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C/MFRCs preview and provide feedback for the way ahead

There comes a point in every project when it’s time to show it to members of your toughest audience: the people whose day-to-day work your project will impact.

To ensure that the eBusiness Centre’s modern upgrade will create a more efficient, accountable system for Canadian/Military Family Resource Centres (C/MFRCs), an eleven-member panel made up of Executive Directors, Canadian Community Program Coordinators, MFRC staff and Board of Directors members recently met to preview the changes and provide their feedback.

Gathering in Ottawa on 4-5 March 2010, the review panel included representatives from resource centres small and large, urban and semi-isolated, in Canada and in the United States. The MFSP Europe Regional Manager also had an opportunity to review changes and provide feedback prior to the two-day session.

“It’s great to be able to come together as a group and provide input at this stage,” said Stephanie Holmes, Vice Chairperson of the Kingston MFRC Board of Directors.

The panel was given a preview of the proposed changes to the Funding Application, Service Delivery Agreement, and Quarterly Report. As a group, they reviewed each document and provided feedback on how the revamped eBusiness Centre works, and what gaps they felt remained in the system.

Overall, the feedback to the proposed changes to the funding reporting process was quite positive. The panel felt that the current system is overly onerous and that the changes will make it simpler to understand and more user-friendly. Ultimately, C/MFRCs and DMFS will have valuable information to assess service delivery at every level.

Philosophically, the eBusiness Centre upgrade represents a shift in focus from the Funding Application to the Service Delivery Agreement and Quarterly Reports. DMFS has streamlined each of the documents where possible, and added sections to enable C/MFRCs to provide information about the services and activities being offered, and the level of participation in the community.

“There’s a lot of flexibility, which I think is great,” said Regan Gorski, Moose Jaw MFRC Executive Director. “These are stats that we already keep; it will just mean organizing them in a new way.”

“The new system acknowledges the trust that’s been built up between DMFS and MFRCs,” said Barb Bragg, DMFS Field Operations Manager. “We already know that [MFRCs] do a great job, so we’re trying to only ask for the data we need.”

The feedback the panel provided on the new template for the eBusiness Centre upgrade will be taken into account as DMFS moves towards finalizing the eBusiness Centre. The panel offered indispensable advice on everything from the organization of the various sections to practical considerations such as who needs to sign each document.

The eBusiness Centre upgrade will be ready in June 2010. Stay tuned for more information as this project progresses!