Champaign County Network Visit

View the powerpoint presentation of the Campaign County Network

Purpose & Vision

#1 What was the need(s) for a community network? What are the benefits?

CCNet originally started with a challenge by the director of NCSA (National Center for Supercomputing Applications) Larry Smarr. Smarr challenged the Chamber of Commerce to lead the County into the Information Superhighway.

benefits -


#2 What is the mission of your community network? Vision? Purposes? Long range plan? Definition? Any print materials to share?

The mission of CCNet is create a fully-distributed electronic environment for Champaign County to cooperatively develop applications which utilize advanced communications and information technologies. This environment supports lifelong learning and expanded opportunities for economic competitiveness, with a variety of connectivity solutions, spanning all sectors of the community.


Structure & Organization

#3 What is the governance structure? Are there division (education, government, business, health care, etc.)? Who are the organizers?

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, which oversees the following subcommittees

Marketing and Community Training Subcommittee

Technical Subcommittee

Applications Subcommittee

Agribusiness

Business

Education

Government

Healthcare

Library

What electronic linkages are in place between and among the division?

There are no linkages, the network is considered "intellectual" rather than "physical"

#4 Who are the contact people for any of the following:

Web presence? The main web pages are developed for free by various local web developers, and the main content pages are developed by each organization that sponsors the pages.

#5 How do you recruit community leaders who are willing to "champion" the cause of the network on behalf of all citizens?

From the outset, 300 volunteers have given time to get the network going. Among those who "championed" the cause were members from the University of Illinois as well as various community leaders.

#6 What role does the Chamber of Commerce serve?

They are the organizers of the network. There role is to lead businesses and organizations towards working with web pages, internet access and training needs. However, they do not offer any of these services, but they can help you find them.

#7 Who were your early pioneers and partners? How did you recruit and expand to new participants?

Chamber of Commerce and PrairieNet. They didn't really have to recruit to many members at first, because they had nearly 300 volunteers.

#8 What applications are available for the following partners and who are the contact people for each area:

Agribusiness - They have developed "CyberFarm" which promotes communication between area farmers, and enables them to access variable rate technology and satellite images.

Government - Geographic Information Network (GIN) which will provide geographic maps and data to all

Healthcare - Common interchange formats for patient records, x-rays, teleradiology, and other medical information.

Funding

#9 How is your network funded? Any tax? Fees? Grants? Foundations? How do you sustain your network?

The network was first funded on a $60,000 low-interest loan. They have been looking for grants and other sources.


Training & Support

#10 What training is provided? By whom? Volunteers or salaried staff? Any printed materials to share?

Training is available from three different sources:

#11 What technical support is provided? By whom? Volunteer or salaried staff? Any printed materials to share?

Provided by NCSA and U of I



Web Presence

#12 Who handles your web page updates? How often are they updated? Are there any requirements for maintaining a presence on your community web site?

The main pages of the web site are done for free by local web developers. There are currently no limitations to setting up a web site

Do you use volunteers? How are they recruited? Trained?

Yes, they have nearly 300 on the various committees. Most of them did not have to be recruited.

Do you have a salaried staff? Who? What are there responsibilities?

No ----



Infrastructure

#13 What geography does your network encompass? What are your boundaries? How were they determined? Who is the network provider? ATM, fiber, POTS, ISDN, etc.? Are they overlaps or conflicts?

Each partner must have their own internet provider.

Miscellaneous

#14 What has been 3-5 of your greatest successes/results?

The cooperation of the two local school districts.

Bringing the farmers together through the "CyberFarm"

The cooperation of the two local health care providers

The creation of the public access site at the public library




#15 What have been your greatest challenges? What did you do that you would never do again?