The CTC VISTA Project / Project Basics for CTCs: 2005-'06
Note: This document is primarily aimed at organizations interested in applying to the project. Individuals interested in applying to serve as CTC VISTAs, please also see: <www.cpcs.umb.edu/vista/ctc-vista-faq.php>. [doc to be provided soon.]
Since 2000, the CTC VISTA Project has provided coordination, recruitment, training and support for a yearly cadre of approximately 40 AmeriCorps*VISTAs working in community technology centers (CTCs) and related programs across the country. Organizations interested in becoming involved should meet project priorities and other qualifications and be responsible for covering project fees and other expenses, as described below. The Project is open to all CTCNet members in good standing. If you are not currently a CTCNet member. You can read about these benefits and join now at <www.ctcnet.org/membership>.
This year the Corporation for National and Community Service leadership in Washington, DC, has urged the Project to become more directive by promoting program and resource development in targeted areas. The Project has therefore defined a set of priorities that promote cutting edge work in the field and is developing a complementary set of resources to support these efforts. We believe that this approach will enhance the effectiveness of our VISTA members and the organizations that apply to have them and increase the impact of their work with underserved communities, thereby strengthening the Project, supporting the movement, and benefiting all parties involved.
The Project will be working with the Community Media and Technology Program in its home at the College of Public and Community Service at UMass/Boston and other partners to develop special training and educational resources to support project participants. It is expected that organizations hosting CTC VISTAs will participate in online trainings and discussions and otherwise be involved in collaborative program and curriculum development in their chosen area(s).
Applicant organizations are free to address a variety of organizational and program needs, including the traditional AmeriCorps*VISTA ones involving volunteer program development and management, developing partnerships and program material for marketing and fundraising, but the VISTA work plan should contain at least one objective which addresses the project's program priority areas:
1. Community networking, including wireless. The recent burst of energy and initiatives around neighborhood and municipal wireless projects, as noted in recent issues of the Community Technology Review and elsewhere, underlines this as one of the most promising areas for community information and communications technology development in the immediate future. Experienced community networking projects as well as organizations new to the arena with promising plans in community information and/or service development that can use the capacity building resources of an AmeriCorps*VISTA member are encouraged.
2. Community organizing and development, using emerging technology organizing tools such as GIS systems, blogs, and databases as well as cell phones, photography, and other non-traditional organizing technology. An interest in using and developing open source resources, both applications that run on proprietary operating systems as well as Linux, is especially welcome.
3. Technology support to other nonprofit organizations. When the applicant is not a CTC, some programmatic component involving CTC support should be included. With the elimination of traditional technical assistance (TA) to Nonprofit programs supported elsewhere by the Corporation, the need to address technology needs of the entire sector is pressing.
4. Programs for at-risk youth, with a particular emphasis on digital media skills acquisition. Project-based arts, media, and technology programs, with academic support, are especially encouraged in helping young people gain skills that prepare them for college and tomorrow's workforce.
Organizational applications are accepted on a rolling basis. We anticipate that 40 VISTA member placements will be finalized during the summer. Members will officially begin at the PreService Orientation program, scheduled for August 29th-31st.
The CTC VISTA Project will begin informing potential VISTAs who apply to us through Americorps' national online recruitment system (https://recruit.cns.gov/) about our applicant CTCs and organizations beginning April 19. From that point forward, individuals interested in working with the Project are instructed to review the VISTA applicant site "job descriptions" (posted on the Project website) and to notify the Project of their interests. Therefore, the sooner your organization applies, the more likely you will be able to find a VISTA through the project's national recruitment resources. (The Project also strongly encourages and supports organizations' local recruitment efforts as well.)
If you are a new organizational applicant or currently participating and wish to reapply, please send a notice of interest and intent to apply to Paul Hansen, briefly describing your program, identifying the community you serve, and summarizing what you would like your VISTA(s) to do (the VISTA "job description"). Then, proceed to the application itself. The organizational application and supporting materials can be found in the Supervisor Resources section of our website. Do let us know if you have any questions along the way.
New community and faith-based CTCs and support organizations are welcome and should have their program supervisor attend the pre-CTCNet Conference orientation/training session on June 16th in Cleveland. If unable to attend this supervisor training, supervisors of projects with VISTA placements are expected to attend the supervisor training in Boston in September. The project seeks applications from all parts of the country, with a special interest in areas underserved by community technology programs, such as the southeast. Up to six projects taking the lead on regional organizing can be supported; up to eight VISTA assignments may go to CTC support projects.
Continuing projects that have demonstrated capacity building goals and objectives, provided timely supervisor reports as well as VISTA blogs/web sites/reports, and demonstrated fiscal responsibility and CTC VISTA project involvement by their VISTAs and supervisors are eligible for second and third year continuation. Special sustainability-transition conditions will apply to organizations being supported in their third year; only under special circumstances will programs be supported beyond the third year.
Important note: While the Project's acceptance of an organization's completed application authorizes that organization to recruit for 1-2 VISTAs, it in no way insures that an organization will, in fact, receive any VISTAs through the CTC VISTA Project. In order to ensure that the 40 positions allocated to the project are filled by the deadline, the project approves more than 40 organizational applications and approves the final placement of candidates on a first-come-first-serve basis (taking into consideration Project priorities).
While we cannot guarantee a VISTA placement to any approved applicant organization, we can assist you in finalizing an application and doing local and national recruitment, and direct you to a range of other national and state resources and programs that can also help you obtain VISTA and/or AmeriCorps members. In this regard, applicant organizations that do not find a VISTA through the Project will benefit from having completed the application that is a prerequisite for an organization to get an AmeriCorps*VISTA member from any source.
Participating programs commit to a project fee per VISTA and associated costs as described below. Boston metropolitan area VISTAs also commit to attending project meetings held the first Wednesday of each month and to assist with national project support. Eastern MA supervisors agree to attend quarterly meetings.
The selection overview summary provides further details about the selection process including key dates. Applicant organizations will be notified on their status as the process develops and slots fill up and are finalized through early-mid July.
Program fees include:
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Selection Process Overview
Below are the timelines that are applicable for the 2005-06 final selection and prioritization process.
Thanks for this great program.
Everything is clear to me except:
"With the elimination of traditional technical assistance (TA) to Nonprofit programs supported elsewhere by the Corporation, the need to address technology needs of the entire sector is pressing".
What does this mean? I'd guess something like:
"There are fewer VISTAs available, so the available ones should be used better"
Some questions:
Assuming applications are approved, Are there funds to start a VISTA as early as June 1?
I'd heard that some spots had emptied through attrition this year. Are these empty spots still available?
If approved organizations already have (2) VISTAs and these VISTAs re-up, the organization is not entitled to additional spots?
When is the latest a VISTA can practically, decided to re-up?
I'd heard that next year's reporting will be tougher than this year's, but looking at the supervisor's resources, it doesn't seem much different.
http://www.cpcs.umb.edu/vista/SupervisorResources.html
Am I missing something?
Posted by: Dan MacNeil at March 26, 2005 12:42 PM
Hello
This project has been a huge help to Egleston ymca!! Thank you.
I have a few comments/questions:
1. Recruiting has/will be our biggest challenge. Michelle was a large drop of luck,and I don't expect that to happen again:)
I would like to know what other programs have done (both regionally and nationally) to have recruiting success...finding and recruiting high quality vista members..
2. To help with recruitment of vista members, I thought it might be useful for the project to collect the "3 biggest benefits I have gained as a vista" from current vistas and alumni, both of which may have different perspectives.
3. I’m curious to know how the “targeted areas” were chosen.
4. I’m curious to know how the project defines “effectiveness” of a vista.
5. What happens after year 3 for orgs? How specifically does the project help with transitions? Are there orgs at year 3? How are they pursuing a transition plan?…I would be interested in reading/hearing more about this.
6. “The Project also strongly encourages and supports organizations' local recruitment efforts as well.”
How does the project support local recruitment for organizations. …we could use more help with this.
7. have project supervisors been attending quarterly meetings?…did I miss something?..or is this something to start in the future?
thanks.
matt
Dan, let me respond to the things that aren't clear to you:
"With the elimination of traditional technical assistance (TA) to Nonprofit programs supported elsewhere by the Corporation, the need to address technology needs of the entire sector is pressing". [sic]
What does this mean? I'd guess something like:
"There are fewer VISTAs available, so the available ones should be used better"
**Dan, actually this refers to the ending of the Teaming for Technology program which you may be familiar with. It's demise has not been very public, but IBM has pulled out of their VISTA-United Way TA support to NPO effort and there's nothing that's replaced it.
Some questions:
Assuming applications are approved, Are there funds to start a VISTA as early as June 1?
I'd heard that some spots had emptied through attrition this year. Are these empty spots still available?
If approved organizations already have (2) VISTAs and these VISTAs re-up, the organization is not entitled to additional spots?
** We don't have any clear process for dealing with the attribution and are currently doing so with our affiliates and Corporation office on an ad hoc basis. In any case, because of the demand it is very unlikely that any program will be able to get more than two VISTAs at all.
When is the latest a VISTA can practically, decided to re-up?
**Practically, you and others will have to keep watch as the slots fill up. Continuing VISTAs do have a priority, but some missed out in previous years when the slots filled up. Plan early July at the latest at this point.
I'd heard that next year's reporting will be tougher than this year's, but looking at the supervisor's resources, it doesn't seem much different.
Am I missing something?
** Yes, the Supervisor Resource page hasn't changed yet because those guidelines are still operant for the current year. Check out the new application form noted at http://www.americorps.org/pdf/vista/VISTA_instructions.pdf. We'll have a modified version of that up shortly.
Posted by: peter at March 31, 2005 05:12 PMmatt, to respond to your issues:
1. Recruiting has/will be our biggest challenge. Michelle was a large drop of luck,and I don't expect that to happen again:)
I would like to know what other programs have done (both regionally and nationally) to have recruiting success...finding and recruiting high quality vista members..
== a good question for vista@ctcnet.org since not all that many supervisors as checking out the blog.
2. To help with recruitment of vista members, I thought it might be useful for the project to collect the "3 biggest benefits I have gained as a vista" from current vistas and alumni, both of which may have different perspectives.
== good idea!
3. I’m curious to know how the “targeted areas” were chosen.
== UMB staff and CMT program folks as well as suggestions from the Corporation in DC, followed up by CTCNet and wider advisory committee exchanges.
4. I’m curious to know how the project defines “effectiveness” of a vista.
== The project defines this by working with programs to develop good workplans that have the benchmarks set there.
5. What happens after year 3 for orgs? How specifically does the project help with transitions? Are there orgs at year 3? How are they pursuing a transition plan?…I would be interested in reading/hearing more about this.
== Note that the three year period is the Corporation's guideline, not the project's. We do insist on sustainability goals being built directly into work plans.
6. “The Project also strongly encourages and supports organizations' local recruitment efforts as well.”
How does the project support local recruitment for organizations. …we could use more help with this.
== we give lots of informal advice and also have
project brochures and flyers that local sites can
customize.
7. have project supervisors been attending quarterly meetings?…did I miss something?..or is this something to start in the future?
== When the project originally began, there were monthly supervisor meetings the segued into the Greater Boston Broadband Collaborative and then the CBC. There have been no supervisor meetings over the last year, so this is being restarted in the fall. Just as Boston VISTAs serve as a key leadership cadre for the project, so can the supervisors.
Posted by: peter at March 31, 2005 05:31 PM