You Are Here: NYS Forum Executive Committee Meeting
April 11, 2008
Vice Chair JoAnn Bomeisl called the meeting to order at 8:35 am.
A motion was made by Paul Maguire and seconded by Leigh Favitta to accept the February 2008 minutes as submitted.
Secretary-Treasurer Report - Paul Maguire - Thanks to those agencies who have submitted their membership: Children and Family Services, Civil Service, Commission on Quality of Care and Advocate for Persons with Disabilities, DCJS, DEC, DMNA, DMV, Elections Board, State Education, GOER, GORR, Insurance Department, Insurance Fund, NYSTAR, OASAS, CSCIC, OGS, OMRDD, ORPS, OSC, OTDA, Parks, Rec. and Historic Preservation, State Police, Public Service Commission, Senate, Department of State, Teachers' Retirement and NYSLGITDA.
It was recently brought to our attention that by providing this fiscal information in a written format, we have not been in compliance with the SUNY Research Foundation's policy for the release of fiscal information. As a project of SUNY Research Foundation (RF), The Forum must adhere to their corporate guidelines with regard to the fiscal data we provide. Greg is arranging for the Officers to meet with an RF representative regarding The Forum's fiscal transparency to determine what we need to do to be compliant with RF policies.
Forum Relocation - Greg Benson - For the past several years, Greg has engaged Sharon Dawes and Tony Cresswell of CTG; Peter Bloniarz of the SUNY College of Computing and Information and the NYS Center for Information Forensics and Assurance; and Chris Haile also of SUNY, in conversations of co-locating. It became apparent to all that this would be an attractive and advantageous move for each organization, particularly in light of the emerging plans for creating an IT Commons at the Harriman Center which would house those with whom Greg had spoken. As in interim step while the IT Commons takes shape, the opportunity for co-locating with CTG is one viewed as extremely favorable for The Forum and of high interest to CTG as well. All organizations are highly respected and our differences will be our complimentary strength.
An executive session of The Forum Executive Committee was held on February 14 and the following resolution was passed:
Resolution of The Forum Executive Committee
February 14, 2008
In recognition of the evolution of the functions of The NYS Forum, we, The Forum Executive Committee, do hereby direct The Forum's Executive Director to take appropriate action to:
- Identify an organization whose programs are consistent with and related to the mission and objectives of The Forum;
- Develop a fiscal relationship with that organization; and
- Effect a relocation of The Forum's offices in order to enhance the ability of The Forum to achieve its goals and carry out its mission.
Greg has addressed the criteria set forth in the resolution and a decision has been made to co-locate, temporarily, within CTG's office space at 187 Wolf Road until the Harriman IT center comes to fruition.
Greg and Diane have met with Vice Provost Dr. Harold Silverman and Senior Vice Provost Dr. James Weyhenmeyer to ensure there would be no corporate barriers with the co-location. Both were in total support of the move and gave their commitment that the physical and fiscal transfers would be as seamless as possible.
Tony Cresswell - For those unaware, CTG has been located at 187 Wolf Road (in front of the Marriott) for five years with that lease expiring this year. For some time, it appeared that the timing of the Harriman development might fall into place with the expiration of CTG's current lease. That project is delayed and CTG has renewed their lease for three years which includes a sublease for the co-location of The Forum.
Committee Leadership Selection Workgroup - Joanne Riddett - The SOP Workgroup was formed in October. The following procedures are being proposed for choosing leadership of Forum committees:
Procedures for Choosing Leadership of FORUM Committees
Each committee can have up to four co-chairs, up to two from government sector and up to two from corporate sector, with at least one for each.
TERM The leadership term is two years, unless there are no new nominations for the position. In the Corporate Roundtable Committee, the individual two year term consists of being vice-chair for one year and then chair for the second year. Every two years, at the June committee meeting, the committee elects their co-chairs and forwards their recommendations to the Officers for confirmation by the Executive Committee. Recommendations must be forwarded to the Officers by July 1st.
ELECTION The committee elects both their government co-chairs as well as their corporate co-chairs. Nominations for these leadership positions are solicited in a similar fashion as the Executive Committee so the ballot is an open one. You must be a member of the committee to vote for the co-chairs.
VACANCIES If there is a vacancy for a leadership position prior to the end of the term, replacement will be for the remainder of the term using the same process as above, except the election will take place when needed at the discretion of the other chairs of that committee.
LIMIT OF TWO POSITIONS PER ORGANIZATION Each committee will elect their own leaders, and the overview of all the committees will be handled by the Officers, ordinarily limiting committee leadership positions to no more than two per Forum member organization. The organizations could then be directed to select two positions if they were elected to more than two. The leadership position for the committee(s) that they did not choose would then go to the next highest vote. Exceptions when a second place candidate is not available would go to the Officers.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE LIAISON TO THE CORPORATE ROUNDTABLE The selection of the Executive Committee Liaison to the Corporate Roundtable will be made by the Executive Committee. Nominations will be solicited at the same time as the committee leadership nominations and voted on by the Executive Committee.
This process is proposed to begin in 2009. The recommendations are consistent with the charter but may have implications for an amendment. The charter and possible amendments will be reviewed. The intent is to make this a smoother process.
A motion was made by Joanne Riddett to make this part of The Forum's operating procedures. Mark Mitchell seconded the motion. All agreed. Motion was passed. Mission accomplished, the SOP Workgroup is now disbanded.
Committee/Workgroup Updates - Visit the web for complete updates
IT Accessibility - Paul Maguire - There are approximately 140 of the individual accessibility tools now in use. Discussions with OGS are ongoing, to make this permanent. Over 200 people attended the session on March 26. Two sessions will be provided at the May Governor's Assistive Technology Expo. The Governor is expected to be present. Registration is available at www.nysforum.org. Chris Labatt-Simon noted that D&D has designed the ny.gov website and this tool was used to assess the site which meets the requirements.
Business Continuity - Greg Benson - Committee co-chair Tom Luther, OSC, received a request from his deputy suggesting that the announcement of BC Healthcheck be made directly to agency deputies. That list has been foiled and we will go forward with his request.
IT Corporate Roundtable - Maryann Jablonowski - Michael Jones-Bey attended last month's meeting in order to have a discussion with us and answer questions about WMBE goals. He attended our December meeting and mentioned the new goals with regard to WMBE new contracts. The Roundtable posed questions as to how that is reflected in the evaluation criteria. He was stumped by some questions and will reply at a later date. Dialog is ongoing, regarding those issues. The IT Corporate Roundtable resources were used to hold a panel discussion about how the new appointments might affect Roundtable members. The take-away is that everyone felt positive that we were leaving the steam roller behind and going to a kinder, gentler leadership. Conversations are taking place with Greg and Ron Bergman of DoITT to hold a session in early June in NYC. The purpose of the session is to provide an opportunity for the IT Corporate Roundtable to assist in the NYC IT strategic plan, architect plan, and NYC standards.
Emerging Technologies - Mike McGuire - A highly attended session on electronic forms was held recently that focused on both sides of the issue. Business Intelligence Parts I and II are in the planning stages. Part I will focus on why it is important. Part II will address the technology involved.
Marketing Workgroup - Corinne Brennen - The group has distributed a survey in an effort to address how best to promote The Forum committee sessions. This group meets following the IT Corporate Roundtable on the 4th Friday of each month and welcomes new participants. Attracting a broader range of attendees is a universal issue with all committees and the sessions they put on. Your comments and participation in the workgroup are most appreciated.
IT Greening - Mark Mitchell - NYSERDA co-hosted this first-time, very successful conference. NYSERDA's PIO has a listserv of approximately 700+ press outlets, all of which received notification of this event, but getting them to attend is especially difficult. It has been NYSERDA's experience to provide a story a day or two prior that they might pick up. Donald Lavada was the keynote speaker at the VIP reception that was the kick-off to the conference. Useful conversations were held which Mark will pursue and report back in an effort to make friendly investments to GreenIT.
IT Procurement - Preetham Morkonda - Further clarification on the WMBE clarification is being sought as are discussions about formalizing the debriefing process to better understand how debriefing is done.
Project Management - Brenda Breslin - The committee is preparing a survey that will address an agencies level of expertise and their willing to share among and mentor other agency project managers.
Security - Chris Labatt-Simon - The co-chairs are struggling with committee participation. A webcast is scheduled for April 23. A call for presenters will be going out for the June webcast. The 11th annual cyber security conference will be held on June 4 and 5 at the Empire State Plaza. The Security Committee is seeking a public sector co-chair.
Small/Medium/Local Government Agency SIG - Maryann Jablonowski - A shared and managed services session is scheduled for May 6 and 7. The same, basic session will be held on both days to best utilize the presenter's time and to provide an opportunity for a broader attendance. The May 6 session will be part of the NYSLGITDA conference in Saratoga and will be moderated by Ed Hemminger. The same speakers will focus on more of a state level on May 7 in Albany and will be moderated by someone from OFT.
Webmasters' Guild - Paul Maguire - The May session topic is blogs and wikis. If you have a blog or wiki and have experience, please contact Paul. Panelists are needed to talk about what works and what doesn't. The Webmasters' Guild is seeking both public and private sector co-chairs.
Organizational Updates:
CTG - Tony Cresswell - The Center review has been completed, as requested. A report and evaluation is available on our website. An announcement will go out next week seeking a permanent director for CTG. A copy will be sent to Greg for distribution.
OGS - Jerry Gerard - OGS shares the interest of WMBE, reflects them in contracts and has been working with Michael Jones-Bey as well. It is difficult to establish goals without resolving those issues. The aggregate purchase for 2008-2009 was announced last week and is better that the previous year. The prices are phenomenal. Everything is available on the website and is linked to vendor websites to generate quotes. The IT Procurement Conference is under discussion and will be held again, as soon as details can be ironed out.
Meeting Adjourned 9:55 am.
Present: Greg Benson, JoAnn Bomeisl, Bill Branch, Corinne Brennen, Brenda Breslin, Rebecca Buchner, Peter Chynoweth, Joel Conklin, Tony Cresswell, Angelo DeMarco, Leigh Favitta, Kevin Frank, Robert Freeman, Jerry Gerard, Adam Gigandet, Milena Ivanova, Maryann Jablonowski, Ellen Kattleman, Chris Labatt-Simon, Paul Maguire, Mike McGuire, Richard Melita, Preetham Morkonda, James Nicol, Bridgett Nuss, Joanne Riddett, Franklin Slade, Tom Suraci, Carter Yepsen