Cash-strapped IT centre revamping.If there was ever a time for the Sault Ste. Marie Sault Sainte Marie — pronounced "Soo Saint Marie" (IPA /su seɪnt məˈɹi/) — is the name of two cities on the Saint Marys River, which forms part of the boundary between the United States and Canada. Innovation Centre to get its act together, the time is now, says a board member of the struggling business development organization. Jason Collins Jason Paul Collins (born December 2, 1978 in Northridge, California) is a professional basketball player for the New Jersey Nets of the NBA. He graduated from Harvard-Westlake School and later attended Stanford University, where he was an All-American in 2000-01 and appeared on , a city councillor and one of the architects of the Innovation Centre's new strategy and business plan, is "excited and optimistic" about the centre's new direction to fulfill its role as an IT economic developer. "Having gone in as a pessimist with a skeptical eye, I can confidentially say I have a lot of faith in what they're going to do." The cash-strapped, nonprofit organization Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. was given a new lease on life in March with a $182,707 grant from the City of Sault Ste. Marie to continue operations for 2004. They are aiming for a matching contribution Matching Contribution A type of contribution an employer chooses to make to his or her employee's employer-sponsored retirement plan. The contribution is based on elective deferral contributions made by the employee. from FedNor to sustain their $365,000 budget. While the Innovation Centre has produced award-winning GIS municipal software, it has been shrouded in controversy following the sudden resignation of CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Gerry Taylor last spring and a subsequent organizational review by BDO BDO Big Day Out (Australian music festival) BDO Banco de Oro (Philippines) BDO 1,4-Butanediol BDO British Darts Organisation BDO Block Development Officer BDO Big Dumb Object Dunwoody. Critics on city council and in the local IT community contend the centre was duplicating and competing against work done in the private sector. Also, they say the centre has generated only a few hundred thousand dollars in revenue since startup in late 2000, nowhere close to the $157 million originally projected. The BDO Dunwoody report, released in January, concludes the centre strayed from its original mandate and needs to get back on track as a business facilitator to develop technology and a knowledge-based environment. The report says some value has been achieved with their municipal GIS (Geographic Information Systems) capabilities, but there is little evidence of any success in developing IT entrepreneurship or support of knowledge-based industry. The city contributed $1 million in start-up funding, plus two loans of $611,000 each, as well as contributions of more than $2 million to develop the GIS systems software for the municipality. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the new five-year business plan further funding requests to the city will be made into 2008. Collins says the centre management's team has embraced the review's findings and defined a new plan to work with small and medium businesses to grow IT opportunities, focus on business incubation, and also grow the GIS opportunity in a more sensible direction. Innovation Centre business manager Dave Williamson Dave 'Ming' Williamson (born 28th October 1966, Aberdeen, Scotland) is a bass player who began his professional career in his teens playing in bar and lounge covers bands, followed by a period on the Mecca and Working Men's Club circuit. says the four-year-old Innovation Centre has shown value for taxpayers' dollars, infusing $11 million into the local economy by attracting outside funding. It has created more than 325 jobs in the call centre industry and has saved the municipality and the Public Utilities Commission more than $3 million by implementing their GIS package. www.ssmic.com By IAN ROSS Northern Ontario Business Northern Ontario Business is a Canadian magazine, which publishes monthly in Greater Sudbury, Ontario. The magazine covers business news and issues in Northern Ontario. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion