. These resources were gathered together into the Groups Resources and Information page on the project website (http://www.vcn.bc.ca/vcn/involve/npresrce.html); many of the links refer to discussion forums, mailing lists, and other tools that groups and technical volunteers could connect to in developing the network

b) What did the technical volunteers gain from their experience? The volunteer centres? The educational institutions? The non-profits?

The technical volunteers gained much from their experience including the following:

It helps me gain experience for any future positions I may have. It also give me something to do and the ability to help others.

How to work in groups, and how to communicate with group members. Also how to communication to the non-profit what you are doing, how it works, and other technical aspects of a project.

Learning from others is great, especially working with more knowledgeable people. I enjoy sharing my experience and knowledge with others too.

Sanity! Experience. A feeling that I am connected to Vancouver.

A lot, such as technical skills, languages skills, communication skills.

The non-profits also gained much from TVW:

Our CAP site is almost ready to launch. Without the volunteers it would still be sitting there. It would be extremely difficult to organize the hardware if we didn’t have the ability to call TVW.

It’s helped get us resources and become more comfortable with computers and increased our use of computers.

The educational institution gained by having learned more about the non-profit sector.

c) How does this project contribute to realizing VCN’s goals? Other stakeholders’ goals?

The majority of volunteers reported the TVW was helping them reach their goals.

Yes, because it is giving me the experience that I need in order to find a job in the I.T. field.

Very much because my goal is to learn while I help out others. By helping other non-profits, this goal is further developed.

Yes and no. Yes, it's helping me gain experience working in teams, groups and with a client. No, the projects I've been involved with aren't giving me technical experience in the skills I want.

This project contributes to realizing my goals. I can combine the social skills with the new interest in computer science.

TVW is helping non-profits reach their goals.

Our goals are communication, advocacy. TVW makes it possible to create resources to provide access to the Internet and empower them.

I wanted a newsletter and they are definitely helping with that, they are helping residents who are new to the Internet. They are also helping to train the trainers to make it sustainable. I’m still not clear what TVW is all about though.

TVW is helping the educational institution reach its goals as well:

VCC is interested in its students gaining technical and interpersonal experience. TVW provides such opportunities.

All of the staff reported that TVW helped VCN in reaching its goals through:

More effective support to groups, users

Questions get answered more quickly and accurately

More information embedded on line so it’s findable by volunteers

Given minimal level of coverage to CAP sites where we didn’t have internal resources before

d) Is / was the amount of time spent reasonable? Is / was time well spent?

Six of the nine technical volunteer respondents said the amount of time spent was reasonable.

Lots of time spent but is worth it.

Yes, because it is simple to use and gives us a place to voice our thoughts or to make comments/suggestions.

Eight of the nine technical volunteer respondents reported that their time was well spent.

The VCN provides a unique service to the community and I'm glad that I can help other individuals and other organizations with their inquiries in "getting online."

Often. But when the office computers go down, it is a long boring shift.

100% of the non-profits in the initial survey said their time had been well-spent and reasonable as did all of the VCN staff.

One of the non-profits in the final focus group said their time had been reasonable while one said it had not been.

A little less time on organizing (e.g. having the volunteers be more proactive) The technical volunteers could use training in program development.

The time spent managing the volunteers (being available, monitoring) is an add-on. To keep the ball rolling took work (which is one reason why the ball isn’t yet rolling).

The non-profits in the focus group made the following comments regarding the amount of time spent:

It remains to be seen. It’s still the early days. I’m certainly better informed (e.g. through this focus group, the evaluation training and orientation)

We’ve spent too much time on the same issues, we talk about the same issue 3 times. It’s a slow process= but we’re getting closer so my answer is yes and no.

Volunteers ideally should be motivated, self-directed and proactive. This would affect the orientation and selection process (e.g. exploring their needs and interests). Right now volunteers are assigned to us, maybe this should be looked at.

The educational institution reported that the time spent had been well spent and reasonable, in fact he wished he had more time to devote to it.

e) Who are our competitors?

Most of the technical volunteers did not know of any competitors. Some of their comments follow below:

Software companies and IT workers hired by non-profits

I have no knowledge about any other non-profit organization that provides free technical services for non-profit organizations.

I think that it is important for us to first recognize that we are not here to seek for competitor information, though it is always important to be aware of our surroundings. We are a unique organization and from what I know one-of-a-kind. Commercial ISPs provide services at with a different perspective and other "Free ISPs" operate with some similar degree of an "aim-for-profit".

The non-profits responses included:

High flying salesmen who try to scare your agency into buying software, hire consultants and do e-commerce.

The educational institution did not know of any, nor did the VCN staff.

f) How does this fit in NP / Not-for profit sectors?

From the educational institution and the technical volunteers perspective the TVW is good fit in the non-profit sector:

I find that VCN is very much appreciated overall by the majority of the organizations that use it's services. It is a very useful tool for many groups just getting started.

I think it a great way for non-profits and technical volunteers to help each other out. Technical volunteers get experience in team working, and the technical aspects, while non-profits get a technology solution without having to spends lots of money.

From the non-profits viewpoint:

There is potential for those organizations just stating with technology- help them spend their time and money appropriately. Help them get up to speed, help them learn the basics. Create capacity for use of software (e.g. if they’ve been using email for a long time extend their knowledge of how to flag, block etc)

There’s a real need for information and hand holding from a non-commercial source that’s not tied to a particular brand. Promote shareware (use of non-market)- this overcomes the issue of cost and enable us to do what we want to.

From the VCN staff viewpoint the TVW definitely fits the non-profit sector.

Real vacuum for something like this- real need- the vacuum hasn’t been filled but it’s a step towards it

It fits a need

It’s highlighted a need- organizations need to develop their own fit- bring people in that fit their organizational framework e.g. match the organizational culture

Contributes to the Non-profits use of the Internet e.g. by holding training sessions, technical projects, tools, dbase – these are prototypes / models for other non-profits

Outputs:

· Number of volunteer enquiries (since August): 269

· Number of volunteers recruited (since December): 112

· Number of volunteers oriented and trained: 112

· Number of volunteers placed (since December): 112 total, 43 into projects, installations, user support

· Number of non-profit organizations receiving technical volunteers: 9

· Number of technical projects completed by volunteers: 7 CAP sites, a community lab, a further 14 systems development and content development projects have been undertaken and are in various stages of completion

· Number of stakeholders participating in project team meetings: 6

· Number of stakeholders participating in management team meetings: 6

· Number of points of collaboration in online project workspace: unable to collect data on this output

· Number of participatory evaluation workshops held: 1

· Number of participants taking part in participatory evaluation workshops: 12

· Number of technical problems reported by NP’s: 155 on Help Queue, 199 on Web-Admin

· Number of technical solutions reported by NP’s: 146 on Help Queue, 96 on Web-Admin

· Number of placements of volunteers with voluntary sector groups: 11

· Number of referrals / recommendations of technical volunteers from the college: 2-20

· Number of NP in VCN before the initiative: it was decided this was outside of the scope of the current initiative to measure this

· Number of NP in VCN after the initiative: it was decided this was outside of the scope of the current initiative to measure this

· Number of NP volunteers: it was decided this was outside of the scope of the current initiative to measure this

Conclusions and recommendations:

The Technical Volunteer Web evaluation was framed by the community, specifically by the four main stakeholder groups (the technical volunteers, non-profits, educational institution and volunteer centre). It is only appropriate then that these same groups judge its merits. The results of gathering evaluation data from the groups are clear, the Technical Volunteer Web initiative was a success by many counts.

While the evaluation methodology has its limitations (e.g. the number of non-profits responding to the initial survey was 8, while the number of non-profits in the final focus group was only 2, making comparison of data difficult) enough of the indicators have been reached to confidently judge the program successful.

TVW juggled the vastly different starting points of the non-profits adeptly. The nonprofits varied greatly in terms of their overall purpose, technical know-how, stage in the process of TVW and technological capacity. For example, from an organization that uses email over personal communication with the person at the next desk to an organization where 2/3 of the staff don’t have internet access and there is no official staff responsible for hardware (the maintenance person just happens to know a lot about hardware and likes working on it). At times it was difficult for non-profit personnel to judge the success of the program because they had nothing to compare it to, however being asked for their feedback was the critical point in building relationships. (Giving feedback about technical issues can be compared to supervising an accountant; if one doesn’t know accounting one is challenged to effectively supervise one’s accountant.)

TVW was also not without its challenges. The failure of a major drive made capturing full data impossible. This is simply a reality of working with technology.

TVW is on working on the cusp, where many non-profits are beginning to realize the potential of increased and better collaborations, using listserves and websites to resolve problems and otherwise taking full advantage of technology to increase their capacity to serve their communities.

Regarding the overall model of TVW:

There’s big stuff here to learn- things in general to apply to VCN.

The stakeholders changed somewhat throughout the project with the educational institution and volunteer centre taking less central of a role.

The earlier model was heavily dependent on volunteer centre & educational institution; but we didn’t go there therefore their interest decreased

Another idea was put forward by VCN staff that would appear to mesh well with the overall concept. This concept is outlined below:

Identify a core group of people that are change agents (individuals and organizations), get a long term commitment, work with small number e.g. 6 per year, have strategic partnerships that make sense in the long term. It wouldn’t matter if it was CLN, CAP or Vol Net. The issue is it would be hard to get to a critical mass (e.g. the 6) without others dropping off in the meantime. It could be an informal college in a way. It would be important to have a screening tool – e.g. their capacity and willingness

Regarding the technical volunteers:

The initiative assumed that more connections would be made with technical volunteers from the non-profits. This did not appear to be the case. As non-profit volunteers don’t tend to become technical volunteers after being general volunteers (e.g. they volunteer specifically for technical things from the outset),it is important to determine whether they require any special support or considerations. Currently technical volunteers are “imported” from VCN into the non-profits. The above model would change this and while the resources would necessarily increase, so would the sustainability of the technical support received in the non-profits.

The success of the program hinges on good volunteer management.

The project is developmental- we learned to adjust our screening / intake e.g. to examine the volunteer’s motive for matching

Given the above it would be constructive to match the volunteer for such things as the organization’s mission and culture. At least two non-profits expressed interest in working collaboratively, to be involved in the choice of their volunteer(s).

This is supported by a VCN staff person who said:

It would be better if volunteer centres & educational institutions promoted the idea of organizational fit. Look for volunteers who want to support the organization versus getting 20 hours of work experience no matter where. Those who understand the organization’s mandate and support it stay longer and are more satisfied. Therefore the number of referrals isn’t important.

Consider having technical volunteers do some strategic planning with the non-profits around access issues and hardware; some of the non-profits are not aware of the possibilities the program has to offer. For example one non-profit requested that technical volunteers help with virus hoaxes as it takes up an enormous amount of time and disc space.

Regarding the partners:

The demands on partners need to be examined and negotiated from the start. As much as possible the program should take into account their individual contexts. See below for staff ideas on how to improve.

We didn’t make use of our partners as well as we should have- its an adventurous notion

We should have kept our partners engaged, we need a new model for VCN on how to deal with advisory committees; how to engage without being onerous for them and helpful for VCN

It’s the nature of the partners, e.g. one-person shows, they are unable to leave. Maybe we should have an initial meeting, where then other efforts are driven by the coordinator using the phone. Organizations don’t distinguish between CAP, CLN, TVW; we need a coordinator from VCN e.g. don’t ask partners to come to three separate meetings they should come to one joint one

Regarding capacity:

It would appear that there is some question of capacity of the program to deal with the number of requests and issues present for the non-profits. Given the limited capacity of the non-profits (e.g. none of the them were able to respond to staff request for online feedback on documents) it may be worthwhile to consider reducing the scope of the project temporarily until more systems are in place.

Specific Recommendations:

· Continue building the program with an awareness of the vastly different starting points of non-profits

· Involve stakeholders as much as they are able to be involved; continue to invite their involvement whether they are able to be or not

· Ensure people are made aware of the documentation of the process, how it works & what is available. This would assist the non-profits’ level of comfort when asking for help as they would be better informed around what they could reasonably expect help with.

· Check the VCN registration forms- they appear to be somewhat difficult to fill out

· Regarding the training times / dates- examine who the target groups are and ensure the times/dates are convenient for those groups

· Aim to use more online technology next time for the evaluation as this time there was difficulty (e.g. unsure whether backlog/waiting list is increasing, decreasing or staying the same)

· Know that the program is quite unique and promote it this way

· A strong selling point is the stakeholders’ viewpoint that their time was reasonable & well spent

· Likewise, the program was seen to contribute to organization’s goals (whether VCN, non-profits or educational institution) and participants have gained much from their involvement

· Address the confidentiality concern that at least one volunteer has expressed (regarding having their full name made public)

· Clarify the initiative’s potential, what it is and what it does as the non-profits have expressed confusion over this

It took me a long time to understand what CAP stood for, I still don’t understand the overall picture and I want to understand more what others are doing. I want to get together more (get ideas of what’s possible).

· Clarify the non-profit’s roles. Some are unclear regarding for example how directive they should be with the volunteer as they want it to be a positive / growing experience for the volunteers

· See also the Interim report for its recommendations and next steps.

In Conclusion:

The Benefits of the TVW initiative are obvious. In the words of two of the non-profits:

Thanks for the effort. They’ve been very responsive.

It’s been interesting to see the different organizations and

their different needs and expectations.

The bottom line is it’s a great program;

we wouldn't be able to achieve anything without them.

Appendix A: Detailed data from each outcome

Outcome 1: Non-profit groups share technical expertise

Indicators:

a) Creation of successful web based forum for discussion of TVW resources, technical problems & solutions for NP techs

Seven of the nine technical volunteers reported that there is a web-based forum for discussion of Technical Volunteer Web (TVW) resources, technical problems & solutions for non-profit technical volunteers. For those who know of its availability:

It is successful because it gives everyone a place to follow-up on comments or discussions that arise with the system etc.

There is now an online discussion board. The board is still relatively new and will be successful as people realize and utilize this board.

Perhaps the newness of it is the reason that one volunteer reported:

I'm not aware of too much about what's available and what needs to be done, as well as any timeline on the projects. A program in indicating what needs to be done will help the tech volunteers.

b) Increase in NP employees/volunteers sharing technical information

Twenty-five percent of the organizations initially reported no sharing of technical information took place between employees and volunteers, 25% reported a little sharing took place, 38% said an average degree of sharing took place and 12% said an above average amount of sharing occurred.

When interviewed at the conclusion of the project 50% said a little sharing took place and 50% said an above average amount of sharing took place.

c) User-friendly manual developed for internet beginners

Only two of the organizations initially had access to user-friendly information for Internet beginners, while none of the organizations[2] interviewed at the end of the initiative had access.

d) Referrals of technical volunteers increase

As of August 2001 (mid-project report):

Number of volunteer enquiries 269

Volunteers recruited & trained 61

Volunteers placed 61

Volunteers remaining active 35

As of January 2002 (end of project report) and since December 2000 (TVW project start date):

Number of volunteer enquiries: total number unavailable[3]

Volunteers recruited & trained: 112[4]

Volunteers placed 112

Volunteers remaining active: 43[5]

In the VCN staff focus group, the following important feedback was received regarding the indicator itself:

The issue is actually retention: referrals increased due to promotion of the project and have actually dropped over the last few months (because we deliberately decreased promotion of couple of job postings) but we have a better group of applicants that are more easily screened and placed. At the beginning we promoted it as a "get valuable work experience", though doing this isn't a part of the VCN's mandate. It would be better if volunteer centres & educational institutions promoted the idea of organizational fit. Look for volunteers who want to support the organization's goals versus getting 20 hours of work experience no matter where. Those who understand the organization's mandate and support it stay longer and are more satisfied. Therefore the number of referrals isn't important, and actually increases the workload in terms of screening for a limited number of placements the organization can handle, especially given a high turnover. Rather than working to increase referrals, we need to put our energies into ensuring satisfaction from both the volunteer's and the organizations' perspectives, and that means targeted recruitment, better job descriptions and better screening by both volunteers and organizations to make sure the fit is right.

e) Increased number of technical volunteers who used to be non-technical volunteers

Only one organization initially reported general volunteers becoming technical volunteers.

f) Increasing number of non-profit groups involved in VCN

Of the eight non-profits who filled in the first baseline survey 5 were already involved with VCN prior to the TVW while 3 were new. Of the two organizations interviewed at the end of the project both were partners in the CAP Network proposal although the implementation had not yet started by the time TVW got underway.

Outcome 2: Unification of non-profits over the net

Indicators:

a) More NP groups working with other NP and sharing information between them

Fifty-seven percent of the non-profits that responded to the mid-term survey reported a little sharing of information and working together that takes place between their organization and other non-profit organizations, while 14% said an average amount of sharing took place and 28% said an above average amount took place.

In the final focus group 50% of the non-profits reported that an above average amount of sharing took place and 50% said that an extreme amount of sharing took place.

b) Increased satisfaction with in-sectoral collaborations

Of this sharing 12% weren’t at all satisfied with it, 38% had a small degree of satisfaction, 25% had an average degree of satisfaction and 25% had above average degree of satisfaction.

In the final focus group 50% reported that they had an average degree of satisfaction with the in-sectoral collaborations and 50% reported an above average degree of satisfaction.

Regardless of the satisfaction level though at least one person said:

I want more, better and deeper collaborations.

c) NP’s first response to having a need (e.g. for information) or problem is posting to the website / discussion group / list serve for the NP community

When facing a need or problem, the non-profits reported in the first survey that their most likely response was to use the phone and their network of contacts. Only one organization posting to a discussion group as their most likely response and no organizations said posting to their website would be their first response.

d) Volunteers are rotated in order to raise skill levels

A full 75 % of the non-profits who responded to the first survey said that this was not relevant, while the remaining 25% said they did not rotate their volunteers.

Volunteers choose what they want to do. Sometimes they will take on something different to increase their skills. They are given options to initiate new activities or change to other tasks or activities.

e) NP’s report greater understanding issues faced by other NP’s

Thirty-eight percent of non-profits responding to the initial survey reported that their understanding had not been affected by TVW, another 38% said that TVW had caused a small increase in understanding, and 25% reported that their understanding had an average increase due to TVW.

The lack of larger increases in understanding may be due to, what one person responded:

I already have a pretty good understanding of issues faced by other non-profits.

100% of the non-profits in the focus group reported a small increase in understanding.

We already had a high understanding e.g. from the focus group[6].

f) Increasingly active use of common work spaces (e.g. computer labs, meetings rooms, on-line work space)

In the first survey 63% of non-profits reported that no effect has been felt regarding the use of common workspaces due to TVW. Another 25% said that they had a small increase in use of common workspaces and 13% said they experienced an average increase, due to TVW.

Again this may be due to the fact that some organizations are already sharing their workspaces.

Part of our mandate here is to provide shared meeting and workspace for our members, and we have been doing so for several years. We have provided access to desktop publishing and Internet since the mid-nineties.

100% of the non-profits in the focus group reported that there was no effect on the rate that they shared their common workspace, due to the fact that one was already doing it and one doesn’t want to.

We’re not interested in this, it’s not appropriate (we don’t have the need).

Outcome 3: Voluntary sector groups increasingly have access to appropriate technical volunteer support

Indicators:

a) Decreasing response time and follow-up on more difficult inquiries

The technical volunteers reported a range of response times from more than 7 days (17%), within 7 days (50%) and within 3 days (33%). One person said this time is increasing while the other five said it was staying the same.

Regarding more difficult enquiries, 1 technical volunteer reported this was not applicable, 3 said more than 7 days, 3 reported within 7 days, and one said within 1 day. All of the volunteers said the response time was staying the same.

The new HelpDesk or "Request Tracker" (RT) system automatically responds within 5 minutes of the inquiry. A personal response may happen within a day, or sometimes several days. Unfortunately, it seems that certain requests are "stalled", without a proper response from the technical volunteers or even from the users themselves.

Non-profit usually gets good attention and priority over individuals. I would say is within 3 days. The time pretty much stay the same unless we have extra volunteers to look after a specific non-profit org.

In August, it was hit or miss, about 2 weeks (but with a range of 10 min to 2 months) -- it depended a lot on how much detail they left on the phone and how available the group was (the fish guys that were only open on Saturday mornings were very disappointed that the office was closed then).

The time would be needed depending on what kind of inquiry.

b) Recognition of volunteers

Seven of the eight surveyed non-profits said they recognize their volunteers while one said they did not.

Eight of the 9 technical volunteers surveyed said they received satisfaction while one said he/she did not.

I do received recognition from clients, staff and other volunteers.

That would depend (?). To some degree, no, both for general reasons and also because of being away from the office. Collectively, I feel there is not significant recognition on a organizational/VCN-wide basis. Users that have put in queries for help have greatly complimented and appreciated our services. I have personally been thanked by various individuals for my ability and the extremely "large quantity" that I have contributed and also the in-depth helped that I have provided.

Yes, I think it's great to hear thank you from users that you have solve their problems. It's a good sense of accomplishments.

Yes. Pizza! Comrades! Gossip.

c) End users report decreasing frustration with using the technology

In the initial survey by non-profits 13% each responded a little frustration, above average frustration and extreme frustration while the remaining 62% reported an average amount of frustration.

Our level of frustration directly correlates to our means to solve problems, and those technical computer problems arise usually when maintenance and upgrades are unaffordable due to budget or cash flow issues.

Some obsolete technology (fax) and lack of funding adds to technical difficulties.

The non-profits in the follow-up focus group both reported little or no frustration.

d) NP’s report increasingly appropriate level of support to stated need

75% of the non-profits responding in the first survey said that they experienced an average degree of appropriateness, 25% said above average and 25% said an extreme degree of appropriateness. One person said that it was difficult to assess how appropriate the support was due to their own lack of knowledge.

e) NP staff & their volunteers become increasingly able to navigate through technical problems & solutions

Non-profits recorded a wide range in their ability to solve technical problems: 25% stated they had no ability, 25% said they had a little ability, 38% reported they had an average ability and 13% said they had above average ability. In the words of one respondent:

We have a maintenance supervisor who is adept at working with computers.

Non-profits in the follow-up focus group both reported an average degree of ability to solve technical problems.

f) Comprehensive documentation exists of the process, how it works & what is available

The educational institution staff person reported that the documentation was “comprehensive and professionally formatted” while all of the non-profits responding to the first survey stated they didn’t know if it was available or not. It may be available, but I don’t have any. In the follow-up focus group one non-profit knew the documentation was available while one did not. Seven of the eight technical volunteers said documentation existed, while one said it did not and one did not know. From the volunteers:

The discussion board is relatively straightforward. There are also other resources for information when needed.

The VCN volunteer manual was a great success. A manual for each individual site will greatly help the volunteers at a particular non-profit org.

For a while, it was useful to look up problems in the RT[7] (until it was wiped). From what I see, there is more documentation now. However, in the past it wasn't so much a lack of documentation, but difficulty finding the pages -- there is information on setting up websites on several different pages in the help section and elsewhere, but they don't connect to each other, and it was luck (or personal memory) that helped me out finding them.

One volunteer requested more documentation.

g) NP’s report increasing level of satisfaction with volunteer technical support, accurate identification of technical needs, avoiding expensive mistakes and continuity and help provided by the tech volunteers is praised by all users

Twenty-five percent of the non-profits responding to the first survey said that they had an average degree of satisfaction with the technical support they had received, while 50% had an above average degree of satisfaction and the remaining 25% said they were extremely satisfied.

…. the staff and volunteers have been very personable and keen to figure out problems. Excellent balance between explaining the technical stuff if relevant or just fixing it!

The communication between technical volunteers and the users is not as good as it could be. Staff weren’t consulted about a few decisions that had to be made after the initial orientation.

In the final focus group the non-profits reported above average degree of satisfaction.

They’ve been great, willing, prompt, able.

There’s been a little confusion about who to call (partly at our end)

I’m bothered by the temporary, unstable look of the equipment- but it’s not viewed as a serious concern by the volunteers. Their viewpoint isn’t necessarily the client’s. It’s a communication issue.

They’re there when they say they’re going to be. They are knowledgeable, friendly and they work well with people.

I’d like them to be more proactive. E.g. ‘this is what I need’

One technical volunteer reported that the feedback he/she had received was of small degree of satisfaction, 2 reported receiving average feedback, 3 said they had received above average feedback and 2 said they had gotten feedback reporting extreme satisfaction.

Over the years, I've handled many, many requests. I've received much feedback from these users, the majority being positive. Even when enquiries are not completely solved, many have been thankful for my responses as I attempt to make them as personal as possible. I've even had a few comments regarding the wonderful services and help from the VCN and even a dinner invitation... :)

The humanities 101 was a great success. it feels great to have feedback from people at the site that they are satisfied.

It ranged from super great to VCN-is-evil (the fish guys) Satisfaction seemed to connect to promptness as much as accuracy -- I was less technical but good at getting details over the phone, so I called a lot of groups quickly just so others could help who knew things. This seemed to be appreciated.

A few users have told me that they are not satisfied in the fact that they always get a machine or a busy signal when they try to call the help desk. (However, I notice these are from users with the more complicated problems).

This information was not able to be corroborated by the educational institution as the person did not have personal experience supervising the volunteers.

h) NP’s report VCN account registration forms are easy to fill out

Of the three non-profits that said they had filled out account registration forms all of them reported they were a little difficult to fill out.

In the follow-up focus group one non-profit reported the form was fairly easy to fill out and one wasn’t sure if they had filled one out or not.

i) Training times / dates are convenient for NP’s

All of the non-profits responding to the first survey reported that the training times and dates were convenient. One non-profit in the up-up focus group reported that the times were convenient while one reported they were not. Regarding the dates, one said the dates were convenient while one was not sure.

Outcome 4: Instant access to friendly help

Indicators:

a) Technical volunteers report increased level of comfort in dealing with diverse users & issues

Technical volunteers for the majority report a high level of comfort in dealing with diverse users and issues. In one case the comfort level is decreasing, for 75% of the other respondents it is increasing and the remainder it is staying the same.

I enjoy helping and dealing with diverse users and issues. Most queries to the HelpDesk are technical in nature of our service or further information. Inquiries of third-party incidences are also common. Though we do not support these "other" things, I believe that as a community service and HelpDesk, I (and we) should provide help if at all possible. Unfortunately, this comfort level is decreasing dramatically to the point where I am personally concerned when responding to queries.

Note: this volunteer’s major concern is around confidentiality and his/her full name being revealed when dealing with users. This is new with the Request Tracker (the previous system did not reveal the volunteer’s full name). The volunteer also expressed some concern around slower and less personalized help with the new system, though users get immediate notification that their request has been received.

I helped installations at various sites, and I have no problems dealing with different people. the comfort level stay pretty much the same.

It increased, and was pretty good to start with.

I am relatively comfortable dealing with the diverse users and issues. I would say my comfort level is staying the same.

I enjoy the dealing with diverse users and issues. The feeling is staying the same up to now.

Reasonable comfort level

I’m very comfortable (2).

b) NP’s report that technical support is quickly gained

A full 50% of the non-profits responding to the initial survey said they gain support within 1 day, with 25% gaining support within 3 days, 13% within 7 days and 13% saying it was not applicable.

In the follow-up focus group a range of responses were recorded, from not being returned (however the volunteer showed up personally), to more than 7 days, within 3 days and within 1 day.

c) NP’s report a high level of comfort with calling / requesting help when they need it

Again, a full 50% of non-profits responding to the initial survey reported they feel very comfortable when calling / requesting help, 25% said not applicable, 13% said felt a little uncomfortable and 13% said they feel quite comfortable.

In the follow-up focus group 1 non-profit said they felt a little uncomfortable and one said they felt very comfortable.

I feel very comfortable because I know everybody but other people in the office are much less confident, partly because they want it to be my responsibility.

I’ve had problems but I wasn’t sure if I could call (e.g. it wasn’t on the day the volunteers were there) (e.g. porn has been coming up on the site and I don’t know if I could call about that or not)

d) Tangible efforts made to accommodate non 9am-5pm requests for tech support

Both non-profits in the focus group did not need support outside of 9am to 5 pm. Indirect feedback was gained that one group a technical volunteer dealt with did need support outside these hours and was very disappointed when they discovered it was not available.

e) NP’s report that the tech volunteers are supportive

Thirty-eight percent of the non-profits said the volunteers were very supportive, 25% said quite supportive and 13% each said average and a little supportive. Thirteen percent said not applicable, one for the following reason:

The tech volunteers I have met have been quite friendly, but I can’t assess their supportiveness at this point

Non-profits, in the follow-up focus group both reported that the technical volunteers were very supportive.

They don’t make you feel like an idiot.

f) Increasing number of early intervention calls

Due to technical difficulties, was unable to track this information. However although the data is unavailable, more volunteers have been assigned to follow up with groups.

g) No back log or waiting list exists for NP’s requesting tech support and decreased number of unresolved help request

Help Queue (where the majority of inquiries and requests arrive) received 1743 requests. 1485 of these were resolved, with 256 currently remaining open.

155 of the total number of requests are from groups (as opposed to individuals) and of these 9 are currently open[8].

Web-Admin (which generally link requests, requests from organizations;

information requests) recorded 199 requests received of which 96 were resolved and 103 are currently open.

Due to technical difficulties, was unable to track whether the backlog / waiting list is increasing, decreasing or staying the same.

h) Technical volunteers return phone calls of NP’s request for tech support

Only 1/3 of the non-profits were able to answer the question in the initial survey, with one person saying:

I don’t think I have actually called a tech vol, just VCN staff person, who passes the info on - and he is the one who usually returns the call.

For those who were able to answer the question, one person said within 3 days and one said within 1 day. In the follow-up focus group the only non-profit who could answer said within a day.

j) Links from existing NP sites to VCN start up page or help page

Although the stakeholders initially wanted this as an indicator, it was decided that at this point, it was too difficult to track.

Outcome 5: Volunteers are increasingly trained and become better able to meet the needs of voluntary sector groups; volunteers "de-bug" technology

Indicators:

a) Easy to maintain web page design

Only 2 of the 9 technical volunteers who responded to the survey have designed web pages for non-profits, of these 2 both are easily maintained.

Of the nonprofits responding to the survey, 1 did not have a website and of the 6 that did, 4 were easily maintained and 2 were not.

b) Technical people see volunteering to de-bug technology for non-profits as a valuable and useful step in their experience & development of skills / expertise (e.g. they are clamoring to volunteer, lined up, knee deep etc)

Volunteers definitely see volunteering with TVW as positive.

Yes, to help those who don't know anything about pc's and don't know how to set it up to retrieve their email or connect to the Net

It have given me more experience with working and communicating issues, ideas, concepts in a user's point of view. It has also shown me the needs for technology from a non-profit's point of view, and what is important to them.

I do believe that helping a non-profit organization is beneficial to the overall community. Non-profit organizations often play a key role in helping a variety of aspects, from supporting the less fortunate to providing life-saving services. Volunteering for non-profit organizations is helping part of the community. If you view it at a personal level, it does have benefits of personal development in ways of "knowing the field" as well as other aspects as public relations and customer service. I'd (personally) call this a valuable and useful step for the community rather than for me.

Yes, troubleshooting and debug requires lots of hands on experience. Asking intelligent questions will find the root of the problem a lot quicker than cycling around and never solve the problem.

It is very valuable because we gain the experience and it improves our knowledge if the problem is to occur again.

Of course. Being a technical volunteer, I can share my experience with the callers and my co-workers. At the same time, I have the chance to learn something new from them, which also develop my skills.

c) Frequent questions from NP groups are regularly answered correctly by technical volunteers

Six out of 7 non-profits, in the initial survey, said that their questions were answered correctly, while 1 person said they didn’t know.

Of the two non-profits in the final focus group one said sometimes and one said they didn’t know.

d) Current NP websites

Twenty five percent of the non-profits in the initial survey said they did not have a website while the remaining 75% said they had a website and it was current. Interestingly, one person commented: Current but not very useable. Of the non-profits in the final focus group, one did not have a website while the other did, which was current.

e) Easier access to the internet reported by NP staff/volunteers

One non-profit, in the initial survey, reported that Internet access was very difficult, another said the access was average, 2 said there was an above average ease of access and 3 said access was extremely easy. In the non-profit final focus group one group reported slightly difficult access while the other said access was extremely easy.

f) NP’s report tech vol provide user-friendly technology

Of the 4 non-profits that were able to answer this question, 1 said the technology was average in its user-friendliness while 3 said the technology provided had been quite easy to use.

Of the 2 non-profits responding in the final focus group one said it was of average ease of use and the second didn’t know as they hadn’t tried the technology.

g) Book or manual of web page design / maintenance exists to pass onto the next staff/ volunteers of NP in charge of web page

Two non-profits reported in the initial survey that they did have access to the above while 5 did not. Both of the non-profits in the final focus group did not have access to such material.

h) Increased reported comfort levels & skill base among non-profit staff / volunteers[9]

We have a maintenance supervisor who is adept at working with computers.

Non-profits in the final focus group both reported an average degree of ability to solve technical problems.

In the initial survey by non-profits 13% each responded a little frustration, above average frustration and extreme frustration while the remaining 62% reported an average amount of frustration.

Some obsolete technology (fax) and lack of funding adds to technical difficulties.

The non-profits in the follow-up focus group both reported little or no frustration.

i) Decreased report of inappropriate applications of technology[10]

Almost half of the technical volunteers who responded to the survey reported inappropriate applications of technology. 25% said the incidence was increasing, 25% said it was decreasing and 50% said it was staying the same.

Complaints about spam received from the outside world are increasing, but people are happy to learn how to filter. (Most people.)

Some users have been concerned about why they are getting junk mail in their VCN accounts.

j) Less frequent requests for help

Due to technical difficulties, unable to measure. See indicator 4g for more information.

k) Increasing attendance at orientation and training programs

The attendance at TVW training sessions, counting those volunteer who filled in feedback forms was approximately 245[11].

l) Access to or creation of open source software for the community

VCN staff report that a number of open source software products have been explored and are being made available: perlboard, webcalendar, mySQL databases; the community lab terminals are based on open source operating system Linux, and are using open source office applications

m) Volunteers report high level of satisfaction with training process and content

Of the nine technical volunteers that responded to the survey all had attended a volunteer orientation session and all but one had not attended a training session. The person who did attend was not satisfied. Of the orientation session 1 person was not satisfied at all, 5 were satisfied and 1 found the orientation above average. Comments follow below:

A fair number of the things covered were below my level of experience, but it wasn't bothersome.

There is a lot of information that is covered in the sessions. It can overwhelm some people

It was ok but ran long and was full of stuff to cover.

I attended 2 since I start. They were very helpful. Again, the key point of an instructor is that he/she has to be patient and uses less technical words to make the students understand.

I have attended a "training" session in the past of the "new Help system". I have had familiarity with a variety of software packages and easily adapt my knowledge from title to title. Unfortunately, I did not find the session to be helpful at all for me but thought that it was nice to provide such a service for various volunteers. I have only been to one but believe that if these sessions continually improve in confidence and structure, they can be VERY beneficial for everybody.

Of the 95 volunteers who attended the TVW training and completed evaluation forms, the average rating, on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being most effective) for “how much the training session increased your skills to provide volunteer services to VCN and its partner community groups” was 8.5. The average rating for “how much the training session increased your ability to communicate the information and materials to other” was 9.7. The average rating on the quality of the instruction for the training was 9.1.

Outcome 6: Volunteer opportunities are increasingly accessible to those in post-secondary programs and using volunteer centre

Indicators:

a) Increasing number of volunteer referrals

The volunteer centre staff person was not involved to any great degree in the initiative and therefore it was decided that an interview was not necessary. The volunteer centre ‘posts’ for VCN but does not actively refer. Therefore information on this indicator was not gathered from that source.

The program data records are not entirely clear regarding whether an increase has been indicated (see indicator 1d).

b) Increasing number of student placements

The educational institution staff person indicated that there had been between 2 and 20 student referrals and that this number demonstrated an increase.

Outcome 7: Increasing level of collaboration among technical volunteers

Indicators:

a) Increasing number of volunteer-to-volunteer communications

Two thirds of the technical volunteers surveyed reported communicating with each other. Of these 44% saw their communication increasing, 22% say it decreasing and the remainder saw it staying constant.

Helpdesk is always busy, so there's less chance to communicate. Tech. projects like installations is more fun and you develop more teamwork skills. Getting new volunteers to join will increase communication with different volunteers.

I think my communication with others is increasing. That's a big improvement for me.

b) Increasing number of solutions found by tech volunteers without resort to staff

Seven of the 9 (78%) volunteers surveyed said they seldom require staff assistance while 2 (22%) said they often require assistance.

Fifty percent thought the rate of asking for staff help was staying the same, while 25% each thought it was increasing and decreasing.

I seldom looked towards staff for a technological solution because of the users inquiries and my personal background in the field. However, with drastic system adjustments, I am now looking for further assistance (but not as much for technological assistance). This rate is currently varying and increasing to some degree (but not so much for "technological" assistance).

Two of the VCN staff (40%) see technical volunteers often requiring staff assistance, 2 (40%) seldom see volunteers needing staff help and 1 (20%) staff didn’t know. Staff were split as to whether the rates of asking were changing; 1 saw it increasing, while 2 each saw it remaining the same and decreasing.

In some ways the requests rise to meet staffs’ tolerance. The volunteers are better trained now, they have each other to talk to. They ask more questions but of things I wouldn’t expect them to know.

c) Tech vol & NP staff contribute to technical support discussions via the internet

Due to technical difficulties it was challenging to assess this. It would appear that the volunteers use the Internet for discussions however the non-profit staff do not. Some evidence exists for the latter due to the fact that when reports etc were posted on line for non-profit comments no feedback was received.

d) Technical volunteers are participating and collaborating in NP organizations

Seven of the 8 non-profits initially surveyed and 100% of the non-profits in the final focus group have used technical support from VCN (one person did not answer the question).

Eight out of 9 technical volunteers responded positively. Interestingly one person did not see him/herself the same way (see last quote).

Non-profits are not very technically savvy for the most part. One of the challenges as a volunteer is to interact with non-profits in order to find out what they need and what I as a volunteer is thinking

I feel involved in the non-profit sector as I am part of a team which provides services for non-profit organizations.

From my position, I do not personally participate and collaborate with (other) non-profit organizations, but I do provide my knowledge through services through the VCN and in turn, non-profit organizations do benefit from our services (collectively as volunteers). In an indirect route, yes, I do believe I am participating as I know that some organizations do appreciate our services.

I feel exciting when I succeed in helping those people.

not really -- I don't know much about the callers (note: I was on the phone help desk, so I wasn't really tied in to any one group or user)

e) Technical volunteers are collaborating with each other

Five of the 9 technical volunteers surveyed reported collaborating with each other.

We all ask questions amongst ourselves, to whomever is most skilled (or most available) in a given area. Often we will work together on a given problem.

Mostly by email, as everyone schedule is very different. Once in a while we have a group meeting to sort out any issue that arise

Yes. I ask them questions when I am not sure how to handle a situation. This communication generally takes place when I am on my shift.

No. Never had anything to collaborate on.

I think that's difficult because most people have their own schedules.

Many projects are very technical and getting people involved to accomplish a big project can be a big hassle. This can be solved by having the project break down into small tasks, est. the time required, and develop a timeline that has plenty of lead way.

Too new in VCN. Maybe in the future.

I have collaborated with other technical volunteers through brainstorms and other discussions (usually through email). Over the past year or so, things have drastically changed and in turn, I am adjusting.

The VCN staff see volunteer collaboration as just beginning.

Relatively more so- there was very little or no collaboration previously. It’s not enormous, it’s existent (which it wasn’t before)

Talking a lot to each other during shifts which is a definite change from before

All volunteers are now working in RT, which has replaced and given more options

Outcome 8: Increasing involvement of volunteers in technical maintenance, user training and help support

Indicators:

a) & b) Increasing number of volunteers attend orientation & training sessions & report a high level of satisfaction (same measure as indicator 5m)

A fair number of the things covered were below my level of experience, but it wasn't bothersome.

There is a lot of information that is covered in the sessions. It can overwhelm some people

It was ok but ran long and was full of stuff to cover.

I attended 2 since I start. They were very helpful. Again, the key point of an instructor is that he/she has to be patient and uses less technical words to make the students understand.

a) Increasing number of volunteers are placed with voluntary sector groups & report a high level of satisfaction

Of the technical volunteers surveyed that reported they had been placed with a non-profit group 100% said they were very satisfied.

I went to the Hispanic Community Center as well as a few other places (Humanities 101, etc.) and they were all nice experiences.

I'm in the helpdesk support and cap project. I liked both and having a good time there because I enjoy both working with people and technical setup of computers and refurbish of old computers.

b) Increasing number of volunteers complete one volunteer term & report a high level of satisfaction

Of the technical volunteers who reported completing one term 50% reported they were satisfied and 50% reported they were very satisfied.

Appendix B: Items identified by stakeholder groups to be evaluated in the future

1. The identity and capacity of non-profit volunteer organizations is strengthened through more comprehensive use of information and communication tools to meet their needs.

2. Community based research is more evident and systematic, leading to greater positive action.

3. Successful elements, developed and implemented, will be used by other community networks toward building the capacity of the voluntary sector and its creation of a community based non-profit space on the Internet.

4. The network is sustainable through the active collaboration and joint interests of the three partner organizations, volunteers and community groups

5. Information that NP’s disseminate is in a form which is easily shared & distributed quickly

6. Internet activists work together to make the internet more useful

7. People refer to the Volunteer Technical Volunteer Web as "the maidenform bra" of Internet support

8. Reported increasing awareness from cross-sectoral stakeholder of NP activity on line (Gov’t, labour, corporate)

9. Technical NP staff &/or volunteer changes are smoother (there is more continuity) due to supporting documentation being available

10. The idea of "turf" between organizations (ownership) is lost / discarded

[1] The validity of the responses is somewhat questioned by the low response rate. For example, those volunteers who are willing to fill in a survey may be more “keen” regarding the program to start with and therefore may have responded more favourably than other volunteers would have.

[2] Only two organizations took part in the final focus group meeting. This makes comparison difficult between the initial information gathered from the eight organizations who completed the mid-project survey and the two organizations who completed the focus group.

[3] Due to a hard drive failure this figure is unavailable.

[4] Plus an additional 14 who were active prior to the project start date.

[5] Plus an additional 11 from prior to the project start.

[6] This comment is interesting as presumably it refers to the evaluation training held in April of 2000, which was a TVW initiated event.

[8] This figure is not entirely reliable however; due to technical difficulty as well as incompatibility of data transfer from the request tracker system to a datatable, staff were unable to track time to resolution or whether there was a decrease. The general sense though is that this has greatly improved with better skilled/trained volunteers staffing the helpdesk.

[9] For brevity this indicator was combined with indicators 3c & e.

[11] The program records are somewhat difficult to track precisely how many volunteers were trained.