News & knowledge

Through public partnerships, JobScout has been made available to the public libraries in California. Our team believes that one story particularly exemplifies the need for JobScout. As we visited the Banning Library in Banning, California, we waited in line at the circulation desk to ask for the director. As of 9 a.m. that morning, the waiting list for the computer terminals was already full until 11:30 a.m. As we met with the director, we learned that Banning had lost its other e-learning resources and that our platform, as it was made available to the pilot libraries at no cost, was now the sole resources for jobhunters. After a successful demonstration, the JobScout logo was up on the Banning Library website within a few hours and made available to its patrons. This story demonstrates the need for small libraries like Banning across the California and across the country for practical resources that help to combat issues like digital illiteracy and empower jobseekers to gain the skills they need to find employment. This is but one instance of where people are waiting for hours at their local libraries just to the use the Internet.

Ash is a new joinee on Pfizer project. Right from Day-1 on the job, he has been thrown on fire and is having to deal with complex production issues. Ash is bound by deadlines and has to fix the production issues in a span of 2 days. Ash is new to the system and has very little clue of the issues which seem completely new and contextual,although he has received a generic training on the system. Ash speaks to his manager, who suggests him people to get in touch with. Ash does so, but alas! these people are busier than him and have their hands full with work. Hence, they have no time or intention to do a knowledge share with Ash. Ash pleads with them. Some of them spare 10-15 mins of their time to Ash, although unwillingly.
Imagine if the org. used KShare, Ash could log on to it and post his query. People in the company's network would get an email alert and interested parties would promptly respond on KShare as they would get incentives for responding aptly and promptly. Gamification would ensure people took each query as a game, challenged each other's response, got rewarded and have their names show up on the leaderboard with the points and incentives they have earned. KShare also aims at integrating the whole system with an employee's appraisal process, so that an employee is also appraised based on the knowledge he has shared.So, with KShare Ash's query is resolved in max 1-2 hours.Knowledge is shared in a willful manner and a whole record of the knowledge shared is left behind for employees to search on in future.This is just one scenario. More is possible using KShare.

The typical customer will eat Pekish’s healthy and nutritionally balanced food products as a convenient alternative to the over-processed vending machine and convenience store foods they reach for at the moment. The communications channel will be through the Pekish website. When a user logs on they will be asked to complete a short five-point questionnaire, ranking their taste preferences on a five-point scale. These tastes will then correspond to a wide range of nutritionally balanced and healthy recipes on offer. The user then selects the delivery frequency of their Pekish box, defaulted to Monday and Thursday every week, and receives their surprise snack box via Canada Post, complete with different, personalized snacks in four different containers based on the preferences selected on-line. The user is then encouraged to update their profile, stating what they did or did not like. These preferences are then reflected in their next Pekish delivery. The communications experience with Pekish is engaging, fun and informal, which will allow for the effective use of our influence to see the lifestyle changes we wish to see in our community. All snacks are locally sourced, nutritionally balanced, healthy, tasty, and packaged in environmentally friendly containers by rehabilitated workers from Vancouver’s DTES.

Free, weekly Freshsheet newsletters connect residents with locally produced organic food, locally owned businesses, organisations working on sustainability, and new ideas emerging throughout the world on conscious consumerism and fair commerce. Freshsheets bring together those working to create a resilient society with locally produced goods and services. Regional editions introduce and highlight their area's local farmers and businesses, and encourages people to shop locally which strengthens each community. Environmental and social organisations and events are advertised freely in each region: North, Central and South. People are able to locate the goods and services they require as close to home as possible, eliminating the need to travel long distances thus reducing their carbon footprint. Locally owned businesses enjoy increased sales and recognition, and people feel more connected to their environment and communities. Consumers can also use the online edition to locate a product, service or event close to where they live.

• How our solution makes a difference:
o It is a national resource used by people from all across the country and provides relevant and specific information for new immigrants
o Geared to local information on government and population needed to obtain Canadian citizenship
o Helps newcomers practice for their upcoming Citizenship Test by becoming familiar with the questions
o It is available in both of Canada’s official languages and is available 24/7 online, with a mobile version for smartphones and tablets
o It is the most heavily used page on the library’s website, indicating its enormous popularity
o It is supplemented by the library’s web page which has links to organizations, services, ESL resources and useful websites for new Canadians (http://www.yourlibrary.ca/newcomers/)
o In 2011 the Online Citizenship Practice Test had 6,135,852 page views.

• Primary activities involved in our solution:
o Regular updating of local, provincial and federal government information.
o When contacted by Ottawa Public Library in 2005 with an offer to translate our Canadian Citizenship Practice Test into French, we agreed. They did both the initial translation and they continue to maintain it with up-to-date information relevant to Ottawa and Ontario. In preparation for this, our staff completely rewrote the computer application to easily support two or more languages and local questions, so that people using their site would see those questions, rather than BC and Richmond specific ones.

Of the three dams on the Columbia, the Chief Joseph dam has to be the first one to be by-passed by a fish ladder system. Based on the information I would collect, a preliminary plan for the bypass systems could be developed and presented by Columbia Basin Trust to the Columbia River Treaty negotiations.

The Grand Coulee Dam would be second although it would be the most complicated both ecologically and politically.

With the images collection and factual data, it should make the planning as well as the funding scheme considerable easier.

The inclusion of plan information from successful projects that includes fish habitat enhancement will produce a well rounded proposal package. Knowledgeable and functional without the traditional arguments over the sources of data.

The development of realistic hatchery programs in BC will provide an economic boost to the central Kootenay's.

Non profit groups spend an exorbitant amount of time and resources making applications to many funding organizations or even just to many programs within one funding organization. There are overlap in terms of financial support amounts and application processes. This archaic process wastes time of the applicant and the funder as they review multiple applications.
A new Model needs to be developed, with grant size (min & max), total program value, needs focus and other administrative factors.
The new Model relies on a regional funder/supporter (like a public trust or foundation) to support the development of a Community Grant Continuum with a centralized database, accessible to all grant program managers and other key grant planning staff.
At the conclusion of the project, an online, update-able Community Grant Continuum would be created and available for other communities as a template. This standardization will also facilitate knowledge sharing among project proponents, funders and communities in the Columbia Basin region.
Later, this Continuum could be made accessible/searchable by region for other local funders. (Eg. If a new funder from was developing a program in the Golden area, they could quickly understand where a funding niche and community need could be filled, which could eliminate the need for them to have a separate call for applications.)

We want to empower people with knowledge about their government and current issues.

If someone from Kitimat is interested in the proposed pipeline, we want to give them a resource to learn about it. Learning happens through knowledge of government process and through finding out what other citizens propose.

People will have a space to provide feedback and suggestions on how to improve research studies. The website will encourage innovation by having competitions to see who can suggest the best solution for addressing the weaknesses in a particular research study.

The TerraVerde Circle seeks to create a platform that brings together asset owners, asset managers, investment consultants, family offices, corporate entities, foundations, endowments, academics, NGOs, college students, and college-run investment funds. The TerraVerde Circle connects interested investors with the opportunities within the sector and the know-how to capitalize on them. As an example, college endowments are suprisingly reluctant towards impact investing due to the perception of an inefficient, unprofitable market and a lack of clear understanding of opportunities within the sector. The TerraVerde Circle's primary activities as an information provider to potential impact investors would break down these walls to capital flow; if the college endowment investors had access to a marketplace of impact investment ideas, related research, impact investment updates, and sound input on how to make those investments profitable, they would be far more likely to become capital providers. The TerraVerde Circle, functioning as a conduit for impact capital, thus opens the spigot for financing to local social entrepreneurs. Suddenly, college endowments that were previously removed or reluctant feel a strong connection to communities and individuals across the globe who are pioneering solutions to pressing problems. Financing for irrigation solutions in the Middle East, female education initiatives in Africa, and medical access in Southeast Asia becomes available, with access to capital bringing these projects from mere ideas to fruitful realization.

Developing youth social competencies and promoting youth participation in the development and implementation of socially important projects will be achieved by introducing state-of-the-art communication technologies to youth networks. New learning materials, on-line trainings and face-to-face trainings will be developed and made available through the Learning and Knowledge Transfer Hub to be established under the joint project.
Social competencies will be formed through the following instruments and project activities:
Capacity development of youth in secondary schools, including volunteers and other target groups, though face-to-face and on-line trainings and web-design, etc.;
Networking and peer-to-peer networking between project target groups and other players;
Practical experience for students from pedagogical schools by volunteering in project activities in rural schools and youth centers;
Support to creating e-communities and developing web-community social services and projects involving project target groups;
Support to youth to develop skills for solving community problems, including proactive approaches and citizenship skills;
Training of teachers in the organization and career orientation curricula for secondary schools;
Introduce volunteerism in the local development agenda;
Utilize information,learning,training materials on the Project Portal Learning and Knowledge Transfer Hub for further development of youth

Currently, much of the materials used in Tanzanian schools does not explicitly reveal to students how they can be agents for positive change in their country. Through daily instruction CFC will reveal to students that a better world is possible and can be created with their own hands. The CFC curricula is simple; it consists of a teachers manual for each grade level that comes complete with articles and worksheets that can be copied for student use. Initially these manuals will be distributed to World Teach Volunteers who will work in different schools across Tanzania. These teachers will be free to share the materials with fellow Tanzanian teachers who want to use them. Once the pilot program establishes student literacy growth through ongoing assessment results, I plan to partner with Uwezo Tanzania and the Tanzanian Ministry of Education to implement this curriculum in secondary schools nationwide. Pilot implementation of the CFC curriculum will begin this August. Although this program will be initially implemented through World Teach in Tanzania, it is my ultimate goal to partner with other education non-profits across Africa to create country specific curricula that focuses on empathy and self empowerment through social change. The ultimate goal of breaking the cycle of violence in Africa will be met by instilling empathy and problem solving skills in students through these tailor made nation wide curricula.

We work in high schools to start an after school program—Global Issues Club (GIC). During the summer, club leaders receive leadership training to prepare them for running club meetings during the year. As they sharpen their leadership skills, students review the previous year’s activities, make necessary changes, and choose issues to work with. In order to meet our second goal, to holistically educate participants about global issues and human rights concerns, GILD built Sharing our World (SoW). SoW is a partnership project with the Peace Corps Fellows Program at the University of Missouri-Columbia. We use SoW to connect students to those in the field. During meetings, students learn about their chosen issues through speakers, films, and other sources and also plan fundraising events to benefit the organization they chose. To learn more about the SoW, please visit the site www.gildhumanrights.org/sharingouroworld/ As we grow, we want to offer service-learning opportunities to our students in order for them to work side by side with nonprofit organizations. We will do this during Spring Break and in the summer. During the summer, students select a destination and organization to serve for up to eight weeks. Club members will have spent the school year learning about a particular issue in which they can choose to serve or select another issue. Sophomores will serve in their respective states or provinces. Juniors will serve anywhere in their countries and senior will serve overseas.