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A Sample Proposal for a FirstClass Communication System for a Diocese, showing Requirements and Costs
The Opportunity:
Communication has always been an important element of the Church. In the 21st Century, it is essential that Communication be rapid, informative and collaborative. The tools to accomplish this already exist --- and this Proposal intends to show it can be done, simply, easily and inexpensively.
A decade ago, Communication in a Diocese meant mailing a packet of numbers of letters and notices to parish clergy once a month. It was essentially, a “we send, you receive and do” form of communication from a diocesan office. Besides the 3 to 5 days of delay caused by the postal service, it was costly, environmentally poor, and the information, being mailed monthly, was often received too late. Solving the “often late” problem meant increasing the number of mailings, which however increased the cost of mailing. The method was ill adapted to a modern active diocese.
To solve this, some dioceses decided to fax material, thereby eliminating the cost of the mailings. This speeded up the information, but also passed the cost of paper and equipment on to the parishes. Though speed of information was achieved, the diocese was still stuck in the “paper mode of communication”, continuing the increased cost, and inundating parishes with a multitude of faxes, most of which became garbage.
With the advent of email, some dioceses decided to send information by email directly to the clergy --- at least those who had an email address. This certainly solved the environmental waste of paper, and enabled the rapid spread of information, but it created a chaos problem in clergy email accounts. This is because all the Diocesan Information was sent to the priest’s personal email account (or the parish secretary) along with list serves of Church News, list serves of Religious Information, as well as the priest’s own personal mail and everything else. It was not unusual for a priest to have between 30 and 50 emails a day, not counting spam, and the result became overwhelming. Concerned clergy spent more and more time reading email, much of which was not needed at the time, while diocesan information from a week before became lost or worse deleted from the priest’s personal Mailbox, a Mailbox which assumed daunting proportions. Add to this the extra concerns of
a priest having an electronic Appointment Calendar separate from the Diocesan Calendar and Diocesan information, and the concerns were multiplied. The use of electronic information solved the cost and paper problems, but created a chaos problem instead.
Some have suggested that the world wide web could be used to disseminate information, and it can. Websites that are well done and changed regularly are helpful in getting information out to the general public. Some with the use of passwords allow users to get more private information not available to the public. But none allow collaborative conferencing, or the rapid exchange of views or calendaring that are needed by the contemporary Church on the move. A System that allows Email, Conferencing, Calendaring, public Diocesan Information, private Committee Conferencing, security of access, and free websites would be ideal.
The Proposal:
The challenge is to find an electronic method of delivering Diocesan Information separately from personal information, to include an electronic Diocesan Calendar as well as personal and Committee Calendars, to include Collaborative Conferences where clergy and laity can learn about and discuss diocesan issues, as well as a place for National and International Church News, all neatly contained in one useful package that is easy to use, available for free, and yet supervised and owned privately by the Diocese.
The Solution is possible and available now. It is called --- the FirstClass System for Dioceses.
A FirstClass Client/Server Communication System is:
· Safe and secure Internal Communication Network linking the Diocese to all its parishes, clergy, diocesan officers, Committees and key people, to each other.
· Owned and controlled by the Diocese.
· Simple easy-to-use Collaborative Conferencing, delivering Diocesan Info to all parishes
· Approved by the Episcopal/Anglican Quest Committee of Lambeth 98
A FirstClass Client/Server Communication System saves time and money:
· By Eliminating the cost of copying, stuffing, and mailing information monthly.
· By Posting Information once to the FirstClass diocesan system, from where it can be downloaded by the clergy and all others, at their convenience, at no cost whatsoever.
· By Providing easy-to-use Online Learning (Distance Education) for laity in the Diocese.
· By Placing “Diocesan Info” once into an easy to access Conference, instead of sending many messages to personal Mailboxes, where it is hard to find, and unlikely to be read.
· By giving Committees a place for their own Discussions online complete with Calendaring.
A FirstClass Client/Server Communication System includes:
· Email System that is simple and fast. All Users receive a unique email address, for free.
· Collaborative Conferences (some public, some private) --- Conferences for public topics, Conferences for private Diocesan Committees, and special Conferences for Clergy and Secretaries containing Diocesan information.
· Calendaring that allows authorized diocesan personnel to post Diocesan Meeting dates for all to see in a Diocesan Calendar format, along with notices or other relevant material. Committees may also have their own private Calendars, with Task Reporting. There are also Resource Calendars, Location Calendars, and Users' own private Calendars. Private Calendars may be shared with others on the FirstClass System. Calendars include the ability to schedule events in other’s Calendars, and to plan meetings using available times in other’s Calendars.
· Websites, both Parish Church Websites and Committee Websites, including an existing Diocesan website, if desired. Churches can create their own websites on the System for FREE. Websites can be created either easily as a document (with pictures, text, colour) or using html.
· Free FirstClass Client: The FirstClass Client is FREE, and is the usual way of accessing a Diocesan system; however a browser like Netscape or Internet Explorer may also be used.
· Palm Pilot synchronization for email, calendaring.
· Multi-platform access, including any Windows, Mac, or Unix computer.
· Pictures/Photos can be instantly “drag & dropped” into any message or document.
· Attachments are included easily.
· New Presentation program works online for Teaching (similar to PowerPoint).
A FirstClass System is Private, Secure, Diocesan Owned:
· A FirstClass system is a private secure diocesan system, which connects to the Internet for email and worldwide communication, yet is secure from unauthorized outside access.
· Access is controlled by user Registration, Passwords, and by Permissions,
· Only Users authorized by the Diocese can access the Diocesan system.
· All messages are stored in encrypted form on the FirstClass Server, not the User’s computer.
· Spam Filters and Mail Rules are included.
A FirstClass System is One Low Cost Package:
· The Diocese owns and controls the System, the Server, and all Licences. .
· Licences are perpetual, complete with 1 year prepaid Technical Support, which is renewable.
· Cost covers the Server, all Software, Licences, Sessions, Installation and Training Workshops.
Licences:
· Users who access the Diocesan System need either a Licence, or one of the 5 Common Sessions. Regular Licences are assigned to Registered Users guaranteeing immediate access;
· Sessions allow immediate access to the Diocesan System by Others Users (who have not been assigned a Licence), and are available to Other Users on a first come basis, when not in use.
Upgrades:
· From time to time, Open Text Inc issues Upgrades to the FirstClass System. All Upgrades are free with the 1 year Technical Support included, which may be renewed annually.
Access to a Diocesan Database via FirstClass:
· The FirstClass Diocesan system may be connected to a Diocesan database, using the included Rapid Application Development program (RAD), free with the FirstClass System.
Warrantees:
· 1 year free replacement for all hardware supplied by Church Consulting Inc.
· 1 year Free Technical Support from Open Text Inc, the makers of the FirstClass software.
· I will remain available as a Consultant to the Communication Committee of the diocese.
A FirstClass System includes Training Workshops:
· All Training Workshops are included. This is very important --- Church Consulting does not provide just a Server and Software --- we spend a minimum of 3 weeks in a Diocese, Training Sub-Administrators, Training Diocesan Staff, and doing 14 to 18 Training Workshops throughout the Diocese for Clergy, Secretaries, and others from parishes.
· We support the Diocesan staff, and will return to do more Training Workshops if requested. Training Workshops are the most important contribution to the success of the FirstClass System.
The Contract
Supplied by Church Consulting Inc.
· Church Consulting will come to the Diocese, and install a FirstClass Communication System (Version 8.2), Regular User Licences, plus Sessions (for Other Users), complete with Training Workshops, over a 3 week period (more if requested).
· Church Consulting, during the first week, will install the FirstClass system, detailing it to fit the wishes of the Diocese, and Training a small group to administer the Diocesan system.
· Church Consulting will provide 2 additional weeks of Training Workshops to teach priests and lay people how to use the simple and easy FirstClass system.
· Church Consulting will provide the Server (a minimum of a Pentium IV), Windows 2000 Pro, NIC card, triple 100 gig hard drives, 512 mg RAM, including a Removable Hard Driver for Backup, CD-ROM, LCD monitor, keyboard, mouse, APC Backup-UPS 1000 Battery System, AntiVirus.
· Church Consulting will install the mirroring (backup) system on the 2nd hard drive.
· Church Consulting will connect the System to other Anglican/Episcopal FirstClass Systems.
· Church Consulting will teach parishes to create and maintain their own free website.
· Church Consulting will provide 1 year warrantee on all hardware, and Open Text Inc will provide 1 year free Technical Support, including software upgrades.
Supplied by the Diocese:
· Static Internet connection for system. This can be a Cable Connection, ADSL connection, or an Internet Service Provider.
· Domain Name Registration.
· A small Administration Committee appointed to supervise and administer the Diocesan system. The Administrative Committee can meet online in a private Conference, but should receive specific Training as Sub-Administrators.
The Cost
(please circle A,B or C, depending on the number of Regular Licences requested)
A) Server, Software, 100 Regular Licences, Sessions, Installation & all Workshops $11,000.00
B) Server, Software, 150 Regular Licences, Sessions, Installation & all Workshops $12,990.00
C) Server, Software, 200 Regular Licences, Sessions, Installation & all Workshops $14,990.00
Fr.Ron Barnes
………………………………….. ……………………………………..
Signed for Church Consulting Inc. Signed for the Diocese
SOME PLACES THAT USE FIRSTCLASS
Emory Place University
Harvard Place University
University of Maine
University of Toronto
University of Texas at Austin,
University of Texas at Dallas
Open Learning University, UK
Richmond School Board
Georgia Tech
JCPenny StoreS
Los Angeles Times
New York Times
Wall Street Journal
Alaska Airlines
Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri
Episcopal Diocese of Texas
Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia
Episcopal Diocese of the Virgin Islands
Anglican Diocese of Barbados
Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin
Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Michigan
Anglican Diocese of The Arctic
Anglican Diocese of Yukon
Anglican Diocese of New Westminster
Anglican Diocese of British Columbia
Anglican Diocese of Canberra
Anglican Diocese of Chile
Mission to Seafarers, Vancouver
There are over 8000 FirstClass Systems in operation in 55 countries, utilizing 15 languages, with over 20 million happy Users. The largest FirstClass System is in Denmark with about 250,000 Users on one System. Present Diocesan Systems range from 50 users to over 1000 users.
Letters of Reference:
Letters of Reference from the following Dioceses are available on request:
· Diocese of East Michigan
· Diocese of Southern Virginia
· Diocese of Texas
· Diocese of West Missouri
· Diocese of Joaquin
· Diocese of New Westminster
· Diocese of The Arctic
· Diocese of Yukon
· Diocese of Virgin Islands
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