[rtpnet-tact] Proposal for NC-HELP --- completed and delivered (fwd)

[Judy Hallman]

To TACT list:

RTPnet submitted on October 15 a request for funding for NC-HELP for three
years. The proposal is now online at
http://www.rtpnet.org/gather/proposals/riaa/ and linked from the
Gatherers' page http://www.rtpnet.org/gather/
See Mike Rulison's message below.

To keep search engines from finding and listing the proposed jobs, the
page is password protected: id  riaa  , password  proposal  .
Note that the file is BIG.

We received the following notification from the Rural Internet Access
Authority (e-NC):

 We are happy to notify you that we received your e-communities
 implementation grant proposal.  The proposals are currently under
 consideration. We expect to make a decision re: awards in late November.

Judy
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 16 Oct 2002 08:19:16 -0400
From: Michael Rulison <dn4nccc@mindspring.com>
Subject: Proposal for NC-HELP --- completed and delivered

TO: RTPnet Directors and Proposal Team:

The above, 67-page proposal was completed by Judy Hallman on 15 October and
delivered to the Rural Internet Access Authority (RIAA) on Carya Drive in
Raleigh by Mike Rulison. We have a signed receipt dated and timed at 15
October: 1:37 p.m.

We thank everyone for their participation and contributions of thought,
time, and energy to a major endeavor to move RTPnet out of its past role
into a much larger one that would enable it to provide significant help
desk services statewide and thus remove the lack of knowledge about
computers and the Internet that are daily blocks to efficient and effective
use of these important tools of the 21st Century American economy and society.

Thanks in particular to:
         Maurice Moody from BB&T for his participation in two proposal
meetings and drafting of the initial financial management plan.
         Jeffrey Martin and Erroll Reese for providing meeting space for
proposal meetings and comments on the proposal content.
         Jennifer Leeman for reviewing proposal drafts at odd hours and
days to keep it moving ahead.
         Bob Sams for his vigorous participation in proposal meetings,
comments and two spreadsheets that helped improve our budgeting process.
         Jerry Winegarden and Judy Hallman for their vision of what a help
desk can do. Jerry for his development of the Trouble Ticket Management
System, which is nearly ready for installation and a shake-down cruise.
         Jerry for his elaboration of the Service Level Agreement concept
by which we could offer calibrated levels of service at varied prices to
our potential help desk clients and for his additions to the budget
detailed assumptions.
         Judy for her writing and re-writing of most of the proposal,
gathering the letters of support that buttress our argument for need, and
for the final collation and production of the finished document.
         Without the volunteer efforts (day, night, and weekends) of Judy
and Jerry, this proposal would not have been completed.

Now, we emerge from proposal turmoil with a better understanding of how to
work together to create a major product, with a significant spreadsheet
system for building budgets from the bottom up based on clearly identified
assumptions about labor time and rates, and of quantities and rates for all
other cost and income components. We also have learned the headaches of
keeping track of draft versions delivered as email attachments and of
changes within the texts of each draft from each reviewer.

We look forward to favorable action by the Rural Internet Access Authority,
but in any case are ready to move forward in service to the community we serve.


------------------------------------------------------
Michael Rulison, Treasurer
RTPnet (Public Information Network, Inc.)
3256 Lewis Farm Rd
Raleigh NC 27607-6723   919/782-9576
dn4nccc@mindspring.com
------------------------------------------------------